THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 26, 1995 TAG: 9509260383
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
East Coast Hockey League representatives are meeting with a delegation from the International Hockey League today in Cleveland and will meet next month with American Hockey League officials.
A probable theme of both meetings is more formalized relationships between the ECHL and the higher leagues. Although 17 of the 21 ECHL teams are affiliated with IHL or AHL teams, the road is generally one way - the IHL and AHL take players but often don't provide any in return.
Though officials on all sides are mum about the agendas, the IHL and AHL have expressed an interest in making the ECHL their primary developmental league.
Some ECHL owners are eager to sign two-way agreements in which the higher leagues would guarantee a certain number of players to each ECHL club.
The Hampton Roads Admirals already have such an agreement with Portland of the AHL. The clubs jointly have signed three players to two-way contracts, in which the players are paid about $30,000 by Portland if they play in the AHL and about $7,500 apiece by both teams if they play in Norfolk.
ECHL chief executive officer Rick Adams said he doesn't expect any quick agreements.
``We don't have a specific agenda,'' he said. ``We send a lot of players to both leagues and work closely with them. Under the circumstances, I think it's wise to sit down and talk with each other.''
The ECHL's talks with the AHL could be testy. The ECHL was forced to fend off a raid of its top markets by the AHL last spring. Greensboro went to the AHL, but six other ECHL franchises, including the Admirals, chose to stay.
The attempt to wrest the ECHL's top markets began after a proposed merger between the two leagues was scuttled.
Had the merger been successful, the smaller AHL markets would have moved to the ECHL and larger ECHL markets moved up to the AHL.
One AHL official, who asked not to be identified, said significant interest in a merger remains in the AHL, and that the subject might come up in the meetings.
Admirals president Blake Cullen declined comment when asked about the meetings. by CNB