The Florida Everblades are staring down history once again as they’ve reached the Conference Finals for the fourth straight year in the hopes of keeping their unprecedented Kelly Cup championship streak alive. Standing in their way will be a team they’ve never seen before on the road to the Kelly Cup Finals – the Trois-Rivières Lions.

And then there were eight. The ECHL’s Kelly Cup Playoffs has reached the second round as we are now into the division finals. Two teams from each of the league’s four divisions will square off for a chance to be the last two team standings in their respective conferences.

The ECHL’s Kelly Cup Playoffs are due to begin with the first round as 16 teams – four from each division – square off to begin their first steps toward the league’s coveted championship. It all starts Wednesday night as the Wheeling Nailers meet the Norfolk Admirals in the North Division semifinals.

The 2024-25 ECHL regular season has come to a close and it's time to get the second season underway. The Kelly Cup Playoffs will begin Wednesday, April 16 as the chase for the league's top prize is down to its 16 teams for the division semifinals.

The ECHL’s regular season wraps up this weekend and there are still four playoff spots up for grabs. The South Division is locked in, but the other three divisions have at least one playoff spot open.

The 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs field is getting closer to being set as we enter the final weeks of the regular season.

The newest team in the ECHL set to drop the puck in 2025-26 will be called the Greensboro Gargoyles, calling Greensboro, N.C., and the First Horizon Coliseum home.

The ECHL’s Greensboro, North Carolina expansion franchise, which is slated to open play next season, is expected to announce its name and logo Tuesday night. However, Tuesday morning there was some more big news surrounding the ECHL’s newest team.

A frequent topic of conversation in the ECHL remains expansion, as the league would like to get to 32 teams – enough for every NHL team to have a minor-league affiliate at this level.

Any coach will tell you that a hockey team cannot be carried just by its star players. Depth is pivotal.

The ECHL’s holiday break is a tough time for coaches and a great time for players.

I recently was texting with an ECHL coach about what he expected from a game that night. It was three hours before puck drop, and he sent me his lineup – and then the opposing team’s.

Florida Everblades head coach Brad Ralph joined exclusive company this weekend when he earned his 500th career regular-season win behind an ECHL bench. Ralph became just the fourth coach in ECHL history to hit the 500 mark in his career.

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.

Don’t look now, but the Iowa Heartlanders suddenly are a factor in the ECHL.