The Knights were Nashville’s minor league hockey team for seven winters from 1989 to 1996. The Knights were members of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL), a circuit generally considered two rungs below the NHL. The team played at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium and was co-founded by former pro wrestler Ron Fuller, AKA The Tennessee Stud.
East Coast Hockey League (1988-1997) Born: August 1988 – ECHL expansion franchise Moved Announced: March 17,1997 (Pee Dee Pride) First Game: Final Game: March 29, 1997
International Hockey League (1996-2000) West Coast Hockey League (2000-2003) ECHL (2003-2007) Born: December 31, 1995 – The Los Angeles Ice Dogs announce they will relocate
All-American Hockey League (1988) East Coast Hockey League (1988-2010) Born: December 1987 – AAHL expansion franchise Moved: 2010 (Greenville Road Warriors) First Game: Last Game:
Of all the minor league hockey teams that plied their trade at the old Toledo Sports Arena – the Mercury, the Blades, the Hornets, the Goaldiggers – it was the Toledo Storm that lasted the longest. The Storm skated for sixteen seasons between 1991 and 2007, winning the Riley Cup as champions of the East Coast Hockey League in back-to-back years in 1993 and 1994.
Explore ECHL history with teams, standout players, league changes, and memorable moments that helped shape the modern era of professional minor league hockey.
