Could the CHL and ECHL merge?

[hf101]

Interesting tweet today...

 

@darrylwolski

Hearing the ECHL and CHL are in talks to merge both leagues.

 

I guess we will hear more of this in the coming days.

 

 

[jammer2]

@hf101  That is rather odd. The East Coast league is semi-pro....no?  Basically, the farm teams to the AHL farm teams. A lot of those players are over 20....so how does this work out? This has me puzzled. Another thing, the ECHL is FULL of goons, how would the parents of a young CHL'er feel about their 16 year old playing against a goon that is 21?

[hf101]

@jammer2

 

Yeah, that appears to be the case.  Just found this.  Probably be more tomorrow as well.

 

Adding the ECHL to the mix would only help widen the validity of the CHL and perhaps convince players to stay in the CHL over the NCAA route. There is such a wide gap or leagues for players who aren’t ready for the AHL or NHL as of yet and this will certainly open more doors for more ECHL players to get call-up’s.

 

Interesting to note, the ECHL contains older and often more skilled players than the CHL does, barring the fact the majority of their players are just short of cracking a AHL or NHL level, where the CHLers are often forgotten in their small towns. Can the two leagues mix well? Will players from both leagues need to be mixed to make it fair or will the new competition help the CHL players stay up to par?

 

If the ECHL and CHL do indeed merge into one, it will have a ripple effect throughout the semi-professional leagues and the AHL. With the AHL talking about moving teams in the West, the ECHL could easily become a top-notch league.

 

The merge would mean a whopping 32 team league filled with both young players, around the age of 24 and older players around the age of 30.

 

At the end of the day, any league shy of the AHL is about developing top-notch talent for the pro leagues. Combining the two leagues should pump out some amazing players from the semi-professional ranks into the NHL.

 

http://frozenfutures.com/2014/08/05/rumour-echl-chl-set-merge/

 

[ruxpin]

Yes, the CHL and the ECHL are combining to form the PCHL (Piece of Crap Hockey League).

 

Both are frankly a joke.   Plumber by day.  Plumber on skates by night.  I'd rather they brought back the Philadelphia Bulldog roller hockey team.

[jammer2]

@ruxpin  I don't agree with the CHL part obviously, but the ECHL is really being made up to be something it's not in this article. It's not very highly skilled, these are guys that can't cut the mustard in the AHL. The NHL might....and that is a might, have 10 players that appeared in ECHL games. The CHL is over 50% of the actual NHL, so don't see them being a piece of crap league....lol.

Edited August 6, 2014 by jammer2

[ruxpin]

@ruxpin I don't agree with the CHL part obviously, but the ECHL is really being made up to be something it's not in this article. It's not very highly skilled, these are guys that can't cut the mustard in the AHL. The NHL might....and that is a might, have 10 players that appeared in ECHL games. The CHL is over 50% of the actual NHL, so don't see them being a piece of crap league....lol.

The CHL is not. The ECHL is a joke and the combination will be a joke... at least at first. If it survives the merger period, then probably 5-7 years from now the ECHL-type players will be gone and the CHL style will have a bigger league and a lot more teams

My initial "both" meant ECHL and the new league but it was really poorly stated

[jammer2]

@ruxpin  Ahhhh, ok, I was kinda thinking that was what you meant, but it's not very often you get a chance to jump on a ruxpin mistake (yes, the gurgling sound was me, throwing up in my mouth a little).....so you gotta take swings for the fences when this rare opportunity is provided.

 

  Personally, I don't see this ever happening. The CHL would lose a BIG advantage over the NCAA by forcing their kids to compete against men. This may be something that was leaked by David Branch, the loser leader of the CHL to somehow mess up the union application of UNIFOR to represent the young players of the CHL.

[EDI-Flyer]

@jammer2

 

Methinks you are getting somewhat confused... The CHL being referred to here is not the Canadian Hockey League (OHL, WHL, QMJHL) but the Central Hockey League, a US based league. Nothing to do with David Branch and young Canadian kids!

[jammer2]

@EDI-Flyer   Ah, ok....it is making sense now, thanks for clearing that up EDI. The Central League is probably worse than the ECHL talent wise, but I can see how merging them could help as a whole. Yes, makes *much* more sense now.

[flyercanuck]

@jammer2

 

Methinks you are getting somewhat confused... The CHL being referred to here is not the Canadian Hockey League (OHL, WHL, QMJHL) but the Central Hockey League, a US based league. Nothing to do with David Branch and young Canadian kids!

 

 So in other words....who cares? 

 

 I mean go ahead and merge, I doubt it has much of an effect as far as most of us are concerned.

[ruxpin]

If it is the Central Hockey League, I go back to my initial "mistake." Trash marries trash. Offspring will be trash.

Nothing to see here. Move on.

[EDI-Flyer]

For clarity, this is from the article linked to by hf:

 

"The East Coast Hockey League had at one time become a forgotten league, where players who couldn’t make it in the NHL or AHL wound up to play out the rest of their careers on semi-professional teams. However, today the ECHL is back in the loop of respectable hockey leagues and it might be taking one might step forward by combining with the Central Hockey League.

The latest rumours swirling around the hockey league have the ECHL and CHL merging leagues to become one destination for hockey outside of the NHL and AHL. The CHL already holds designations with teams such as the Allen Americans, Mississippi RiverKings and Brampton Beast.

Adding the ECHL to the mix would only help widen the validity of the CHL and perhaps convince players to stay in the CHL over the NCAA route. There is such a wide gap or leagues for players who aren’t ready for the AHL or NHL as of yet and this will certainly open more doors for more ECHL players to get call-up’s."

 

 So in other words....who cares? 

 

 I mean go ahead and merge, I doubt it has much of an effect as far as most of us are concerned.

 

Indeed...

[hf101]

There might be more too this though.  NHL teams are trying to align and own their AHL affiliations and further ownership may also progress to the ECHL level at some point.  

 

Travis Hughes wrote a rather interesting blog realigning the AHL and ECHL.   http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2014/8/7/5976075/ahl-west-echl-chl-realignment-minor-league-hockey#main_comment_form

[jammer2]

@hf101  I love Travis Hughes articles. Metzler 1st, but Travis is right up there. Some serious thought went into this well written article, Travis did his homework. Must have taken him way over a month to set this whole thing up...tons and tons of research involved.

 

  Well, if this was to happen, it would got from crap to interesting pretty quick. It would re-shape the minor leagues forever, and give a lot of NHL teams new primary affiliates. With the sport growing in the States, and a new wave of players coming from unlikely sources like California etc....this could potentially be pretty neat. GREAT job Travis!!!