The new Eastern Elite Junior Hockey League (EEJHL) is grateful that the Eastern Junior Hockey League provided a huge assist in helping the new league reach its goals. Two years ago, the EJHL reached out to seven members of the Southeast Junior Hockey League and invited them to become an EJ-affiliated league. Thus, the EJHL South was born. The Potomac Patriots came on board this past season, bringing the EJ-South to eight members. Those eight teams have developed into highly competitive Tier 3 Junior teams and are now ready to do their own thing as the EEJHL. 

"The EJHL itself has a lot of name recognition and high standing in the Junior hockey world, and that league's college advancement record is unparalleled for a junior hockey league operating 100 percent east of the Mississippi River," said Gary Gouin, a member of the EJHL South's Board of Governors. Gouin added: "However, for a variety of reasons, including the strength and track record of our programs, we feel it's best for us to go ahead and forge our own brand. Affiliating with the EJHL was, at that time, a wonderful opportunity for us. They helped us immensely. It's still an extremely good relationship. We are tremendously appreciative for what they've done, but we thought it best that we apply our time and energy in forging our own way."

"With the quality of the league's programs, the timing of this move is right," added Potomac Patriots' General Manager and Head Coach R.J. Zeigler. "We've proven our competitiveness at Tier 3 Juniors, and we will still have an opportunity to play games against and be competitive with northern teams." "The EJHL is a first class hockey league and we were extremely happy with the affiliation," added the Palm Beach Hawks' Tim Kyrkostas. "The EJHL allowed us to come in and that really helped our players feel that they were part of the showcases. Being able to go to EJ showcases and play EJHL teams was a gauge for our players and for our teams."

"It is our intention and desire to continue to play in the EJ Showcases, whether that's the Spring, Summer or Winter showcases," said Gouin. "I've spoken with [EJHL Director of Hockey Operations] Jack Sweeney and he's certainly in favor of us remaining in those showcases." "The way our teams have competed, coupled with Atlanta's success - winning the 2012 USA Hockey Junior Nationals - put us on the map as a competitive group," said Tampa Bay General Manager Kevin Wolter. The EJHL South teams proved they can hang with top Tier 3 teams, and now they plan on doing the same as teams from the EEJHL.

Bringing in the college scouts

On two occasions this past season, the EJHL South teams held their own showcases and garnered plenty of college attention. The league attracted several college athletic departments to its showcases held in Charlotte, N.C., in October and Coral Springs, Fla., in December. "That's the best thing our league has done, hosting the showcases and making sure NCAA Division 1 and 3 schools were in attendance," said Palm Beach Hawks head coach Tim Kyrkostas. "As a result, we saw a number of players on each team recruited to NCAA teams."

During the upcoming season, playing as the EEJHL, the league will host three showcases. Wolter is excited about the prospects of adding a third showcase this coming season. Along with October back in Charlotte, the league is looking at a December showcase in Tampa and an early February showcase in Washington, D.C."

"The EEJHL's strong talent pool deserves the full attention of Scouts," says Gouin. "The EEJHL showcases accomplish exactly that." Coaches and Scouts who made the trip to the league's showcases last season were very impressed, and that has been shown in recent player commitments, such as the Hawks' Kevin Mansolill to Suffolk University, the Jr. Whalers' Matt Zendejas to Neumann University, the Hurricanes' Criss Villareal to Worcester State University, and Atlanta's Nick Webb to Southern New Hampshire. "The sentiment [of the college coaches] at our showcases was: 'You guys have some excellent talent. You have really done a nice job attracting, developing, and promoting a mix of players from the South, as well as from across the U.S. and abroad,'" said Scarpaci. "A lot of colleges gave us the full-court press at the playoffs [held in Tyngsboro, Mass.]. Up north, we had 25-30 schools there."

A bright future

The EEJHL Governing Board and Coaches are extremely optimistic about the upcoming 2013-14 season. The advances made to date establish a firm foundation and starting point for the new league. In addition, the EEJHL will maintain its affiliation with the Empire Junior Hockey League. "Our affiliation with the Empire League will continue for our development teams," said Gouin. "The Empire League is rock solid from top to bottom, well-managed, and provides us an excellent feeder path for the younger, developing players. We have no intention of vacating that affiliation."

The EEJHL is also expected to continue to hold its season-ending playoffs up north in Tyngsboro, Mass., well within range of numerous college hockey programs.

Another aspect of the former EJHL South that won't change next year is the league's USA Hockey affiliation. "We've notified USA Hockey about the change," said Gouin.

"We seek self-determination and we'll continue to have the best of both worlds," said Scarpaci. "We can continue to have the showcases and at the same time invest in our own league and brand. You can't just judge our success from the scoreboard. Our players have grown considerably because they've played against better players." 

So, with so little changing but a name and affiliation, the teams are able to get back to business. Currently, that means recruiting and setting up tryouts. That is, unless you're the Atlanta Jr. Knights, who were focused on winning a second straight USA Hockey Junior National Championship.

"I certainly believe there are great operators and great coaches in our league," said Kyrkostas. "We are a strong league in terms of really providing a good platform for our players to be exposed to colleges. I'm absolutely excited for next season. If I were a player looking for an emerging league in which to showcase my talents, I'd definitely take a good hard look at the Eastern Elite Junior Hockey League."