NHL, AHL, and ECHL teams by Affiliation - Hard Mode
Did you know that there are two levels of minor league hockey are directly linked to the NHL? That's right, the American Hockey League (AHL) and East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) serve as the first and second steps (respectively) to the National Hockey League. Most NHL teams have specific teams in each of the other two leagues that they are directly affiliated with and they in turn supply contracted players that the NHL team has no room or monetary space for to these minor league teams, allowing those players to get valuable ice time and further hone their game while waiting for an opportunity to return to the main roster. In this quiz, you have to guess all the teams of each league. Can you score one on this quiz or will you be shut-out? Let's find out.
Teams are sorted first the city name of the NHL team with each team's affiliate's listed to the right of them, so AHL and ECHL teams will appear out of alphabetical order in their column.
Teams can be guessed by just the name of the team itself. The city is not needed. For instance, if there was a team named the Rockford Peaches, entering Peaches alone would work.
Alternate spellings may exist for some teams. Prior to the start of the 2023-2024 season two AHL teams changed their name and one of those moved entirely in the process. Those teams, for this season only, can be guessed by their previous names. One AHL team has no affiliation this season with either the NHL or ECHL, they're listed on the bottom of their column. Four NHL teams are lacking in one affiliation or another, and are listed as None in their respective columns.