Minor-pro league will allow top teams to choose playoff opponent

Minor-league sports fans are accustomed to seeing their teams use gimmicks in order to drive interest.

But the Southern Professional Hockey League has taken things a step further, implementing a new initiative that will impact the on-ice play.

The SPHL announced its new playoff format Monday, which will see the top three teams in the standings hand pick their postseason opponent. The league is home to 10 teams, with the top eight clubs qualifying for the postseason.

The new arrangement, known as the Challenge Round, will see the top three teams select from the other five playoff clubs, with the team with the most points earning the right to pick first. The remaining two teams will then face off against each other in the opening round of the playoffs.

The SPHL was founded in 2004 and is three tiers below the NHL. In 2014, Carolina Hurricanes netminder Scott Darling - who once played for the SPHL's Louisiana IceGators and the Mississippi RiverKings - became the first league alumnus to make it to the NHL.