The old junior AFHL/AWHL played in the Metra in Billings, the Butte Civic Center, and Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls. There were long-ago rumors of Billings trying to get back into either WHL or pro. Both Great Falls and Butte dismantled the ice plants in their arenas, and Butte is best left that way, but Great Falls has been kicking around an arena proposal that seems to rival the Metra, including 7,500 or so for hockey.
I don’t think the ECHL wants any part of an arrangement with multiple Montana teams. Too many not-big-enough markets, and the flights connect to the west, not the Midwest. But it sounds like Billings, Great Falls, and Idaho Falls could be the spine of an SPHL-like pro league. If the E bails from the western outposts, there’s 1 or 2 more. If one of the WHL teams around Seattle fails, not only do you add that to the mix, but that opens up a certain airline sponsor if you also include Anchorage (and said airline services almost all these cities). We can go wild with this speculation...
...but the arenas actually have to get improved or built, and other things have to shake out. I’m not putting money down on that bet for now.