The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL).

The ECHL and the AHL are the only minor leagues recognized by the collective bargaining agreement between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players' Association, meaning any player signed to an entry-level NHL contract and designated for assignment must report to a club in either the ECHL or the AHL. Additionally, the league's players are represented by the Professional Hockey Players' Association in negotiations with the ECHL itself. Some 662 players have played at least one game in the NHL after appearing in the ECHL.

For the upcoming 2021–22 season, 27 of the 32 NHL teams have affiliations with an ECHL team with the Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues, San Jose Sharks,Vancouver Canucks, and the Winnipeg Jets having no official ECHL affiliations. The offseason typically has many affiliation changes between NHL and ECHL teams. NHL teams do sometimes lend contracted players to ECHL teams they have no affiliation agreements with for development and increased playing time for their prospect players.

The league's regular season typically begins in October and ends in April, followed by the Kelly Cup playoffs. The most recent playoff champion is the Fort Wayne Komets in 2021.