Overview
The second tier of professional development below the AHL, with clubs across the United States and Canada playing for the Kelly Cup.
The ECHL is the third level of professional ice hockey in North America, below the NHL and AHL, and is the designated second development league for most NHL organisations. Clubs play a 72-game season for the Kelly Cup.
It reaches markets the higher leagues do not — Wichita, Toledo, Idaho, Savannah — and is often the first professional stop for players out of college and junior hockey. Around 800 ECHL alumni have gone on to play in the NHL.
Season Format
Recent Champions
Most recent first. Seasons still in progress are marked.
History
The league was founded in 1988 as the East Coast Hockey League, with five clubs in the American south-east. It absorbed clubs from the folded West Coast and Central leagues as it expanded across the continent, and shortened its name to the initials in 2003 once it was no longer an east-coast league.
The Florida Everblades' three consecutive Kelly Cups from 2022 to 2024 are the longest run in the league's history.
Governance
The ECHL is governed by its member clubs. Most have an affiliation agreement with an NHL and an AHL club.