2010–11 CHL season



The 2010–11 CHL season is the 19th season of the Central Hockey League (CHL).

Team changes
The Amarillo Gorillas and the Corpus Christi IceRays folded and both were replaced by a North American Hockey League team.

Expansion
On June 1, 2010, the Central Hockey League (CHL) and the International Hockey League (IHL) announced that they would merge and play under the CHL moniker.

On June 10, 2010, it was announced that four IHL teams made the move to the CHL, the Fort Wayne Komets, Bloomington PrairieThunder, Dayton Gems and the Quad City Mallards.

It was later announced that the Evansville IceMen would also will participate in the league.

The league had also announce an expansion team to be based in Allentown, PA to be known as the Lehigh Valley Xtreme. The team never came to be due to lack of an arena to play in. Strangely, an expansion team in the United Hockey League was awarded for the 2000-01 season and never took to the ice due to the same reason. The city finally got an American Hockey League franchise for the 2014-15 season when the PPL Center opens.

All-Star Game
It was announced that the 2011 Central Hockey League All-Star Game would be held at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center, home of the Rapid City Rush on January 12, 2011. The defending champions Rapid City Rush and coach Joe Ferras will form one team in the match-up will and will be opposed by a team of CHL All-Stars composed of players from the other 17 CHL member teams.

Northern Conference

 * Bloomington PrairieThunder
 * Colorado Eagles
 * Dayton Gems


 * Evansville IceMen
 * Fort Wayne Komets
 * Missouri Mavericks


 * Quad City Mallards
 * Rapid City Rush
 * Wichita Thunder

Southern Conference

 * Allen Americans
 * Arizona Sundogs
 * Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs


 * Laredo Bucks
 * Mississippi RiverKings
 * Odessa Jackalopes


 * Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees
 * Texas Brahmas
 * Tulsa Oilers

Awards

 * Ray Miron President's Cup (Playoff Champions) - Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs
 * Bud Poile Governors’ Cup (Regular Season Champions) - Allen Americans
 * Most Valuable Player - Riley Nelson, Colorado
 * Most Outstanding Goaltender - Robby Nolan, Missouri
 * Most Outstanding Defenseman - Andrew Martens, Wichita
 * Rookie of the Year - Aaron Lewicki, Rio Grande Valley
 * Coach of the Year - Jason Christie, Bloomington
 * Man of the Year - Simon Watson, Missouri
 * Rick Kozuback Award - TBD
 * Joe Burton Award (Scoring Champion) - Sebastien Thine, Odessa
 * Playoff Most Valuable Player - TBD
 * All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (Rapid City) - Ryan Menei, Rapid City
 * All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (CHL All-Stars) - Jason Dale, Bloomington
 * Athletic Trainer of the Year – George Bullock Jr., Bossier-Shreveport
 * Equipment Manager of the Year– Romeo Vivit, Rapid City

2010-2011 All-CHL Team

 * Forward: Sebastien Thinel, Odessa
 * Forward: Riley Nelson, Colorado
 * Forward: Chad Woollard, Texas
 * Defenceman: Darcy Campbell, Rio Grande Valley
 * Defenceman: Andrew Martens, Wichita
 * Goaltender : Robby Nolan, Missouri

2010-2011 CHL All-Rookie Team

 * Forward - Aaron Lewicki, Rio Grande Valley
 * Forward - Adam Chorneyko, Colorado
 * Forward - Gary Steffes, Tulsa
 * Defenceman - David Strathman, Allen
 * Defenceman - Alan Mazur, Bloomington
 * Goaltender - Wayne Savage, Texas