If you are unfamiliar with minor league hockey, like most people are, let me explain something real quick. The East Coast Hockey League, otherwise known as the ECHL, is a mid-level Professional Hockey League scattered across the US and Canada where AHL teams would not flourish. My personal favorite ECHL team is the Norfolk Admirals. They do a lot for that city.
There was a team in Loveland, Colorado called the Eagles. Yes, these are the good Eagles in my opinion. They won the Kelly Cup, which is the ECHL’s championship trophy, in 2017 & 2018. They were what I would call, uhhh, good.
If you hadn’t noticed, in 2017 the NHL got a new team in Vegas, not much to mention. This meant the NHL now had 31 teams, so the AHL would also need 31 teams. The Eagles, with their ECHL success on the ice, and their deep pockets, were the likely candidates to move up.
Here is where it gets interesting. Usually at the end of the season, the winning team, you know, gives the trophy back. Pretty standard procedure. The Colorado Eagles decided they weren’t going to do so.
If you ask the ECHL, the Eagles refused to give it back. If you ask the Eagles, the ECHL didn’t seem to want it back. Some real sad boy hours here for me – the Kelly Cup gets an extended vacation in Colorado.
What does the ECHL do? They make a new one and complain about it on social media.
The Newfoundland Growlers went on to win the 2019 Kelly Cup and got the new one for the first time. Then they proceeded to let a stripper snap it in half with her big ol’ butt cheeks.
.@ACBellino @bustedcoverage first the @ColoradoEagles kidnap the real Cup, then the @NLGrowlers go and break the new one?? Does no one have any respect for Mr Kelly’s name?? pic.twitter.com/sWgRbJYsbe
— Tyler Mitchell (@419SoulPunx) June 24, 2019
So maybe the Kelly Cup is just safer in Northern Colorado, and not in Canada where it’s being used and abused by “dancers.”
Stay tuned for the end of this glorious tale, whenever the ECHL gets it the fuck together.
-Intern Mitch