One of the places I got my start covering hockey was the ECHL. While an average hockey fan might have some understanding of the American Hockey League — given that the league has a much more direct relationship to their National Hockey League team — the ECHL is a different world. It’s even a slightly different game, with teams running three forward lines instead of four, fighting is more frequent and emergency back-up goaltenders are just another Sunday game.
The role of the league is something I talked to coaches about often, because the ECHL is still an independent league.