2023-24 ECHL Power Rankings

1. Idaho Steelheads/Last Ranking: 1

Record: 11-2-0

If you’re looking for an early MVP candidate, how about Steelheads forward Mark Rassell? He has 10 goals (tied for the ECHL lead), including an eight-game goal-scoring streak and four game-winning goals. 

He has a point in 11 of the Steelheads’ 13 games, and his 19 points are tied for second in the league.

Rassell was good in Fort Wayne – he was a rookie there last season – but he wasn’t this good.

But don’t be fooled into thinking it’s a one-man show; Rassell has plenty of help with the Steelheads, who haven’t slowed down from last season, when they were a record-setting 58-11-3 and reached the Kelly Cup Finals.

The forward group is deep with Wade Murphy, A.J. White, Ty Pelton-Byce and rookie Keaton Mastrodonato; the defensive corps is an embarrassment of riches with Matt Register, Patrick Kudla, Dawson Barteaux, Cody Haiskanen and Seamus Donohue; and the goaltending of Bryan Thomson and Dylan Wells has been solid.

The Steelheads have been feasting on a tepid schedule.

🔥 Record Rass 🔥

8️⃣ straight games with a goal for Mark Rassell, a franchise record!! pic.twitter.com/q2Jv37V8xN

— Idaho Steelheads (@Steelheads) November 12, 2023

2. Trois-Rivières Lions/Last Ranking: 3

Record: 10-2-0

Ron Choules became coach and general manager of the Lions in August, and that’s pretty late in the summer. He’d coached only in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. 

If the learning curve has been steep, you can’t tell from the Lions’ play.  

Defensively, the Lions have been particularly strong, allowing only 2.58 goals per game, the third fewest in the league. 

The goaltending this season has been solid – Joe Vrebetic has played eight games, and Zachary Emond and Zachary Bouthillier have two games apiece – but the defensive responsibility of the entire lineup has been commendable.

Defenseman Noah Laaouan is plus-12. Brycen Martin is plus-11.

Offensively, there are good playmakers, from forward Anthony Beauregard to blue-liner Miguël Tourigny.

With nine of the next 10 games on the road, the Lions are about to get tested mightily.

3. Kansas City Mavericks/Last Ranking: 5

Record: 12-2-0

If you’re looking for quality ECHL rookies, check out the Mavericks. They have Max Andreev, who has four goals and a league-leading 21 points in 14 games. They have Kyle Jackson, who has six goals and 18 points. They have Cade Borchardt, who has seven goals and 16 points. 

(Andreev and Jackson are on American Hockey League contracts with Coachella Valley, while Borchardt was a Mavericks find).

Kansas City is 8-0-0 on the road, which includes games at Wichita, Rapid City, Allen and Tulsa, and the Mavericks stay out of the penalty box, having tallied only 7.64 minutes per game (second-fewest in the league). That’s important because the power play ranks second (26.3%).

I’m already looking forward to the first meetings of the season between the Mavericks and Steelheads, which will be Dec. 6, 8 and 9 in Boise, Idaho.

4. Toledo Walleye/Last Ranking: 2

Record: 8-1-2

So far, only the Fort Wayne Komets have solved the Walleye in regulation time, with a 6-5 victory Nov. 12 in Toledo, Ohio. But the Walleye are 4-1-0 against the Komets, with a 30-18 goal differential, so it’s not as if rival Fort Wayne has bragging rights.

Toledo’s offense is explosive – it’s led right now by Brandon Hawkins with 10 goals and 16 points, and Sam Craggs with seven goals and 14 points – and the tandem of Jan Bednar and reigning ECHL Goaltender of the Year John Lethemon is formidable.

The defense, which ranks 14th (3.18 goals against per game), is the lone question mark for coach Pat Mikesch, who also is in the pros for the first time after coaching in juniors.

5. Greenville Swamp Rabbits/Last Ranking: 7

Record: 11-2-0

The Swamp Rabbits have won eight of their last nine games, losing only 5-4 to the visiting Florida Everblades on Nov. 12. Since then, the Swamp Rabbits have rattled off four straight road victories, including a 2-1 victory, backed by Ryan Bednard’s 26 saves, on Nov. 14.

About that goaltending: Bednard is 5-0-0 with a 2.17 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage. Jacob Ingham is 6-2-0 with a 2.87 GAA and a .918 SP.

Not bad.

Brett Kemp was called up last week to San Jose of the AHL – he had four goals and 14 points in 10 games – but the Swamp Rabbits still have plenty of offense with Carter Souch, Brandon McManus and Josh McKechney.

The lineup is just plain deep, and the special teams dangerous. The power play ranks third at 25.5%, and the penalty kill also is third at 88.1%.

6. Atlanta Gladiators/Last Ranking: 4

Record: 8-3-0

After an 8-0-0 start, the Gladiators are riding a loss to Greenville and two road losses to Florida. 

The Gladiators have only four goals over those three games, but there are plenty of playmakers – Mitchell Fossier, Cody Sylvester, Alex Whelan – and Atlanta should turn that around.

Losing Reece Vitelli and Luke Prokop to AHL call-ups didn’t help matters, but six home games among the next seven could help the Gladiators reassert themselves.

Atlanta has some nice-looking rookies, such as Jackson Pierson, Micah Miller and Jack Matier. 

Pierson, who played at Notre Dame and New Hampshire, had a cup of coffee last season with Fort Wayne, and with Atlanta, he’s totaled three goals and 10 points in 11 games.

Goaltender Gustavs Grigals, who is 4-1-1, sports an impressive .941 save percentage. Tyler Harmon’s isn’t bad either – .916.

7. Florida Everblades/Last Ranking: 10

Record: 7-5-1

Cam Johnson has gotten going in net for the two-time defending Kelly Cup champions.

The rest of the ECHL better be beware.

During Florida’s current four-game winning streak, Johnson has stopped 113-of-121 shots (93.4%). And that was against some fine offensive teams, Greenville, Orlando and Atlanta.

Defensively, the Everblades rank fourth (2.69 goals against per game), but they need to improve on special teams and could score some more goals (they rank 18th with 3.00 per game).

Bobo Carpenter is off to a big start with seven goals and 12 points in 13 games, but the reality is the roster is deep and experienced, and Florida should be a factor all season.

8. Adirondack Thunder/Last Ranking: 15

Record: 6-3-1

Jeremy Brodeur has been impressive in net – he’s 4-1-0 with a 2.02 GAA and a .935 SP – and the Thunder looks to be building on the momentum of last season when it made the playoffs at the 11th hour.

Ryan Smith is off to a great offensive start with eight goals and 11 points in 10 games, and Yushiro Hirano is every bit as good as he was with Cincinnati – he has three goals and nine points in 10 games.

The Pete MacArthur-coached Thunder aren’t going to be flashy, but it’ll be effective. On the road, the Thunder are 6-0-1.

And the team does a good job of staying out of the penalty box; it’s averaging 9.40 minutes, fifth fewest in the league.

9. Fort Wayne Komets/Last Ranking: 13

Record: 6-4-1

After a shaky start to the season, the Komets are on a 3-0-1 run and that was at the end of a barrage of six games in the span of 10 days.

Call-ups hit the Komets hard – they lost top-line forwards Cameron Wright and Carl Berglund – but there’s still plenty of firepower, and rookie Ture Linden leads the team in scoring with six goals and 13 points, while Jack Dugan has three goals and 12 points.

Alexis D’Aoust also has been one of the league’s most exciting players – with six goals and 11 points – and Tyler Parks has been impressive in net.

The defensive play has been unpredictable though – it ranks 24th with four goals against per game – and the Komets have given up at least 39 shots in six straight games.

Things are trending in the right direction for Fort Wayne, though, and the Monday acquisition of Chad Butcher from Allen should give it some more oomph at both ends of the ice.

Everyone could have guessed - @DAoustAlexis with the # 1 play of the week 😤 https://t.co/pSh154Fqcn

— Fort Wayne Komets (@FWKomets) November 21, 2023

10. Cincinnati Cyclones/Last Ranking: 9

Record: 6-5-0

The Cyclones have so much firepower, including Zack Andrusiak, Patrick Polino, Louie Caporusso and Justin Vaive. The power play ranks first at 26.5%, and the Cyclones have the early favorite for ECHL Defenseman of the Year with Jalen Smereck, who has two goals and a team-leading 17 points.

But the Cyclones have struggled to put it all together so far. 

The goaltending needs to improve – the Cyclones have Olof Lindblom (.872 save percentage in six games), Talyn Boyko (.828 in four games) and Julian Sime (.913 in one game) – and the penalty kill is operating at a league-worst 70%.

The Central Division is so difficult, especially with the Iowa Heartlanders on the rise, that Cincinnati will be exposed if those matters aren’t fixed soon.

The Rest Of The ECHL

11. ­Wheeling Nailers/Last Ranking: 6

Record: 6-5-0

12. Norfolk Admirals/Last Ranking: 18

Record: 6-5-2

13. Orlando Solar Bears/Last Ranking: 14

Record: 6-5-2

14. South Carolina Stingrays/Last Ranking: 12

Record: 5-5-2

15. Newfoundland Growlers/Last Ranking: 11

Record: 6-5-3

16. Iowa Heartlanders/Last Ranking: 28

Record: 6-4-2

17. Rapid City Rush/Last Ranking: 16

Record: 6-7-1

18. Jacksonville Icemen/Last Ranking: 8

Record: 4-5-2

19. Utah Grizzlies/Last Ranking: 17

Record: 4-6-0

20. Tulsa Oilers/Last Ranking: 21

Record: 5-6-1

21. Worcester Railers/Last Ranking: 24

Record: 5-6-3

22. Kalamazoo Wings/Last Ranking: 19

Record: 4-7-0

23. Savannah Ghost Pirates/Last Ranking: 23

Record: 4-6-2

24. Indy Fuel/Last Ranking: 20

Record: 3-7-1

25. Maine Mariners/Last Ranking: 25

Record: 4-7-0

26. Wichita Thunder/Last Ranking: 26

Record: 5-9-1

27. Reading Royals/Last Ranking: 27

Record: 3-7-2

28. Allen Americans/Last Ranking: 22

Record: 3-10-0