Formed in 1988-89 with five teams in three states, The ECHL has developed into the Premier 'AA' Hockey League, the ECHL has affiliations with 25 of the 30 teams in the NHL and there is one head coach, 12 assistant coaches, 12 referees and five linesmen working in the NHL in 2005-06 who have ECHL experience. To date,there have now been 297 players who have played in the NHL after playing in the ECHL, including 41 who have made their debut during the 2005-06 season.
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