So close, yet so, so far. 

Florida Everblades captain John McCarron has come ever so close to hoisting the ECHL’s biggest prize over his head, but has fallen just short twice; he got to Game 6 of the Kelly Cup Finals in his first pro season with the Wheeling Nailers in 2016, and lost in Game 7 just two years later in his second year in Estero.

“Everybody keeps saying the third time is going to be the charm,” the affable Cornell alum told FloHockey. “It’s kind of our goal here in Florida every year, we always have a team that competes and goes far in the playoffs, and we’re not really satisfied until we get that win.”

Last year felt like it could have been it, but the sudden cancellation of the remainder of the season wiped out all of the work that went into putting them tied for first place in the overall league standings with a 43-13-4-2 record. Not only did it throw a wrench into the Everblades’ plans to bring home the Kelly Cup last season, but it also messed with a lot of players’ plans regarding just when they should really be ramping up their training for an upcoming season that seemed like it could be in jeopardy as well.

“It was definitely a little strange,” McCarron said. “Finishing last year, we didn’t really know if this was going to be two weeks or a year-long thing with COVID, so I was actually up in Stockton, came back and we still had workout plans for another two months before they finally called it. So, I didn’t want to overtrain too much, because I still felt like I was in really good shape going into May. I took a little bit of time off, and then the gyms started closing and the ice rinks started closing, and that was tough. But, lucky enough I live in Florida, and everything opened back up in June and I was able to go through my normal routine, just not as strict as normal with it being four or five months. And, my wife is a personal trainer, so she kind of groomed my schedule.”

Whatever plan they were able to concoct, it’s clearly been working. Back for another season as the Everblades captain, the 28-year-old is among the league leaders with 26 points in the team’s first 28 games, and Florida is off to an even better start than they were last year; their 21-5-0-2 and .786 points percentage have them on top of the ECHL.

Every season is different, but what’s working for McCarron and the Everblades this year?

“It seems to be a little bit of everything,” he said. “At the start of the year, we were lucky enough to have a lot of Nashville-affiliated players, so our roster was pretty stacked. Florida gets the benefit of the doubt for a lot of those guys that are on the fence of getting an AHL deal, and this year with COVID, that fell through for a lot of guys. They look on the map, and Florida doesn’t seem too shabby to them. We’ve been lucky to get a lot of great players, and our roster is still very strong even after losing all those Nashville guys. And then, it’s just our culture here. We had a lot of returners, and we have a great leadership group, so it’s easy to instill those mentalities within the new guys. And when you’re winning, it’s a lot easier to follow along.”

But the tone gets set by the man with the “C,” and McCarron has led by example as a nearly point-per-game player throughout his six-season stay in the ECHL, with this year being no exception. 

“I’m surrounded by great players, that helps a lot,” he said. “There’s comfortability in this arena and in this league. Just kind of learning how to play and what areas to attack, it comes over time, and I’ve been able to take that a step further. When you’re playing with great guys, it’s easier. And when you’re clicking on all cylinders and winning games, the puck seems to go in a little bit easier.”

That McCarron and the Everblades have managed this level of success given the incredible depth of talent in this year’s condensed version of the league may make it their most impressive year to date. McCarron explained that with a lot of high-end players on teams that ended up opting out of the season filtering down to other teams, as well as fringe AHL players being unable to find deals at that level combined with overseas opportunities being vastly reduced, it’s not only led to better hockey, but intensified some already tense rivalries.

“It’s usually pretty feisty, we have our rivals down here, but it’s been a little bit more than normal just based on how many times we’re seeing these teams and even how many times we’re playing them in a row,” he said. “There get to be some tempers flaring by the time you’re done playing three times in three nights.”

McCarron, however, loves it. Having earned some time in the American Hockey League in each of the last two seasons, getting an opportunity at the next level is never far from his mind. But, as evidenced by having already declined one chance to get back there this season, it would have to be the right situation for him to possibly have to pass on seeing if the third time really was the charm to win that elusive Kelly Cup.

“I actually was lucky enough to get a call-up here earlier this season to Utica, but I turned it down with COVID reasons, and it just really didn’t make sense for me at this time,” he said. “They didn’t even know if they were going to be starting on time. But, it’s why I’m still playing the game. I still love the game, and I still have aspirations to play in the NHL, even though it seems far away. But we’ve had guys play in this league this year that have already played in the NHL this season. So, if you’re not shooting for the stars, I don’t know why you’re playing. It’s still a goal of mine, and it’s an afterthought, but I still have those aspirations to move on to the next level whenever I can.”

Mike Ashmore has 17 years of experience covering professional and college sports. You can follow him on all social media channels at @mashmore98.