My esteemed Telegram colleague and friend, Brendan McCarthy, remembers the morning well, even if it was a long time ago, when a young St. John’s IceCaps defenceman, Ben Chiarot, a year out of junior and struggling to find his way in the American league, was advised he was off to hockey’s version of purgatory.
“He not only looked like his dog had just died,” recalled the man Brian Rogers has dubbed ‘The Prof’, seeing Chiarot after the player had learned he was being dispatched to the ECHL, “he looked like his dog’s dad had died, too.”
The year was 2011-12 and the St. John’s IceCaps, facing a glut of defencemen, opted to ease the roster burden and send Chiarot to the Colorado Eagles
Now, there are far worse places in the world to be than Colorado, no matter what time of year, but back in the day, the ECHL may as well have been Outer Mongolia on the pro hockey pecking order.
But this ain’t 2012 no more.
We can probably all agree the ECHL isn’t the first place on a young hockey player’s mind the day he turns pro.
Yes, it’s a very good league, but there is almost no denying it is generally accepted as hockey’s AA answer to the minor pro baseball model (the AHL being comparable to AAA ball).
But, as we said, things are changing.
This past Wednesday night, Justin Holl appeared in his sixth game for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season, after spending virtually the entire 2018-19 campaign in the press box (Holl dressed in 11 games for Toronto, skating in only two before Christmas).
Back it up a bit and we see Holl, a fifth-year pro, drafted 54th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks back in 2010, just before his first of four years at the University of Minnesota in his home state.
“If I could offer any advice to someone, it would be to be confident in yourself, stick to your abilities and stick to what made you good. You can’t guarantee that you’ll find your way out of the Coast, or you’ll get a chance with an NHL deal or anything, but you have to remember this is a very good league and if you play well, you will catch someone’s eye. Scouts are everywhere.”
Justin Holl
Holl turned pro in 2014, but the Blackhawks had bad news for the stay-at-home defenceman. While they liked him, they weren’t prepared for offer an NHL or AHL contract. Instead, Holl had to plug his nose and sign with the ECHL’s Indy Fuel, which is aligned in the Chicago organization.
“No, I’m not going to lie, it was a punch in the gut,” Holl said last month, after the Leafs and Ottawa Senators played an NHL friendly at Mile One Centre.
“Sure, there’s a certain belief that if you’re sent to the Coast, you’re banished.
“But if I could offer any advice to someone, it would be to be confident in yourself, stick to your abilities and stick to what made you good. You can’t guarantee that you’ll find your way out of the Coast, or you’ll get a chance with an NHL deal or anything, but you have to remember this is a very good league and if you play well, you will catch someone’s eye. Scouts are everywhere.
“You need to have faith that someone will see you, and you will get that opportunity at some point. And then if you do get that chance, it’s up to you to seize that moment.”
Before we go any further, let’s point something out: yes, Holl – just as many others – has called the league ‘the Coast.’
The official name of the league is ECHL, but it was known for years as the East Coast Hockey League. Or ‘The Coast’. It’s still known by many as ‘The Coast’.
For Holl, his opportunity came after a year in Indy when the Toronto Marlies signed him to an AHL contract. The next year, the Leafs offered him an entry-level NHL deal and the year after that, in 2017-18, he played in the AHL’s all-star game and helped the Marlies win the Calder Cup.
He also got in two NHL games that year, scoring a pair of goals to boot.
“That year in Indy really helped eased me into pro hockey, really helped assist in my development as a pro,” he said. “It didn’t seem that way at the time, but looking back, it was invaluable.
“The East Coast league, obviously being the third league, doesn’t get a lot of attention, but there are some great players in that league, there’s no question about that.”
By now, it’s a well-known fact the Toronto Maple Leafs are looking to do something different with the ECHL, looking to break the mould in comparison to most other NHL teams. It’s the Leafs’ wish to make the ECHL, in this case the Newfoundland Growlers, the organization’s pro entry point for junior and college players (most, anyway), along with coaches and support staff like the trainers and equipment guys.
Again, following along with minor pro baseball’s AA and AAA model.
“I think,” Holl said, “that when you’re coming out of school or junior hockey, and transitioning into pro hockey, not everybody is ready for that right away.
“Everyone is different, from a maturity level or what have you. So playing in the Coast is definitely a learning experience, and it can be a very good development experience.
“There are a lot of great players in the Coast, and as I said, not everybody coming out of junior or college is ready for the AHL immediately. The talent differential between guys at this level of pro hockey, in general, is so small.”
Following their Kelly Cup championship victory last season, the Growlers are already proving that because a player is in the ECHL, it doesn’t mean he’s buried there. Two players from last year’s Newfoundland team, Hudson Elynuik and Kristians Rubins, are playing for the AHL’s Marlies. Goalie Michael Garteig, who backstopped the Growlers to the Kelly Cup, signed a free- agent contract in the Finnish Elite league during the summer, extending a career that’s seen him make three stops in the ECHL (Alaska and Kalamazoo in addition to Newfoundland).
Oh, as for Chiarot, he did go to Colorado, and returned to the IceCaps. He eventually made the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets and last summer signed a three-year, $10.5 million contract with the Montreal Canadiens.
Robin Short is The Telegram’s Sports Editor. He can be reached by email at [email protected]
Follow him on Twitter @TelyRobinShort
