Annual ECHL Board of Governors Meeting concludes

The Annual ECHL Board of Governors Meeting was held via conference call earlier this week.

ECHL Return to Play for 2020-21 Season

The ECHL Board of Governors furthered preparations and intent to play for the start of the 2020-21 Season.  The League determined the process, including scheduling Board Meetings throughout the summer of 2020 and developing protocols in conjunction with the Professional Hockey Players’ Association and local/federal health officials, to determine progress in ECHL markets for the return of safe play for Players, fans and employees.

Thiessen elected as Chairman of the Board

Kansas City Mavericks’ President/General Manager Brent Thiessen was elected to serve as Chairman of the Board of Governors. He replaces Cincinnati Cyclones’ Owner/President/CFO Ray Harris, who served in the role since the 2015-16 season.

Thiessen has been with the Mavericks since their inception in 2009-10, and oversees the day-to-day operations of the front office and hockey operations departments. Following the 2016-17 season, he received the ECHL Executive of the Year award.

Trapp wins Executive of the Year Award

Idaho Steelheads’ President Eric Trapp received the 2019-20 Executive of the Year Award, which is determined in a vote of the Board of Governors.

Trapp has been with the Steelheads since the team’s inception in 1997 and was instrumental in the initial introduction, marketing and promotion of the Steelheads. He began his career in professional sports in 1991 with Diamond Sports, which owned and operated the Boise Hawks minor league professional baseball team. Trapp received the ECHL Marketing Director of the Year award following the Steelheads’ inaugural season in the ECHL in 2003-04.

Teams permitted to dress 19 Players for pre-game warm-upsThe Board approved allowing teams to dress 19 Players for pre-game warm-ups. Teams are still permitted to only dress up to 18 Players (16 skaters and two goaltenders) for games.

Change to regular-season tiebreaker

The Board approved changing the first tiebreaker in the event of a tie following the completion of the regular season to regulation wins. The complete list of tiebreakers is:

If Two Teams Tie

1. Regulation wins2. Regulation + OT wins3. Goal differential4. Points, head-to-head (for two teams that have not played the same number of home games against the other tied team, the first game(s) played in the city that has the extra home game(s) shall not be included)5. Winning percentage, division (if tied teams are from same division; if not, skip to 5)6. Winning percentage, conference7. Goals for, regular season8. Goals against, regular season9. Coin toss

If Three or More Teams Tie

Note: When two teams remain after the third or other teams are eliminated during any step below, the tiebreaker reverts to Step 1 of the two-team format.

1. Regulation wins2. Regulation + OT wins3. Goal differential4. Higher winning percentage earned in games against each other (for two teams that have not played the same number of home games against the other tied team, the first game(s) played in the city that has the extra home game(s) shall not be included)5. Winning percentage, division6. Winning percentage, conference7. Goals for, regular season8. Goals against, regular season9. Coin toss

About the ECHL

Began in 1988-89 with five teams in four states, the ECHL has grown into a coast-to-coast league with 26 teams in 19 states and two Canadian provinces for its 32nd season in 2019-20. There have been 676 players who have gone on to play in the National Hockey League after starting their careers in the ECHL, including 14 who have made their NHL debuts in the 2019-20 season. The ECHL has affiliations with 25 of the 31 NHL teams in 2019-20, marking the 23rd consecutive season that the league had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL. Further information on the ECHL is available on its website at ECHL.com as well as on Twitter and Facebook.