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ECHL

ECHL Season Preview: One Burning Question For All 29 Teams

ECHL Season Preview: One Burning Question For All 29 Teams

Will Jalen Smereck help the Toledo Walleye? Can the Florida Everblades possibly keep this up? ECHL writer asks burning questions of every team.

Oct 16, 2024 by Justin Cohn
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As we head into the ECHL season, we have one major question to be answered by each of the league’s 29 teams.

NORTH DIVISION

Adirondack Thunder

Can Patrick Polino blossom into a star? 

Polino had 23 goals, 58 points and a minus-22 rating last season for Cincinnati. The player he was acquired for over the summer, Tristan Ashbrook, had 32 goals, 57 points and a plus-11 rating for Adirondack last season. It might seem like a wash on paper, but Polino has a longer track record of production and the Thunder need him to star.

Maine Mariners

Will Patrick Guay make the fans forget Alex Kile? 

Guay was one of the ECHL’s most exciting players over 74 games with the Savannah Ghost Pirates dating back to 2022. But he’s got big skates to fill with Kile now playing for the Florida Everblades after a season of 37 goals and 83 points in 67 games for the Mariners. Don’t bet against Guay rising to the challenge.

Norfolk Admirals

Can the Admirals continue their upward climb? 

After being ECHL doormats for far too long, the Admirals have been on a precipitous rise over the last season and a half. The next step would be a division championship in the regular season and/or playoffs. The Admirals play with a certain level of grit that makes it hard to bet against them at this point.

Reading Royals

Will Todd Skirving resume his offensive form? 

Skirving’s production with the Newfoundland Growlers fell off last season – from 31 goals and 58 points in 70 games in 2022-23 to eight goals and 14 points in 60 games last season – but he looked good in the Kelly Cup playoffs for the Florida Everblades. He had two goals and four points in 22 games as they won the title. Reading needs his veteran presence, but also for him to put the puck in the net. 

2024 Reading Royals vs Trois-Rivières


Trois-Rivières Lions

Is this the best Lions squad ever? 

After making the postseason, the Lions had a strong offseason by bringing in the likes of Morgan Adams-Moisan, Xavier Cormier, Anthony Beauchamp and William Provost. This team has a chance to make some noise in the North Division, and it’s lovely to see the Quebecois flavor to this group.

Wheeling Nailers

Can the Nailers thrive in a new (old) division? 

Realignment of the ECHL divisions bumped the Nailers from the Central – where they were part of some great rivalries – to the North Division. It may feel weird to youngsters, but the reality is the Nailers’ best days came before they played in the Central, including a trip to the 2016 Kelly Cup Finals when they were in the, ahem, North Division. Wheeling is a sneaky good pick to make the playoffs.

Worcester Railers

Does Bob Deraney have what it takes to lead the Railers to the playoffs? 

The Railers’ new head coach, has an eclectic résumé, having coached Worcester State’s men’s team and Providence College’s women’s team. College coaches have had mixed results in the ECHL, but Deraney was a Railers assistant last season and that could give him valuable insight.

SOUTH DIVISION

Atlanta Gladiators

Can Derek Nesbitt turn things around? 

The Gladiators have nowhere to go but up – they were an ECHL-worst 23-45-4 last season – and Nesbitt, a former star player in the ECHL, must get his team to adapt an identity because it’s hard to put a finger on what they did best last season.

Florida Everblades

They can’t keep this going, can they? 

The Everblades have won three straight Kelly Cups, an unprecedented feat. And even though they overhauled some of their roster, they look stronger than ever. The division is brutally tough, but you can’t read too much into the regular season because the Everblades have proved they just need to get into the postseason and then anything can happen.

2024 Florida Everblades vs Jacksonville Icemen


Greenville Swamp Rabbits

Can Mikael Robidoux keep it in check? 

The ECHL’s most divisive player – he can’t seem to stay out of the penalty box or, more frustratingly, out of the crosshairs of ECHL suspensions – Robidoux is effective when he stays on the ice. Over the last two regular seasons with the Allen Americans, he had 16 goals, 28 points and 366 penalty minutes.

Jacksonville Icemen

Will Matt Vernon be even better? 

Vernon was a revelation in his rookie season, going 25-10-3 with a 2.67 GAA, a .909 SP and one shutout, and he was a huge reason the Icemen had such a fine season by placing second in the division before falling in seven games in the first round of the playoffs to Florida. Jacksonville isn’t flashy and will need its goalie to come through even more than last season.

Orlando Solar Bears

Is the momentum still there after all these months? 

Paced by an older, impressive nucleus – Brayden Low, Aaron Luchuk, Jesse Jacques, Ben Carroll and Tyler Bird, all of whom are back – the Solar Bears were one of the ECHL’s most formidable teams in the second half of the regular season and made it to the division finals. No reason to think at this point they won’t be good again.

South Carolina Stingrays

Can rookie head coach Jared Nightengale deliver with all this talent? 

On paper, the Stingrays look exciting thanks to a group that includes Austin Magera, Josh Wilkins, Ben Hawerchuk and Jacob Graves. Nightengale’s résumé is deep with 13 years as a player in the AHL and ECHL, and stints as an assistant in the USHL and AHL, and he’s proved he can build a roster. Now he’s got to coach it up.

Savannah Ghost Pirates

Will a change in affiliation change their fortunes? 

The Ghost Pirates’ first two seasons saw plenty of exciting games, but they compiled a 58-68-18 record and failed to make the playoffs. A change in NHL affiliation – from the Vegas Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup-champion Florida Panthers – could mean an uptick in talent as the season progresses.

CENTRAL DIVISION

Bloomington Bison

Will Dalton Duhart be anything like his dad? 

Jim Duhart is one of Double-A hockey’s all-time greats, tearing it up in the United Hockey League from 1993 to 2006. In 837 games, he had 457 goals, 875 points and – get this – 2,187 penalty minutes. No pressure for his son, Dalton, who was a darned good player in the Ontario Hockey League and last season had 17 goals, 44 points and 22 penalty minutes in 28 games for Queens University. He’s a rookie to watch with one of the ECHL’s two expansion teams.

2024 Toledo Walleye vs Bloomington


Cincinnati Cyclones

Will added grit lead to added success? 

The Cyclones haven’t reached the Kelly Cup Finals since 2014, and they didn’t even make the playoffs last season, but they made big moves over the summer including getting Tristan Ashbrook from Adirondack. Signing Matthew Boudens and trading for Dante Sherrif gives the Cyclones more of a blue-collar feel, and the new affiliation with the Toronto Maple Leafs should be huge, too.

Fort Wayne Komets

Does Justin Taylor have much left in the tank at age 35? 

One of the ECHL’s all-time greats – he ranks third all-time in games played (816) and ninth in goals scored (279) – Taylor was limited to 21 games last season following two sports hernia surgeries. It’ll be odd seeing him with the Komets after he spent 13 seasons with the rival Kalamazoo Wings, but they don’t need him to score as much as wreak havoc in front of opposing nets, be a good leader and remain healthy.

Kalamazoo Wings

Can the Wings prove last season’s success wasn’t an anomaly? 

Right when the Wings seemed to be hitting their stride, making the postseason for the first time since 2019, a bevy of players bolted for others teams in various leagues. While Erik Bradford, Josh Passolt, David Keefer and Chaz Reddekopp are gone, the new-look Wings have Zach Berzolla, Lee Lapid, Jonathon Martin, Jermaine Loewen and Theo Calvas. So maybe it was one step back to take two steps forward, or at least that’s what the Wings are hoping.

Indy Fuel

Can the Fuel finally make some noise? 

They’re opening a new state-of-the-art arena in Fishers, Indiana, and have a roster stacked with talented players such as Kyle Maksimovich, Colin Bilek, Brett Bulmer and Bryan Lemos. Frankly, people overlook the Fuel, but perhaps it’s with good reason since the Fuel has never made it past the first round of the playoffs. This might be the season that changes.

Iowa Heartlanders

Will Nico Blachman infuse some life into the Heartlanders? 

In each of their first three seasons, the Heartlanders lacked a winning record, a playoff berth or much of an identity. In his first full season with the team, Nico Blachman might just be able to help change that. He’s one of the league’s toughest customers – with 567 penalty minutes in 116 games – and while he’s only got 18 career ECHL points, he has a knack for influencing games in myriad ways.

Toledo Walleye

Can Jalen Smereck help take the Walleye over the top? 

Few things this season will look stranger than seeing Cincinnati’s former star defenseman – who was a hated enemy at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio – suit up for the Walleye. But he’s just what this team, still longing to win a Kelly Cup, needed because he’s offensive minded and gritty. But he’s got to stay out of the penalty box.

MOUNTAIN DIVISION

Allen Americans

Will new coach BJ Adams change the Americans’ identity? 

You can historically count on the Americans to be exciting, fielding a team that’s offensively minded and tough. But the results have been mixed since the team last won a Kelly Cup in 2016; they’ve missed the playoffs only once, and only advanced past the division finals once. Adams has to shore up the defensive play and preserve what the Americans do well in the rough-and-tumble Mountain Division.

Idaho Steelheads

Can Hank Crone jell with a new team? 

Crone was almost otherworldly with the Allen Americans – totaling 66 goals and 160 points in 109 games over two seasons, and winning the ECHL’s MVP Award in 2023 – and his arrival in Boise, Idaho, gives the Steelheads an embarrassment of riches on offense. But changes in scenery aren’t always easy and he’ll have to integrate into a lineup that includes a lot of big names, such as A.J. White, Patrick Kudla, Ty Pelton-Byce and Matt Register. Shouldn’t be a problem.

Kansas City Mavericks

Will "Diamond Hands" Daniel Amesbury help or hurt the Mavericks? 

One of the best facets of the Mavericks’ regular-season championship last season was their smarts; they averaged only 9.56 penalty minutes, second fewest in the league. So, it was a little surprising they signed the man called “Diamond Hands,” who racked up 52 penalty minutes over just a smattering of shifts in 13 games with the Fort Wayne Komets. In fairness, it wasn’t all Amesbury’s fault – the referees were clearly targeting him – but he needs to prove he can keep it in check and, when need be, skate a regular shift. No matter what happens, opponents had better keep their heads up or they’ll get leveled.

Rapid City Rush

Can Ryan Wagner replace Alex Aleardi? 

Rapid City has made the playoffs once since 2015. Oof. Letting Aleardi, one of the ECHL’s most exciting offensive players last season, get away in free agency to Fort Wayne was a blow. But Wagner should flourish at this level after playing 294 games in the AHL dating back to 2017. While he only totaled 34 goals and 82 points in the AHL, expect something closer to point-per-game production at this level.

Tahoe Knight Monsters

Is this going to be just a typical expansion team or more? 

It’s probably not fair to expect too much from a first-year team, but the Knight Monsters have a lot of talent, especially among the defensive corps that includes Brennan Kapcheck, Jake Johnson, Nate Kallen, Ryan Orgel and Jeff Solow. A playoff berth is probably a little much to ask, but being in the hunt for one is not so ridiculous.

2024 Jacksonville Icemen vs Tahoe


Tulsa Oilers

Will Serron Noel live up to the hype? 

A second-round NHL draft pick of the Florida Panthers in 2018, Noel was a dynamic scorer in the Ontario Hockey League from 2016 to 2020. Now 24, he’s yet to really take off in the professional ranks. In his one full season, 2021-22, he had five goals and 20 points in 64 games for the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. He has the tools to tear it up at this level and the Oilers certainly need him to do exactly that.

Utah Grizzlies

Can the Grizzlies remain relevant in what’s now an NHL market? 

A lot of national hockey writers, while writing about the NHL’s Utah Hockey Team, have neglected to even mention the existence of the Grizzlies. They’ll hopefully take notice if this Grizzlies team can get back to the form of 2021-22, when it reached the conference finals. Utah might just become known as a hockey hotbed in multiple leagues.

Wichita Thunder

Will Peter Bates resume his form of last season? 

Bates was one of the ECHL’s most exhilarating players last season with 23 goals and 50 points in 45 games before bolting to play in Slovakia. Now that he’s back, the Thunder need him to deliver because Wichita hasn’t won a playoff series since way back in 2013.

How To Watch The ECHL on FloHockey

FloHockey is the exclusive global streaming home of the ECHL. Every game throughout the regular season and Kelly Cup Playoffs will be available live and on demand at FloHockey.tv or via the FloSports App.

When Does The ECHL Season Start?

The 2024-25 ECHL season begins Friday, Oct. 18 with eight games on the schedule. The Reading Royals travel to take on the Trois-Rivières Lions at 7 p.m. ET in the very first game of the season.

How To Watch Free Streams Of ECHL Games

FloHockey, in partnership with the ECHL, will present one free game per week on Fridays throughout the regular season. The games will stream live and free across FloHockey's social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The first free game of the season will feature the Wichita Thunder hosting the Kansas City Mavericks.

Watch ECHL, USHL, AHL And More On FloHockey

FloHockey is the streaming home to some of the best hockey leagues in North America, including the ECHL and more. Check out the broadcast schedule to watch more hockey.

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