A Brief History of the East Coast Hockey League

The ECHL has evolved into one of the premier minor league systems in professional sports. More then 70 players have moved on to the NHL and hundreds more have gone to the AHL and IHL. This formula for advancement has proven to be successful for all involved; several ECHL coaches have moved on to positions in the National Hockey League, several officials who began their careers here are now involved in the NHL's training program and former ECHL personnel can be found in front offices around the AHL, IHL, and NHL.

1988-89

When play began in 1988, the ECHL's original five teams were the Johnstown (PA) Chiefs, Eric (PA) Panthers, Knoxville (TN) Cherokees, Carolina Thunderbirds based in Winston-Salem, NC, and the Virginia Lancers, who were out of Vinton, VA. The teams played a 60 game regular season schedule. The Erie Panthers finished as the regular season champion, winning the Henry Brabham Cup. The Carolina Thunderbirds captured the first playoff championship in ECHL history, winning the Jack Riley Cup.

1989-90

For the 1989-90 season, the ECHL expanded to eight teams. The new franchises were the Greensboro (NC) Monarchs, the Nashville, (TN) Knights and the Hampton Roads Admirals, who played in Norfolk, VA. League attendance rose from an average of 2,618 per game the first season to over 3,400 per contest this season. The expansion Hampton Road Admirals drew a league high of over 6,000 per game. Winston-Salem, who changed their name from Carolina, took the regular season title, while the Greensboro Monarchs won the Riley Cup in their inaugural season.

1990-91

The ECHL continued to expand with the Richmond (VA) Renegades, Louisville (KY) IceHawks and the Cincinnati (OH) Cyclones all beginning play in the 1990-91 season. Cincinnati shattered all attendance records by drawing almost 7,700 fans per contest, helping boost the League average to a record 4,072 per game. Cincinnati’s average also placed them in the top three in average attendance in all of professional minor league hockey. The Schedule was expanded to 64 games, with each team playing 32 home and road games. The Knoxville Cherokees finished on top during the regular season, and the Hampton Roads Admirals captured the playoff title.

1991-92

Four new expansion teams: the Toledo (OH) Storm, Dayton (OH) Bombers, Columbus (OH) Chill and Raleigh (NC) IceCaps all helped to make the fourth season of the ECHL the most successful yet. Nearly 2.4 million fans took in the regular season and playoff action, averaging almost 4,600 per contest. Cincinnati again set attendance marks in fashion as the Cyclones finished with the highest average attendance (9,472) in all of minor pro hockey. Hampton Roads became the first team to repeat as playoff champions as they swept the Louisville IceHawks in four games. The expansion Toledo Storm won the Brabham Cup, posting the second best record in ECHL history.

1992-93

For the first time in the League's history, there were no expansion teams added for the 1992-93 season. The Winston-Salem franchise relocated to Wheeling, West Virginia, remaining as the Thunderbirds. The Cincinnati Cyclones were granted a new membership in the International Hockey League, but kept their ECHL franchise rights and moved to Alabama to become the Birmingham Bulls. The League again drew over two million fans, and they saw some great hockey action. Nashville's Trevor Jobe rewrote the record books as he shattered the League scoring marks, tallying 85 goals and 161 points in only 61 games. The move to Wheeling proved to be a rousing success as the Thunderbirds captured the regular season championship. The 1992-92 Brabham Cup champions, the Toledo Storm, rallied from a two game to none deficit in the Riley Cup Finals to defeat the Thunderbirds four games to two.

1993-94

The addition of the Charlotte (NC) Checkers, the South Carolina Stingrays, the Huntington (WV) Blizzard and the Roanoke (VA) Express brought the League to 19 teams. The new franchise in Roanoke was made possible due to the relocation of the former Roanoke Valley Rampage to Huntsville, Alabama after the Rampage's arena was heavily damaged by the March 1993 blizzard that hit the Eastern U.S. The League expanded its schedule to 68 regular season games and drew over three million fans during the regular season alone. Average attendance jumped to over 4,900 per game with newcomers South Carolina and Charlotte leading the way with averages of 9,150 and 8,130 per game, respectively.

Hockey History was made when goaltenders Manon Rheume and Erin Whitten, the first two women in professional hockey, recorded their first wins. The race for the playoffs came down to the final week of the season, and when it was all over, the Knoxville Cherokees had captured their second Brabham Cup championship, only to fall once again to the upstart Louisville IceHawks in the first round of the playoffs. The Toledo Storm captured their second straight Riley Cup Championship by defeating Raleigh.

1994-95

The Huntsville Blast relocated their franchise to Tallahassee, FL to become the Tiger Sharks while the Louisville IceHawks suspended operations for the season. The Wheeling Thunderbirds captured the regular season title only to fall to the curse of the Brabham Cup and the Birmingham Bulls in the first round of the ECHL playoffs. In the history of the ECHL, no team has ever captured both the Brabham and Riley Cups. Wheeling's Vadim Slivchenko took home top honors as the League's MVP. Slivchenko netted 76 points (37-39-76) in only 49 games to help lead the Thunderbirds to an impressive 46-`7-5 season. 1994-95 marked the first season that there was not a 100-point man as Erie's Scott Burfoot lead the League with 97 points. Teammate Kevin McKinnon garnered Rookie of the Year honors with a 37-48-85 freshman campaign. The Richmond Renegades captured their first Riley Cup lead by playoff MVP Blaine Moore and veteran goaltender David Littman.

The League announced further expansion in the South with Lafayette, LA, Mobile, Al, and Louisville, KY all receiving 1995-96 expansion franchises. The Louisville IceHawks also announced that they would return in 1995-96 and would transfer to Jacksonville, FL. The Greensboro Monarchs relocated to the AHL.

1995-96

The expansion Louisiana IceGators were the talk of minor league hockey as they set numerous ECHL attendance records, including average attendance (9,775) and attendance at a home opener (11,026). Despite an MSA population of only 350,000, the IceGators finished fifth among all minor league teams in average attendance. League-wide, a record 3.6 million fans attended ECHL games during the regular season alone, a 700% increase over the League's history.

On the ice, the Richmond Renegades survived a late-season surge by the Toledo Storm to take the Brabham Cup as regular season champion. The defending Riley Cup champions set a new League record for points with 105, topping the Storm by a single digit. The curse of the Brabham Cup stayed true as the Renegades fell in the second round of the playoffs to the Jacksonville Lizard Kings. The surprise Lizard Kings entered the playoffs as the 15th seed and stretched their Cinderella run to the final round before falling in four straight to the Charlotte Checkers, who captured the Riley Cup as playoff champion.

The League announced that following the 1995-96 season, the Jack Riley Cup would be retired to be replaced by the Patrick J. Kelly Cup, named for the ECHL's only Commissioner.

Forty ECHL alumni played in the NHL during the 1995-96 season, a single-season high which pushed the League's eight season total to more then 70. Relations with the NHL were further strengthened with the announcement in June that 25-year veteran NHL referee Andy Van Hellemond would join the ECHL as Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations.

The prospering League announced further expansion with the addition of the Mississippi (Biloxi) Sea Wolves and Peoria (IL) Rivermen. The Rivermen joined the ECHL following 14 seasons in the IHL. The League granted both the Erie Panthers and the Nashville Knights permission to relocate following the 1995-96 season. The Panthers moved to Louisiana to become the Baton Rouge Kingfish while the Knights headed south as well to become the Pensacola Ice Pilots. Wheeling dropped their Thunderbirds moniker and logo to become the Nailers.

1997-98

In the 1997-98 season, 24 of 26 NHL teams developed players with their ECHL affiliates. Stanley Cup runner-up goaltender Olaf Kolzig (Washington Capitals) and Masterton Trophy winner Jamie McLennan (St. Louis Blues) are just two of the 96 former ECHL players to advance to the National Hockey League. Other prominet ECHL alumni making their mark in the NHL include Boston Bruins goaltender Byron Dafoe, San Jose Sharks goaltender Steve Shields, Florida Panthers defenseman Paul Laus and New York Rangers forward Darren Langdon. In all, 47 ECHL alumni played in the NHL during the season.

Attendance reached the 4.6 million mark for the season. The Louisiana Ice Gators won the regular season Brabham Cup championship, while the Hampton Roads Admirals won the Kelly Cup championship for the season.

Jamey Hicks of the Birmingham Bulls was named the Most Valuable Player of the year, Sean Venedam of the Toledo Storm took home the John A. Daley Memorial Trophy as CCM Rookie of the Year, and Nick Vitucci, also with the Toledo Storm, won the Goaltender of the Year honors.