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2023-24 ECHL Power Rankings

ECHL Power Rankings: Idaho Steelheads Surge Into Top Spot

Writer Justin A. Cohn delivers his ECHL Power Rankings every other week throughout the season.

1. Idaho Steelheads/Last Ranking: 3

Record: 6-1-0

It has been a strong start by the Steelheads, who are coming off the best regular season in league history, capped by a loss to Florida in the Kelly Cup Finals.

The offense ranks third with 5.14 goals per game, led by Mark Rassell, who has eight goals and 12 points in seven games, and Wade Murphy, who has five goals and 11 points in seven games.

The Steelheads defense doesn’t yet look as stingy as last season – it’s allowing 3.43 goals per game, 17th best in the ECHL – but let’s see what happens when the unit that includes Cody Haiskanen, Dawson Barteaux, Patrick Kudla and Matt Register catches its stride.

The goaltending needs to improve, since Bryan Thomson is sporting a .898 save percentage and Dylan Wells is at .856, and it’ll get a test from offensively charged Wheeling over three games in Idaho this weekend. 

The Steelheads have won six in a row since their 5-2 opening-night loss to visiting Allen. 

2. Toledo Walleye/Last Ranking: 7

Record: 3-0-1

The Walleye have the most eye-popping performance in the league so far this season, crushing archrival Fort Wayne on its own ice 9-2 on Oct. 27. Since then, Toledo has defeated visiting Reading (5-2) and visiting Indy (5-3), after the Fuel squandered a 3-1 lead. 

So far, new coach Pat Mikesch has had no issues adjusting to the pro game after coaching in the USHL, and his team’s 21 goals have come from 12 scorers – paced by Brandon Hawkins’ four goals and Alexandre Doucet’s three.

The goaltending combination of Jan Bednar and John Lethemon, last season’s ECHL Goaltender of the Year, probably is the best in the ECHL. 

The Walleye will get a major test this weekend with three games against Fort Wayne – one in Indiana, two in Ohio – and the Komets no doubt will be looking to redeem themselves after getting shellacked by Toledo at home.

3. Trois-Rivières Lions/Last Ranking: 8

Record: 7-1-0

Coming off three consecutive victories over the Newfoundland Growlers, the Lions have shown a nice amount of balance. They rank sixth in offense with 4.38 goals per game and are fourth in defense with 2.63 goals against per game. 

Matthew Boucher, who spent most of last season in the AHL, has been a force offensively for the Lions with seven goals and 12 points in eight games. Anthony Beauregard has five goals and 11 points. 

Goaltender Joe Vrbetic has had the bulk of the work in net so far, and he’s looked better than last season – he’s 5-1-0 with a 3.11 GAA and a .897 SP in six games – but he’s had more help from the defense in front of him.

The Lions have nine road games amid their next 11 games, so we’ll know sooner, rather than later, if they’re for real after missing the playoffs last season.

4. Atlanta Gladiators/Last Ranking: 22

Record: 6-0-0

New coach Derek Nesbitt has the Gladiators off to the most impressive, and surprising, start in the entire league. 

It’s highlighted by two victories at Allen – 6-3 on Oct. 28 and 6-0 the next night, led by Gustavs Grigals’ 42-save shutout – though Atlanta has defeated five different opponents overall.

Atlanta ranks first in offense in the ECHL with 5.33 goals per game, paced by Mitchell Fossier’s five goals and 11 points, Reece Vitelli’s three goals and 10 points, Alex Whelan’s six goals and nine points, and Carson Gicewicz’s three goals and nine points. 

Defensively, the Gladiators rank second with 2.33 goals against per game. 

The South Division just keeps looking stronger and stronger.

5. Kansas City Mavericks/Last Ranking: 9

Record: 7-1-0

The Mavericks have only played two opponents so far this season – going 3-0-0 against the Wichita Thunder and 4-1-0 against the Rapid City Rush – so we’ll know a lot more about them after they go on the road for six games at Allen and Tulsa. 

But the Mavericks have shown they’ve got some weapons, especially among rookies – Kyle Jackson has four goals and 12 points; Max Andreev has two goals and 12 points; and Cade Borchardt has five goals and 10 points. 

Don’t sleep on the defense, though. The Mavericks are allowing only 2.75 goals per game, the seventh fewest in the ECHL, and only 26.63 shots per game, the fourth fewest.

6. Wheeling Nailers/Last Ranking: 10

Record: 4-1-0

Derek Army is regarded as one of the best coaches in the ECHL, and he finally may have the talent on his roster to truly flourish in a competitive Central Division.

Cédric Desruisseaux is off to a hot start with four goals and 12 points in five games, and he’s got plenty of offensive help; Jordan Frasca, Lukas Svejkovsky, Justin Addamo and David Jankowski have three goals apiece. 

Wheeling is 31.8% on the power play, second best in the ECHL, and seventh on the penalty kill at 85.2%. 

The lone loss was an ugly one – 7-3 at Fort Wayne on Oct. 28, after the Komets were pummeled by Toledo – but the Nailers responded by defeating the Reading Royals 3-2 and 7-4 in West Virginia. 

7. Greenville Swamp Rabbits/Last Ranking: 15

Record: 5-1-0

Brett Kemp is an established player for the Swamp Rabbits – he had 41 goals and 82 points in 76 games the last two seasons – but it’s looking so far as if the 23-year-old forward has taken his game to the next level. In six games, he’s got three goals and 11 points.

Jacob Ingham, a 23-year-old goalie, also has been a standout early. He is 3-1-0 with a 3.03 GAA and a .906 SP. 

The only loss on the books for the Swamp Rabbits so far is a 7-4 defeat at Atlanta on Nov. 1. At home, the Swamp Rabbits are 4-0-0. 

The South Division will be a gauntlet, but taking advantage of early games – being 4-1-0 in the division bodes well for Greenville.

8. Jacksonville Icemen/Last Ranking: 4

Record: 3-2-1

After getting off to a strong start, the Icemen are in an 0-2-1 drought, but they’ve continued to show the balance they have in their lineup – 11 players have scored goals, led by Matheson Iacopelli and Anthony Petruzzelli, with three goals apiece.

Jacksonville has the third-fewest penalty minutes in the league, 6.67 per game, which bodes well in the rough-and-tumble South Division. 

Goaltender Joe Murdaca has, surprisingly, been the Icemen’s more reliable goalie; he is 1-1-1 with a 2.35 GAA and a .914 SP, while rookie Matt Vernon is 2-1-0 with a 2.69 GAA and a .897 SP. If this turns into a top-tier tandem, the Icemen should be a factor all season. 

9. Cincinnati Cyclones/Last Ranking: 10

Record: 3-3-0

The Cincinnati Cyclones have won three of their last four games, most recently beating up on Iowa on Saturday in Ohio, 9-4. 

Defenseman Jalen Smereck is the early front-runner for ECHL Defenseman of the Year; he has one goal and 12 assists in six games. Smereck has been big on special teams – setting up five power-play goals and two short-handed goals – and he always plays with an edge.

The goaltending has to get better – Olof Lindblom had a .861 SP in four games before being called up, and Talyn Boyko has a .842 SP in two games – but there’s so much offensive potential with the likes of Patrick Polino, Zach Andrusiak, Louie Caporusso and Justin Vaive that Cincinnati can afford to be a little patient with what happens in the net. 

10. Florida Everblades/Last Ranking: 1

Record: 3-4-0

The Everblades, winners of the Kelly Cup the last two seasons, showed us last season that it’s more about how you’re playing in April than in November. They had the fourth seed in the South Division, before taking down everyone in their path during the playoffs. So, let’s not panic too much about this ho-hum start.

Plus, the South already is shaping up to be just as difficult a division as it was last season, maybe more so, and all of Florida’s games so far have bene played within the division. 

Sean Josling is leading the way offensively for the Everblades with two goals and six points, and Logan Lambdin has two goals and five points, but the team is averaging only 2.57 goals per game (26th in the ECHL), and that must improve. 

The goaltending of Cam Johnson and Evan Cormier should always keep Florida in games. 

The Rest Of The ECHL

11. Newfoundland Growlers/Last Ranking: 2

Record: 4-4-1

12. South Carolina Stingrays/Last Ranking: 13

Record: 3-3-1

13. Fort Wayne Komets/Last Ranking: 16

Record: 3-2-0

14. Orlando Solar Bears/Last Ranking: 18

Record: 3-3-1

15. Adirondack Thunder/Last Ranking: 21

Record: 2-1-1

16. Rapid City Rush/Last Ranking: 20

Record: 4-3-1

17. Utah Grizzlies/Last Ranking: 11

Record: 2-2-0

18. Norfolk Admirals/Last Ranking: 25

Record: 4-3-1

19. Kalamazoo Wings/Last Ranking: 17

Record: 3-3-0

20. Indy Fuel/Last Ranking: 14

Record: 2-4-0

21. Tulsa Oilers/Last Ranking: 26

Record: 2-4-1

22. Allen Americans/Last Ranking: 7

Record: 2-4-0  

23. Savannah Ghost Pirates/Last Ranking: 23

Record: 2-4-0 

24. Worcester Railers/Last Ranking: 19

Record: 2-4-1

25. Maine Mariners/Last Ranking: 18

Record: 2-4-0

26. Wichita Thunder/Last Ranking: 27

Record: 3-5-1

27. Reading Royals/Last ranking: 24

Record: 1-5-2

28. Iowa Heartlanders/Last Ranking: 28

Record: 0-4-2