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ECHL
Sign in to saveAlso known as East Coast Hockey League
The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The league serves as a farm system to the AHL and National Hockey League (NHL).
Key facts
- Hockey league.name
- ECHL
- Hockey league.logo
- ECHL logo.svg
- Hockey league.pixels
- 200
- Hockey league.country
- United States (29 teams)Canada (1 team)
- Hockey league.leader_title
- Commissioner
- Hockey league.leader_name
- Ryan Crelin
- Hockey league.leader_title2
- Commissioner Emeritus
- Hockey league.leader_name2
- Patrick J. Kelly
- Hockey league.first
- 1988–89
- Hockey league.teams
- 30 (31 in 2027)
- Hockey league.feeds
- AHL, NHL
- Hockey league.champ
- Kelly Cup
- Hockey league.champions
- Trois-Rivières Lions
- Hockey league.season
- 2025
- Hockey league.most successful club
- Florida Everblades (4)
- Hockey league.TV
- FloSports
- Hockey league.headquarters
- Shrewsbury, New Jersey
- Hockey league.current_season
- 2025–26 ECHL season
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Official website
- www.echl.com
Show 3 more facts
- Commons category
- ECHL
- inception
- 1988-00-00
- social media followers
- 58471
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~37 min read
Article
11 sectionsContents
- History
- Teams
- Future teams
- Defunct and relocated teams
- Timeline
- Kelly Cup playoff format
- ECHL Hall of Fame
- See also
- Notes
- References
- External links
The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The league serves as a farm system to the AHL and National Hockey League (NHL).
The ECHL and the AHL are the only minor leagues recognized by the collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA), meaning any player signed to an entry-level NHL contract and designated for assignment must report to a club in either the ECHL or the AHL. Additionally, the league's players are represented by the Professional Hockey Players' Association (PHPA) in negotiations with the ECHL itself. At least 739 players have played at least one game in the NHL after appearing in the ECHL.