About 20 years ago I was living in Huntsville, Alabama. Now, I’d tell ya what I was doing but then I’d have to go into hiding for the rest of my life, so let’s just say I was visiting some friends, making new ones, and learning how to speak English with a southern drawl.
Well, while I was down there I learned that they had a hockey team. No, not the university one that Cam Talbot played for (although the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers were around, I just never heard of them at the time), the one that played in the Central Hockey League; the Huntsville Channel Cats.
So, if you’ve never heard of the CHL, back when I was living in the deep south this league had eleven teams such as the Macon Whoopee, Columbus Cottonmouths, Indianapolis Ice, Tulsa Oilers, Oklahoma City Blazers, and the Wichita Thunder to name a few. Lots of players going from major junior who never got drafted or signed to AHL contracts, Canadian university players looking to start a career as a hockey player, quite a few Junior A players who never caught on with NCAA teams, and a sprinkling of Europeans as well.
Some names who played in CHL over the years include Dallas Stars head coach Rick Bowness, former Edmonton Oiler Tom Roulston, and current Sherwood Park Kings U18 AAA coach Travis Clayton. In fact, Clayton is 2nd in all-time scoring for the now-defunct league.
The hockey was… Well, I’ll put it this way. The fans stood for the fights, not the goals. I felt like some sort of freak attempting to actually watch the game and teach those who attended with me what was going on.
Check out this clip that features good ol’ Camrose boy, Brad Prefontaine lighting up one of the Huntsville players. You’ll love the commentary!
Anyway, it was entertaining nevertheless; but you’re probably wondering why I’m telling you this incredibly boring story, and here’s why.
Frank Seravalli was on Lowetide’s radio show yesterday morning and LT brought up to the hockey insider that there was a possibility that a lot of good young hockey players for every team might not even play this year to which Seravalli replied,
“One potential outlet might be for teams to stash players in the ECHL. That’s something that is being talked about right now. It’s a unique opportunity for the ECHL because if you look at it, they have thirteen teams that are starting on December 11th and their plan is to play 72 games. They’ve got another eleven teams planning to start on January 15th and play 62 games.
Their schedule and their standings are going to go by winning percentage and the season is supposed to end on June 6th and then you’ve got a number of teams in the ECHL that have opted out.
Now, the ECHL being one rung down from the AHL, you’ve got a number of teams with affiliations that pass their players down.
For instance, just take Vancouver. They go from Vancouver to Utica to Kalamazoo and so if Kalamazoo is playing, the Canucks could put some of their lower-end or even higher-end prospects at this point and the question being asked is if there’s no major junior hockey, will you be allowed to put one of your junior hockey prospects into the ECHL and you could potentially do that and then once the major junior season starts then you have to take that player back out and put him in major junior again.
So no one really knows exactly what the situation is like but given that we’re just about a month away from the ECHL scheduled start, that is an option that teams could have if they have the affiliation, if their team is playing, just to get your guys skating and playing again. That would be a significant competitive advantage for those guys and a competitive advantage for those guys if they were to get to NHL training camps because they’re going to have a leg up.
So there you have it. Seravalli is saying that NHL teams who have affiliations with ECHL clubs could potentially send their players down to get them skating and in shape for whenever the CHL or AHL or NHL seasons get going.
Now, my question is, would you, as a GM, really want your high-end prospects playing in the ECHL if they’re already playing in better leagues in Europe? I see Raphael Lavoie and Evan Bouchard playing in a very good hockey league in Sweden right now and having some success and I don’t know if I’d prefer them playing down in Wichita, to be honest. Sure, it’s closer to home, but the competition is worse. The same goes for Tyler Benson, Ryan McLeod, and all the rest of Edmonton’s more NHL-ready prospects that are lacing up the blades for clubs across the pond. If they’re already over there playing, there’s no need to bring them back over, and considering how the US is handing its COVID at the moment, that’s just one more reason to keep those players where they are.
Now, if you’ve got some guys from your AHL club that aren’t playing or you’re a team with lots of 20-22yr olds that are just sitting around, then sure, the ECHL would be a good option.
I haven’t watched any ECHL games, so I can’t comment on if they are closer to the old school CHL hockey I watched back in the day or if things have improved. I mean, any hockey games at that level that are in non-hockey markets tend to remind you a bit of Slap Shot in real life, at least by my experiences. So perhaps by putting better hockey players down there, the quality of hockey would improve as well… Who knows?!
What do you think? Do you like the idea of NHL clubs sending their bluechip prospects, who aren’t playing in Europe, down to the ECHL so that they’re ready to go when the leagues they should be in get started?
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