I got a good look Saturday night in person at Sergei Murashov, the outstanding 20-year-old rookie goaltender for the Wheeling Nailers, as he thwarted 48 of 52 shots in a 6-4 victory over the Fort Wayne Komets.

It was Wheeling’s biggest victory yet in what has been a terrific 9-3-1 start following its move from the Central Division to the North Division. 

This was on the road, against one of the ECHL’s top teams, and it kept the Nailers tied for the North Division lead based on winning percentage (.721), though they’re tied with the Norfolk Admirals with 19 points.

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Murashov is 6-2-0 with a 2.61 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage for a team that allows 2.69 goals per game (eighth-fewest in the ECHL) and 28.38 shots per game (10th-fewest).

Murashov, who was signed to a three-year deal by the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins last summer after playing in Russia, looked so good it had me regretting leaving him off my Oct. 29 column detailing the Super 8 – eight goalies I felt could have futures in the NHL.

But that’s also indicative of something I’m really thankful for covering the ECHL – a timely thought as we approach Thanksgiving – and that’s the amount of quality young goalies in this league.

You could argue, in fact, that Murashov has a rookie on his own team who’s almost as good. 

Jaxon Castor, 27 and playing under an ECHL contract, is 3-1-1 with a 2.39 GAA and .908 SP, though Castor came into this season with 18 games of ECHL experience – not enough to rid him of his standing as a rookie.

Last season with Wheeling, Castor, who played at St. Cloud State until 2023, was 10-4-1 with a 2.71 GAA and .899 SP.

The list of rookie goalies excelling in the ECHL is pretty staggering, but also not unusual. 

For seemingly forever, the ECHL’s biggest strength has been found in its goaltending because NHL teams need depth at the position and want their netminders playing, not sitting in the American Hockey League stands as many of the skaters do.

There’s the South Carolina Stingrays’ Seth Eisele, who has a .944 SP, which is third-best in the ECHL among goalies who have played at least 240 minutes. Eisele, 26, is a rookie out of Nebraska-Omaha who is on an ECHL contract, and he’s 4-1-1 with a 1.67 GAA and two shutouts.

There’s the Wichita Thunder’s Gabriele Carriere, who is 4-4-0 with a 2.36 GAA, a .930 SP – which ranks sixth – and one shutout. Carriere, 24, is contracted to the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda and recently performed well in a call-up.

There are Fort Wayne’s Brett Brochu and the Kansas City’s Victor Östman, who each have won six games; the Toledo Walleye’s Carter Gylander, who has won five; and the Atlanta Gladiators’ Ethan Haider and Indy Fuel’s Ben Gaudreau, who each have shut out opponents twice. 

The Jacksonville Icemen’s Justen Close has a .923 SP and one shutout. The Idaho Steelheads’ Ben Kraws is 5-1-1. The list just goes on and on.

Here are some other things I’m thankful for as we ready for Turkey Day, on which, by the way, the Komets will play host to the three-time defending-champion Florida Everblades, the first of three games in as many days between the teams. That’s a huge early season series.

The Broadcasters Rock

Not to make a shameless plug here for FloHockey, but one of my favorite things about this platform is that you get to hear all the talented play-by-play broadcasters around the ECHL.

My favorites are David Fine of the Iowa Heartlanders, Norfolk’s Weston DeWitt, DJ Abisalih of the Nailers and Joey Battaino of the Orlando Solar Bears, but really, it’s tough to go wrong with any of the ECHL’s voices.

I like Fine because his broadcasts are extremely informative – he doesn’t just talk about the Heartlanders, but also their opponents – and keeps it exciting, even though he’s covered an Iowa team that hasn’t won many games in three-plus seasons.

DeWitt has a great radio voice and keeps it very entertaining. I watched a lot of Admirals games last season, when they finally went from the division cellar to conference power, and you could feel his excitement in it all.

Abisalih is an acquired taste for some – he’s got a unique voice – but he’s an encyclopedia of ECHL history and unafraid to bash the opposing team or the officiating, making his broadcasts always entertaining.

I can’t put a particular finger on why I like Battaino’s broadcasts. They just sound good, and I’ve noticed he does well on enunciating names, which is important in a league where the listeners may not know the other team and there are so many players coming and going. Plus, I witnessed Joey as a young broadcaster with the International Hockey League’s Flint Generals, and it’s cool to see how good he’s gotten over the past 15 years.

🦅 > 🐠 @ECHL pic.twitter.com/39JddIziNB

— Orlando Solar Bears (@OrlandoHockey) November 25, 2024

Some others I particularly enjoy are the Adirondack Thunder’s Rob Lippolis, the Idaho Steelheads’ Cam McGuire and the Komets’ Shane Albahrani, who I hear every game here in Fort Wayne, but really, you can’t go too wrong with ECHL play by play.

If I’m being honest, I can only think of two teams’ broadcasts that I immediately change away from, and no, I’m not going to name them. It’s personal preference, and there probably aren’t too many fan bases who aren’t in love with their own broadcasters.

Remember, a lot of these voices are doubling as media relations coordinators or working in sales, and most travel to road games and endure the grueling travel with the players – often with longer hours. (Speaking of which, can I say I find it odd when teams only broadcast home games, but not road games? If I were to choose one, it would be the set of games in which most fans can’t attend in person).

For me, the good play-by-play broadcasters have good voices, put in the work in pronunciation, are knowledgeable beyond their own team, know when to be a homer and when not to and have engaging pregame, intermission and postgame content.  

Some ECHL broadcasts have color commentators, which improves the broadcast only as good as that commentator is, and they’re usually just at home games. But that’s another column for another day.

It's fight night!!!!! *cue the hugs*..... 🫂#GoLanders🦌 #DefendTheForest pic.twitter.com/tQK8a7qbtw

— Iowa Heartlanders (@GoHeartlanders) November 16, 2024

Two Referees Abound

We’re finally reaching a point where it seems even more strange to see only one referee in an ECHL game, rather than two. 

Last summer, the ECHL declared it would use two referees in 50% of games, after it had them in 25% of games for two years. 

The ECHL has been using two referees in all playoff games since 2016, but doing it for regular-season games was challenging because of several factors, namely a lack of available talent and retaining it.  

I’m not going to debate today if the quality of the officiating is totally where it should be, but from what I’ve seen so far this season, it seems improved over last year. And there has been an influx of new, young referees, some of whom played in the ECHL, which is a good thing, because the ECHL needs to grow its pool of officials and get referees who understand the nuances of this level.

I think everyone wants more eyes on the games, and the ECHL is heading closer to making it happen.

Grizzled Veterans

Before I covered the ECHL, I covered the Central Hockey League, both iterations of the International Hockey League and the United Hockey League, all circuits that put more of a premium than the current ECHL on the older, veteran player, the types you could build a team around and keep around for years.

This isn’t to say the ECHL doesn’t have any of those types of guys, but as it’s become more of a developmental league, it has gotten younger and more difficult for players to stick in their 30s. But I have such an appreciation for the older players at this level because they’re so important – they’re crafty on the ice, not rattled by big moments and generally the best leaders.

So, when I look around and see those types of guys, I’m thankful. 

Guys such as the Atlanta Gladiators’ Cody Sylvester, the Cincinnati Cyclones’ Justin Vaive, the Komets’ Justin Taylor, the Steelheads’ Matt Register, the Solar Bears’ Darik Angeli, the Reading Royals’ Todd Skirving, the Walleye’s Tyler Spezia and the Utah Grizzlies’ Dylan Fitze – play as long as you can, play as long as you want.

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