The North American Hockey League was founded in 1975 when the Michigan Junior League and Wolverine Junior League formed the Great Lakes Junior Hockey League. In 1984 the name changed to the North American Junior Hockey League, and was later modified to the current North American Hockey League.

The 2017-18 season marks the 42nd season of NAHL competition. From modest beginnings - the league that had only three teams at a few points in its early history - the NAHL has blossomed.

The NAHL has grown as hockey has grown, from that Detroit-based league in the upper Midwest to one which today spans west to Alaska and California, east through Pennsylvania to New Jersey, and south to Texas.

Teams play against their own division and against other divisions to maximize exposure and enhance competition. Each team plays a 60-game regular season schedule which runs from September to April, with exhibition games and league playoff games providing additional contests.

The league games, showcases and playoffs are consistently and heavily scouted by NHL teams, NHL Central Scouting and scores of college programs from around the country.

The NAHL offices are relocated in Frisco, Texas, a Dallas suburb, in the midst of one of the fastest growing major corporate environments in the United States. This allows the league to embark on a major program to attract sponsors and other marketing deals with some of America's largest corporations.