ECHL Board Meets

The ECHL saw their Board of Governors meet today, and that always means that something will change in the ECHL for next season and possibly further in the future. The ECHL is often innovative in ways that neither the NHL nor AHL will ever be as they continue to work for a larger fanbase across its 26-team market, and they occasionally do some rather wacky things that look good on paper but miss the mark in reality. Minor-pro hockey has always been a bit of a testing ground for ideas, and the ECHL has come through for the AHL and NHL with some of these ideas. There were some changes today that need to be discussed, so let's get to it.

Royals Stay Put

The first matter that took relatively little time to decide was the transfer of controlling interest in the Reading Royals from Jack Gulati to the Berks County Convention Center Authority. The decision to buy the rights to the Royals was actually made back in January after Gulati had purchased the team in 2014 to have it remain in Reading, Pennsylvania. With the sale in January and the approval today, the Royals will play next season and future seasons in Santander Arena.

There still is some concern about this sale as the Royals have seen decreasing attendance figures since 2007, and haven't averaged more than 4000 fans per game since 2015. I'm not sure this sale will solve the attendance problem and, in turn, financial problems for the team, but those problems now rest with the Berks County Convention Center Authority as they look to keep the Royals in Reading.

More Free Hockey

The ECHL Board of Governors voted today to have overtime in ECHL games extended from five minutes to seven minutes. The overtime period will still be played three-on-three and will end upon the scoring of a goal, but it seems the ECHL is hoping to have less shootouts than overtime decisions moving forward.

I actually like this idea as overtime periods are turning into some of the most exciting hockey fans can see. The unfortunate part is that if neither teams scores within the seven-minute timeframe, the game will still go to a shootout. Here's hoping more ECHL teams will find a way to score with the additional two minutes of three-on-three hockey.

"He Hate Me" Hockey Edition

February 2020 will see the ECHL undergo a bit of a radical change as the month has been decreed as "Players' Month". ECHL teams and its respective players will choose one home game during the month where they can wear the team's nickname and players can wear their nicknames across their shoulders rather than their normal name bar. I have a feeling a lot of these jerseys will be up for sale, but this might be one of the better promotions the ECHL will run when trying to inject a little personality into the game.

Overall, there were a couple more things that were lesser in their effects that the Board of Governors voted on, but these three items were certainly the most newsworthy. I love the longer overtime, and I'm curious to see the "Players' Month" jerseys. Needless to say, there's ample reason to keep an eye on the ECHL this year! If their overtime idea results in less games going to the shootout, do we see it implemented in the AHL and NHL the following year? Here's hoping!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!