Playing in the ECHL can be a grueling endeavor. 

It’s not just the length of the season – 72 games per team, then four rounds of best-of-seven playoff series – it’s also the way the games are spread out, or rather, not spread out.

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Skating three games in three nights, or four in five nights, is the norm. That allows teams to get in as many weekend games as possible and enhance attendance.

Players unaccustomed to the rigors of ECHL hockey often see their games plummet late in the season, which is why coaches spend so much time talking to rookies about eating right, sleeping often, conditioning correctly and learning from the older players around them. 

Unfortunately, those same coaches sometimes must go weeks without being able to hold full practices because their teams are traveling, playing games, healing injuries, playing more games and dealing with players being called to the higher-level American Hockey League.

The point here is that players producing at this time of year truly stand out. 

Hockey in March and April is incredibly important in the 28-team ECHL, as teams try to lock up one of the 16 available playoff spots.

Here’s a look at 10 players who have been playing their best hockey late in the regular season, helping their teams make waves along the way:

Jack Dugan, Forward, Fort Wayne Komets

A month ago, the Komets looked destined to miss the postseason for the first time since 2013. They still might, but the Komets (30-24-5) have won six of their last eight games and pulled into fourth place in the Central Division with 65 points.

Along the way, Dugan, 25, has put himself into the conversation for ECHL MVP.

In his first ECHL season, after three in the AHL, Dugan has racked up 18 goals, 50 assists (tops in the league) and 68 points (second to Toledo’s Brandon Hawkins’ 79). 

Dugan is on an eight-game point-scoring streak, during which he has four goals and 14 points, exhibiting the smooth playmaking ability that allows him to humble opposing defenders and quarterback the power play.

He likes to play a physical game because it gets him in the proper headspace, but it hindered him at times earlier in the season. 

Even though his 149 penalty minutes ranks third in the league, he’s smartened his play lately and has gone without a penalty in five of his last seven games – helping show the leadership Fort Wayne needed when captain Morgan Adams-Moisan left to play overseas Feb. 16.

KOMETS WIN! Dugan gets the lone goal and Fanti secures the shutout against the Nailers on Friday night! 🎥 pic.twitter.com/c7Uz5spydd

— Fort Wayne Komets (@FWKomets) March 9, 2024

Yushiroh Hirano, Forward, Adirondack Thunder

Since returning from Utica of the AHL on Feb. 12, Hirano has three goals and 12 points in 10 games. Hirano, 28, has 14 goals and 42 points in 44 Adirondack games this season.

I love his vision, creativity and the way he sometimes treats hockey like it’s a chess match. He won’t always go full throttle into the offensive zone; he’ll hold up around the blue line, wait for the right pass and make it. And the same holds true when he’s accepting passes; he’ll go to an open space and make himself available to crush a one-timer.

Hirano has a history of being opportunistic – he did it with the Wheeling Nailers and with the Cincinnati Cyclones – and he’s going to be a pivotal player for the North Division-leading Thunder (35-14-8) come the postseason.

Carson Musser, Defenseman, Norfolk Admirals

The Admirals (34-19-5), who are second in the North Division, are on an 11-1-1 run, and Musser has been a shot-blocking machine along the way, averaging almost three per game during that stretch.

He’s 6-foot-1 and is good backtracking into his own zone and breaking up whatever the opposing forwards throw at him.

Musser, 26, has elevated his game in almost all facets compared to last season and has six goals, 20 points and a plus-3 rating in 46 games, after he had four goals, 13 points and a minus-19 rating in 43 games last season. 

He’s capable on the power play and does a decent job of staying out of the penalty box, too.

Riley McCourt, Defenseman, Toledo Walleye

Central Division-leading Toledo (34-13-9) has gone 7-4-1 in its last 12 games, and getting scoring from the back end has helped. 

McCourt has led the way in that department with five goals, 15 points and a plus-6 rating in those 12 games, giving him eight goals, 42 points (fourth among ECHL defensemen) and a plus-18 rating in 54 games this season.

McCourt, 23, is dangerous on the power play – he’s got 18 assists – and has been one of the few Toledo players willing to get involved physically, despite being rather small at 5-foot-11. 

In his own end, he reads opposing attackers well and does a good job of breaking up passes and blocking shots.

Michal Stinil, Forward, Wichita Thunder

The Thunder looked totally out of the playoff picture when Peter Bates left for Europe on Feb. 12, but it’s riding a 9-2-1 run that put it at 23-28-8 and in a tie for the fourth, and final, playoff spot in the Mountain Division at 54 points. 

Jay Dickman and Brayden Watts have been doing the heavy lifting offensively, but Stinil has upped his game with nine goals and 16 points in his last 13 games, giving him 26 goals and 53 points in 52 games overall.

Stinil, 24, is in his third season with the Thunder, and making big plays is nothing new, but he’s doing a better job of staying out of the penalty box (126 minutes in 65 games last season, 66 so far this season) and is blossoming into one of the ECHL’s most intimidating playmakers. 

He’s fast, plays bigger than his 6-foot size would suggest and is especially dangerous in the slot area, where he’s elusive and can use his booming left-handed shot.

Jordan Kawaguchi, Forward, Idaho Steelheads

He was the Steelheads’ MVP last season with 26 goals and 52 points in 58 games, then retired in the wake of a season that saw him suffer concussions and a torn knee ligament. 

He came out of retirement Jan. 17, and the timing was great, because the Steelheads had tailed off a bit from a fast start, thanks largely to AHL call-ups.

In 16 games since returning, the 26-year-old 5-foot-9 forward has five goals and 16 points. He shoots the puck often, but not irresponsibly, and he’s particularly dangerous when he sets up shop in the left circle. 

He also brings a lot of intangibles to the ice to elevate the games of those around him, and he’s big when the Steelheads (39-16-3, second in Mountain Division) need a big play.

Justin Lee, Defenseman, Wheeling Nailers

With good positioning and an active stick, Lee, a 23-year-old rookie, has turned into a shot- and pass-blocking machine for the Nailers (32-24-2), who are tied for second in the Central Division with 66 points.

Offensively, he’s been nothing to sneeze at with six goals and 26 points in 50 games – including an assist in four of his last five games – helping to take the pressure off Isaac Belliveau when it comes to producing points from the blue line.

Evan Fitzpatrick, Goaltender, Orlando Solar Bears

Despite a solid 29-22-8 record, I have my doubts the Solar Bears are going to be able to ascend from fifth place in the South Division and make the playoffs, but Fitzpatrick, 26, is doing all he can to make sure they do.

In his last six outings, he’s 3-3-0 with a .929 save percentage and a 34-save shutout of the Atlanta Gladiators. 

He’s 6-foot-3 but probably plays bigger than that. He doesn’t waste much movement and uses his frame to his advantage for a team that allows more than 32 shots per game.

Brandon Cutler, Forward, Utah Grizzlies

Utah is tied for the final playoff spot in the Mountain Division at 26-30-2, and Brett Stapley and Kyle Mayhew have been shouldering the scoring load, but Cutler, 24, has taken his game to the next level. 

He has eight goals and 13 points in his last 12 games, giving him 28 goals and 47 points in 58 games this season.

He’s got a lot of AHL experience, and scoring is nothing new, but he’s become more focused in going to the hard areas around the net to produce points, and the Grizzlies are benefiting from it.

Tyler Weiss, Forward, Newfoundland Growlers

There’s so much offensive talent with the Growlers – Isaac Johnson, Zach O’Brien, Jackson Berezowski – but Weiss, a 24-year-old rookie, has been on fire lately with five goals and 14 points in the last 11 games. That gives him 12 goals and 32 points in 50 games this season.

He fast, creative with the puck and sneaky good defensively, creating offense even in short-handed situations, and he’s helped the Growlers (26-24-10) to third place in the North Division.

🚨 GOAL 🚨

ANOTHER FOR WEISSER 👀#ChapterV pic.twitter.com/U1iKFKZR09

— Newfoundland Growlers (@NLGrowlers) March 3, 2024

Honorable Mentions

Trevor Cosgrove, Defenseman, Worcester Railers

Cosgrove, 26, unleashes a lot of shots on opponents – he has 145 of them, fourth among all blue-liners – but he also blocks a decent amount of them, too, using a reach that looks longer than you’d think for a 6-foot skater.

Since Feb. 21, the Railers (25-25-6, fourth in the North Division) have won only 3 of 9 games, but Cosgrove has totaled two goals, six points and 11 shot blocks.

Jesper Vikman, Goaltender, Savannah Ghost Pirates

Since Feb. 10, he’s 5-3-0 with a 1.99 GAA, a .929 SP and one shutout – despite going back to Henderson of the AHL for a while – and the 22-year-old netminder has helped the Ghost Pirates (23-29-5) get back to respectability despite being sixth in the South Division.

Will Reilly, Defenseman, Florida Everblades

The Everblades have been getting more offense from the back end lately, and Reilly, 26, has been at the center of it. 

He has three goals and 10 points in the last 13 games for Florida (31-17-9, third in South Division).

Nolan Walker, Forward, Kansas City Mavericks

There’s an embarrassment of riches when it comes to the Mavericks’ offensive talent, and Walker, 25, has been outshining the big guns like Patrick Curry, Max Andreev and Jacob Hayhurst. 

In his last 13 games, Walker has nine goals and 16 points. That gives him 30 goals (third in the ECHL) and 60 points (ninth) in 56 games this season, and the Mavericks are atop the ECHL standings at 43-10-5. 

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