A new three-on-three pro ice hockey league called 3ICE plans to launch in June 2021. The league was founded by E.J. Johnston, the son of former NHL goalie, coach and general manager Eddie Johnston.
Hockey Hall of Famer Craig Patrick will serve as commissioner of 3ICE. The league will consist of eight teams, but none of those teams will be attached to home cities. Instead, the teams will tour around to play in bracket-style, single-elimination tournaments. The inaugural season will consist of nine tournaments, each located in a U.S. or Canadian city. The season will also end with a final league championship game.
In the U.S. coverage will broadcast on the CBS Sports Network with the championship airing on CBS’s main TV channel. In Canada, they’ll feature on TSN as well as TSN’s French-language channel.
“Three-on-three hockey has proven to be [an] incredibly exciting display of speed, skill and creativity, and we see a creation of a league based entirely on that as a natural extension whose time has come,” E.J. Johnston said in a press release. “Fans will be given the opportunity to be closer to the game and players like never before, potentially impacting on-ice competition with real-time interactive voting.”
Similar to upstart football leagues like the XFL, 3ICE rules are geared toward a faster pace of play than what fans may be accustomed to. Games will consist of eight-minute halves with a running clock. The league will also have no long intermissions and no stoppage of play for video reviews. All 3ICE players will come from a professional hockey background and games will be played in a full-sized rink.
