In this dive through the THN archives from September of 2002, the headline read: "Come next season, the East Coast League will go coast-to-coast."
In this dive through the THN archives from September of 2002, the headline read: "Come next season, the East Coast League will go coast-to-coast."
By: Rob Mueller
With a unanimous vote of the league’s board of governors Sept. 10, the ECHL agreed to absorb all nine West Coast League teams and create a nationwide ‘double-A’ league that will begin play in 2003-04.
Seven WCHL teams and two expansion franchises set to begin play in 2004 applied for membership to the ECHL over the summer. The Anchorage Aces, Bakersfield Condors, Fresno Falcons, Idaho Steelheads, Las Vegas Wranglers, Long Beach Ice Dogs and San Diego Gulls will join the ECHL next season, while new teams in Ontario, Calif., and Reno, Nevada, come aboard in 2004-05.
The ECHL will open this season with 27 teams. Combined with two new ECHL markets next season (Gwinnett County, Ga., and Beaumont, Tex.) and two dormant franchises that could return (New Orleans and Jacksonville), the new league has 40 potential franchises.
“The ECHL is excited to welcome these new members to the league,” said outgoing ECHL president-CEO Rick Adams, who now owns teams in the ECHL and WCHL.
“This expansion provides the ECHL with a national presence, strengthening the ECHL’s position as the largest developmental league in professional hockey.”
It’s likely the expanded ECHL will take on a new name. ECHL rules and by-laws will prevail, including current salary cap and veteran rules.
The league’s board of governors agreed to keep the current playoff format for this season. The top five teams in each Southern Conference division qualify for the playoffs, with a one-game wild card game between the fourth-and fifth-place teams preceding the conference quarterfinals. In the Northern Conference, the top four teams in each division make the post-season.
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