2023-24 ECHL Power Rankings

1. Kansas City Mavericks/Last Ranking: 2

Record: 26-7-1

The Mavericks have won nine straight games dating back to Dec. 16 and have separated themselves from the Idaho Steelheads within the Mountain Division, with a 4-1-1 record in their season series. 

The Kansas City lineup is stacked with talent, particularly at forward, with Patrick Curry, Max Andreev and Cade Borchardt leading the way.

“Just go through their roster,” Wichita coach Bruce Ramsay recently told me. “They’ve got studs throughout their lineup. They’ve got four lines that can score and can burn you.”

Defensively, the Mavericks rank first in the ECHL (2.68 goals against per game), and goaltender Dillon Kelley has been playing the best hockey of his career – he’s 12-2-0 with a 2.55 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage.

If you want to poke holes in the Mavericks, it would be by studying their schedule. 

They’ve played 31 of their 34 games within the top-heavy Mountain Division, going 24-6-1, and that’s not going to change much with only seven of their remaining games being against teams from outside the Mountain Division.

2. Adirondack Thunder/Last Ranking: 4

Record: 25-8-3

A lot of the hockey world tuned into FloHockey on Sunday to check out the 47-year-old Terry Ryan suit up for the Newfoundland Growlers. 

They got to see him fight, but the bigger show may have been put on by the Thunder, who demonstrated the significant gap between the first- and second-place teams in the North Division with a 6-2 victory in St. John’s.

The Thunder have won nine straight games dating back to Dec. 30 and are 6-0-1 against the Growlers. Adirondack has a 15-point lead in the division, the largest in the ECHL.

Adirondack has been even more impressive on the road (14-3-0) than it has been at home (11-5-3). It has been balanced on offense (3.64 goals per game, fifth-best in league) and defense (2.75 goals against, third).

Plus, there’s a true two-headed monster in net for the Thunder. Jeremy Brodeur is 12-5-0 with a 2.43 GAA, a .923 SP and one shutout, and Vinnie Purpura is 11-1-3 with a 2.37 GAA and a .922 SP.

The power play also is taking off with five goals in its last 15 opportunities, so look out.

3. Toledo Walleye/Last Ranking: 1

Record: 24-6-5

It’s pretty simple to explain what knocked the Walleye from the top spot it had held for a month – it was struggles against the Kalamazoo Wings, who swept a home-and-home series over the weekend with 4-1 and 2-1 victories.

The Walleye are 2-4-1 against the Wings this season and 21-2-4 against the rest of the difficult Central Division.

Toledo’s offense is downright intimidating, especially that line of Brandon Hawkins (20 goals, ECHL-leading 49 points), Trenton Bliss (12 goals, 35 points) and Orrin Centazzo (15 goals, 28 points). 

Heck, the second line – Sam Craggs, Brandon Kruse and Conlan Keenan – would be the best on a majority of ECHL teams. And Mitchell Lewandowski, who has nine goals and 33 points, probably hasn’t been mentioned enough in the ECHL Rookie of the Year conversation.

There probably are a lot of ECHL coaches looking at film of those Kalamazoo/Toledo games, trying to figure out how the Wings slowed down the Walleye forwards.

Defensively, there are questions with Toledo, which allows 3.29 goals per game, and it’s fair to say the goaltending has been a little underwhelming. 

Jan Bednar, 12-2-4, has only a .888 SP to go with his 2.87 GAA and one shutout. John Lethemon, the ECHL’s reigning Goaltender of the Year, is 12-4-1 with a 3.37 GAA, and his SP is only .876.

4. Greenville Swamp Rabbits/Last Ranking: 6

Record: 26-10-1

The Swamp Rabbits have won six of their last seven games, paced by some terrific goaltending. 

Ryan Bednard set the pace with four wins in five opportunities and stopped 91.8% of the shots he faced, while Luke Richardson won twice and stopped 94.7% of the shots he saw.

As noted in my first-half awards, Andrew Lord has done an incredible job with the Swamp Rabbits in navigating the South Division, probably the ECHL’s toughest from top to bottom, and doing it with a lineup that lacks any overwhelming playmakers.

Greenville is 14-6-0 at home, 12-4-1 on the road and ranks in the top 10 in scoring, defense, power play and penalty kill, while averaging only 10.32 penalty minutes – the third-fewest in the league.

Every night, it seems someone else steps up for Greenville; Carter Souch has four game-winning goals, while Jake Smith, Colton Young and Bobby Russell have three apiece. Nine others have netted game-winners.

If there’s a concern, it’s that the Swamp Rabbits defense is prone to giving up five or six goals one game per week, but as we start thinking about playoff series, it doesn’t seem there are many teams that could get the best of the Swamp Rabbits consistently in a best-of-seven series.

5. Orlando Solar Bears/Last Ranking: 5

Record: 20-10-4

The Solar Bears are on a 10-1-2 run. They’re nine points back of the Swamp Rabbits in the South Division, but the Solar Bears have three games in hand. It’s going to get very interesting.

Colten Ellis, who is on a St. Louis Blues contract, is having a terrific season in net; he’s 12-5-2 with a 2.45 GAA, a .923 SP a shutout. But don’t sleep on Brandon Halverson, who’s on an AHL deal with Syracuse, as might be the league’s best No. 2. He’s 8-4-1 with a 2.40 GAA and a .926 SP.

Mitchell Hoelscher, who is on an AHL deal with Springfield, has increased his productivity this season and leads the Solar Bears in goals (15) and points (32). 

Brayden Low, in his sixth ECHL season, also is playing better than ever and is on pace for career highs in goals (27) and points (50).

Matt Carkner is doing a better job in his second year as coach than he did when the Solar Bears missed the 2023 playoffs, and it can be seen in the seasons that some of his guys are having, such as defensemen Ben Carroll and Jimmy Mazza, who have become very reliable two-way guys.

6. Idaho Steelheads/Last Ranking: 3

Record: 23-11-2

The Steelheads have been hit hard by call-ups – Mark Rassell, Patrick Kudla, Cody Haiskanen and Keaton Mastrodonato included – but there’s still an incredible amount of talent in Boise.

Wade Murphy has been terrific with 19 goals and 43 points in 35 games, A.J. White has 13 goals and 34 points in 36 games and Jack Becker has 16 goals and 34 points in 36 games.

Ty Pelton-Byce and Matt Register have been coming on lately, too.

But it’s clear that teams aren’t intimidated by the Steelheads like they were last season, when Idaho had the best regular season in ECHL history, only to fall in the finals of the Kelly Cup Playoffs to the Florida Everblades. 

Kansas City won a three-game set last week, after the Reading Royals and Allen Americans each took 2 of 3 games from the Steelheads.

The defense isn’t as stingy as we’ve come to expect, allowing an average of 4.2 goals over the last nine games, but the Steelheads still should be able to outscore almost anyone. And if those guys return from the AHL, look out again.

7. Florida Everblades/Last Ranking: 12

Record: 17-11-5

The two-time defending champions are on a 7-2-1 run dating back to Dec. 22 and once again are looking like a team that’s going to be dangerous.

Cam Johnson is coming off a 25-save shutout of the Savannah Ghost Pirates, and the goaltending duo of Johnson and Evan Cormier is one of the ECHL’s best.

Joe Pendenza, at 33, just keeps impressing. He’s got 10 goals and 25 points in 33 games, including four goals and eight points in the last seven games.

Some of the Everblades’ top offensive players – such as Bobo Carpenter, Sean Josling and Oliver Chau – have been a little too streaky. And the defensive corps have, too, but that was to be expected after offseason changes.

Coach Brad Ralph is one to focus more on in the long haul, and the Everblades are trending in the right direction as we head into the second half of the season.

8. Kalamazoo Wings/Last Ranking: 15

Record: 18-15-1

People don’t talk enough about Jonathan Lemieux, the Kalamazoo Wings goalie, who is 13-10-1 with a 2.77 GAA and a .914 SP and playing under an AHL contract with Abbotsford. And Pavel Cajan, who’s on an AHL contract with Cleveland and shined with 26 saves in a 2-1 victory at Toledo on Saturday.

Speaking of Toledo, the Wings’ success against the Walleye – a 5-1-1 record – probably is enough to put the Wings in the top 10 of these rankings. Frankly, no one else has figured out how to slow down the fish.

Kudos to 29-year-old forward Erik Bradford, who is playing the best hockey of his career. He’s got 12 goals and 38 points and is on pace for career highs in goals (25) and points (80).

Rookie David Keefer has been better than advertised with 10 goals and 23 points in just 31 games, after he had 15 goals and 25 points in 38 games last season for Northern Michigan.

I’m not convinced that Kalamazoo, which has won 5 of 6 games, will be able to sustain this. In a division packed with great offensive players, there’s too much pressure on the Wings’ defense because the offense lacks enough oomph. The power play, for instance, ranks dead last at 13.3% efficiency.

9. Jacksonville Icemen/Last Ranking: 11

Record: 19-14-3

The Icemen have been alternating wins and losses since Jan. 5 and have been putting a bit too much pressure on their goaltenders. But those goaltenders are awfully good: Michael Houser, who has NHL experience, is 7-9-2 with a 2.74 GAA, a .903 SP and one shutout; rookie Matt Vernon is 11-4-0 with a 2.54 GAA and a .908 SP.

The Icemen also have had some trouble scoring lately, but there’s too much offensive talent – players such as Brendan Harris (11 goals, 37 points), Christopher Brown (13 goals, 32 points) and Mattheson Iacopelli (14 goals, 20 points) – for that to continue.

The Icemen need to get better on special teams – they rank 10th on the power play (22.3%) and 12th on the penalty kill (80.6%) – to really crack the list of elite teams. But I still have hopes for my preseason pick to win the Kelly Cup.

10. Newfoundland Growlers/Last Ranking: 10

Record: 16-14-6

Losing forward Grant Cruikshank to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies certainly hurt, but there’s still tons of talent highlighted by defenseman Jonny Tychonick (five goals, 33 points in 35 games), forward Isaac Johnson (14 goals, 33 points in 4 games) and forward Zach O’Brien (nine goals, 29 points in 25 games)

Defensively, the Growlers have been too porous, and that’s been on the blue-liners and the goaltenders, Vyacheslav Peksa and Dryden McKay.

Since Dec. 16, the Growlers are 3-4-3, and they’re about to play seven straight games on the road against Norfolk, Adirondack and Maine. It’ll be a decent test.

It’ll be interesting to see how Matt Cooke manages the rigors of the ECHL season in his first campaign as a pro head coach, but as long as the players don’t run out of steam with all the sets of three games in three nights, I’d expect the Growlers to remain in the thick of things.   

The Rest Of The ECHL

11. South Carolina Stingrays/Last Ranking: 8

Record: 19-13-2

12. Indy Fuel/Last Ranking: 16

Record: 17-14-4

13. Trois-Rivières Lions/Last Ranking: 17

Record: 17-18-3

14. Fort Wayne Komets/Last Ranking: 13

Record: 18-16-3

15. Wheeling Nailers/Last Ranking: 7

Record: 16-16-2

16. Cincinnati Cyclones/Last Ranking: 14

Record: 16-15-3

17. Norfolk Admirals/Last Ranking: 9

Record: 16-15-4

18. Worcester Railers/Last Ranking: 19

Record: 16-14-5

19. Allen Americans/Last Ranking: 24

Record: 17-19-1

20. Rapid City Rush/Last Ranking: 22

Record: 17-17-2

21. Tulsa Oilers/Last Ranking: 18

Record: 16-16-3

22. Maine Mariners/Last Ranking: 21

Record: 13-14-5

23. Reading Royals/Last Ranking: 23

Record: 14-16-2

24. Savannah Ghost Pirates/Last Ranking: 20

Record: 13-18-5

25. Utah Grizzlies/Last Ranking: 25

Record: 14-21-0

26. Wichita Thunder/Last Ranking: 27

Record: 12-19-5

27. Iowa Heartlanders/Last Ranking: 26

Record: 13-16-6

28. Atlanta Gladiators/Last Ranking: 28

Record: 13-21-1