Central Hockey League (original) (raw)
The Central Hockey League (CHL) in its present incarnation is an American professional hockey league playing at the minor double-A level. It was created for the 1992-1993 season with six inaugural teams, all of whom remain in existence today. After several experiments in expansion and a long battle for players and markets with the Western Professional Hockey League (WPHL), the two merged in 2001. Some teams are affiliated with AHL and NHL clubs for player development.
The league is divided into four divisions. Active teams, listed by division and with their affiliated teams (NHL, AHL), include:
Northeast Division
- Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs (Shreveport, LA) (Rochester Americans)
- Fort Worth Brahmas
- Indianapolis Ice (Chicago Blackhawks, Norfolk Admirals)
- Memphis RiverKings (Toronto Maple Leafs, St. John's Maple Leafs)
Northwest Division
- Colorado Eagles (Windsor, CO)
- New Mexico Scorpions (Albuquerque, NM)
- Oklahoma City Blazers
- Tulsa Oilers
- Wichita Thunder
Southeast Division
- Austin Ice Bats
- Corpus Christi Rayz (Minnesota Wild, Houston Aeros)
- Laredo Bucks (Florida Panthers, San Antonio Rampage)
- Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees
Southwest Division
- Amarillo Gorillas
- Lubbock Cotton Kings
- Odessa Jackalopes (Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Roadrunners)
- San Angelo Saints
Former CHL teams include:
- Border City Bandits (Texarkana, TX)
- Columbus Cottonmouths (Columbus, GA - now members of ECHL)
- Dallas Freeze
- El Paso Buzzards
- Fayetteville (NC) Force
- Fort Worth Fire
- Huntsville (AL) Channel Cats/Tornado
- Macon Whoopee (ECHL)
- Nashville Ice Flyers/Nighthawks
- San Antonio Iguanas
- Topeka ScareCrows