14-641: The Ray Miron President's Cup is a trophy that was awarded to the playoff champion of the Central Hockey League (CHL) from 2002 until 2014, when the remaining CHL teams joined the ECHL . The trophy was known as The William "Bill" Levins Memorial Cup from 1992 until 2000, when the honour was renamed the Ray Miron Cup. ( Bill Levins and Ray Miron being the co-founders of the CHL). From 1997-2001,
28-544: Is the only player to win the award on multiple occasions. 14 different franchises won the CHL Championship, with six of them ( Wichita , Oklahoma City , Memphis/Mississippi , Laredo , Colorado and Allen ) winning twice. The five franchises hold the record for most championships won with two. Current possession of the trophy belongs to the Allen Americans , who won it in 2014 with a 4-1 victory over
42-492: The Denver Cutthroats becoming only the third CHL team to win back-to-back championships. Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which operated the league from 2000 to 2013, at which point it
56-482: The ECHL had accepted the Central Hockey League's remaining seven teams as members for the 2014–15 season , officially signaling the end of the Central Hockey League after 22 seasons. The Allen Americans , who won the last two CHL President's Cups, won two consecutive ECHL titles following the folding of the Central Hockey League. The Mississippi RiverKings, Tulsa Oilers and Wichita Thunder were
70-857: The New Jersey Devils ), and had briefly been president of the previous Central Hockey League in 1976. 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 league's championship trophy (awarded to the winner of
84-982: The Quad City Mallards , folded in 2018 in the ECHL. Brad Treliving , who co-founded the WPHL in 1996, became CHL commissioner following the merger, before leaving to join the Phoenix Coyotes . Duane Lewis was named the permanent commissioner in June 2008. In October 2013, the CHL appointed former president of the Pittsburgh Penguins Steve Ryan to succeed Lewis. On March 8, 2013, the Central Hockey League announced an expansion team in Brampton, Ontario . The Brampton Beast would become
98-534: The 2014 offseason, the ECHL accepted the remaining seven teams as members in October 2014, meaning the end for the CHL after 22 seasons. The Central Hockey League (CHL) was revived in 1992 by Ray Miron and the efforts of Bill Levins , with the idea of central ownership of both the league and the teams. Both men were from hockey backgrounds. Miron had been general manager of the Colorado Rockies (now
112-559: The CHL for the 2001–02 season . However, several years of gradual contraction in the former WPHL markets claimed most of these teams in the ensuing years. The last active former WPHL team, the Fort Worth Brahmas , effectively ceased operations following the 2012–13 season . Subsequently, in 2010, the International Hockey League folded and all five remaining IHL teams joined the CHL; the last of these,
126-640: The CHL playoffs) was renamed the Levins Cup . After running the league for eight years, Miron retired in 2000 and sold the league. The Levins Cup was renamed the Ray Miron President's Cup . After experiments in expansion and an ongoing battle for players and markets with the Western Professional Hockey League (WPHL) throughout the late 1990s, the CHL merged with the WPHL in 2001, with 10 former WPHL teams joining
140-513: The NAHL. Of the CHL's remaining teams prior to October 7, 2014, Tulsa, Wichita, Allen, Colorado, Fort Wayne, Missouri (now Kansas City), and Rapid City are still active as of 2023. Of the CHL's six original teams from the 1992-1993 inaugural season, only the Tulsa Oilers and Wichita Thunder remain and are still active as of 2023. 2001%E2%80%9302 CHL season The 2001–02 CHL season
154-480: The WPHL's playoff champion was awarded the "President's Cup", so when the CHL and the Western Professional Hockey League merged following their 2000-01 seasons, the CHL combined the traditions of the two leagues by renaming the trophy the "Ray Miron President's Cup". The "Playoff Most Valuable Player" award was also given out as part of the Ray Miron President's Cup Championship ceremonies. Ron Handy
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#1732790873656168-561: The first Canadian team in the CHL's history. In October 2013, the Central Hockey League was purchased from Global Entertainment by all the team owners, putting the CHL business model in line with that of the NHL and AHL. On May 2, 2014 the St. Charles Chill ceased operations. Soon after, the Arizona Sundogs and Denver Cutthroats suspended operations. On October 7, 2014, it was announced that
182-559: The last of the original six franchises still playing at the end of the CHL's tenure; the RiverKings since folded, in 2018. In the 2014–15 season, ten teams (Allen, Brampton, Colorado, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Missouri, Quad City, Rapid City, Tulsa, and Wichita) were in the ECHL, two teams (Mississippi and Columbus) were in the SPHL, and four organizations (Corpus Christi, Fort Worth Brahmas, Odessa, and Rio Grande Valley) fielded junior teams in
196-645: Was purchased by the individual franchise owners. As of the end of its final season in 2014, three of the 30 National Hockey League teams had affiliations with the CHL: the Dallas Stars , Minnesota Wild , and Tampa Bay Lightning . Several teams of defunct leagues joined the CHL along its history, including the Southern Hockey League , Western Professional Hockey League and International Hockey League . After two teams suspended operations during
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