Beckettpedia.CentralHockeyLeague

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History

The Central Hockey League (CHL) was revived in 1992 by William "Bill Levins" and Ray Miron under the idea of central ownership of both the league and the teams. Both men were from hockey backgrounds - Miron was the general manager of the Colorado Rockies for a time - and they possessed the skills to make the league work.

In the inaugural 1992-93 season the league had six teams, including the Oklahoma City Blazers, the Tulsa Oilers, the Wichita Thunder, the Memphis RiverKings, the Dallas Freeze and the Fort Worth Fire.

After Levins died, the championship trophy awarded to the winner of the CHL playoffs was renamed the Levins Cup. After successfully running the league for 8 years, Miron retired in 2000 and sold the league. The Levins Cup was renamed to the Ray Miron President's Cup. In 2004, Miron received the Lester Patrick Award for services to hockey from the NHL, along with broadcasters Mike Emrick and John Davidson.

Today, Miron resides in Tulsa, Oklahoma, down the street from his son Monty (who served as league commissioner for a time) and his family. His daughter Cindy and her family live in Oklahoma City. Levin's widow Gloria lives in Oklahoma City. Miron was inducted into the Cornwall, Ontario, Sports Hall of Fame on August 21, 2006. A mural there depicts, "his trademark grin, with the Lester Patrick Trophy next to him." Also on the mural are the logos of all the teams Miron has been affiliated with, from local Cornwall teams to NHL teams such as the Colorado Rockies and Toronto Maple Leafs.

After several experiments in expansion and a long battle for players and markets with the Western Professional Hockey League (WPHL), the CHL merged with the WPHL in 2001.

Some teams are affiliated with the American Hockey League and National Hockey League teams for player development.

There were two previous leagues with the CHL name; one existing between 1931-35 and almost exclusively comprised of Minnesota teams, and one existing between 1963-84 (until 1968 it was known as the Central Professional Hockey League), roughly coterminous with the area of operations of the current league and including previous incarnations of the Oklahoma City Blazers and the Tulsa Oilers.

Northern Conference

BossierShreveportMudbugs

MemphisRiverKings

TulsaOilers

YoungstownSteelHounds

Southern Conference

AustinIceBats

CorpusChristiRayz