2023-24 ECHL Power Rankings

1. Jacksonville Icemen/Last Ranking: 3

Record: 33-15-4

The Icemen may not be atop their division – yet – but they’re atop the FloHockey Rankings for the first time this season.

On a 12-0-1 run, with the only loss coming on the road to the Orlando Solar Bears (2-1 in overtime on Feb. 9), the Icemen are within four points of the South Division-leading Greenville Swamp Rabbits and have two games in hand.

Impressively, the Icemen have been on this run without injured goaltender Michael Houser. 

Rookie Matt Vernon has improved his record to 19-4-1 with a league-best 2.22 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage, and goalie Joe Murdaca has been strong, too; he’s 5-1-1 and coming off a 32-save shutout at Orlando that included a stop of Mitchell Hoelscher on a penalty shot.

What I loved about the Icemen last fall, when I picked them to win the Kelly Cup, is holding true now: There’s a lot of depth, a lot of grit and smarts, and that’s why the Icemen rank first in the ECHL in defense with 2.44 goals against per game.

And when it comes to offense, check out this statistic: Seven Jacksonville players have netted three game-winning goals – Brendan Harris, Christopher Brown, Riley Riddler-Schultz, Craig Martin, Matheson Iacopelli, Derek Lodermeier and Garrett Van Whye, who scored twice in Friday’s victory at Orlando.

You can’t shut them all down, and the Icemen know it.

🚨 ICEMEN GOAL 🚨
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JAX - 3 | ORL - 0 pic.twitter.com/5rPtkRlPgu

— Jacksonville Icemen (@JaxIcemen) February 24, 2024

2. Kansas City Mavericks/Last Ranking: 1

Record: 38-10-3

The Mavericks’ last outing, a 3-0 victory Sunday over the visiting Utah Grizzlies, was an encouraging sign because the defense had been showing some porosity. Before Cale Morris turned in his 27-save shutout, the Mavericks had allowed 17 goals over three games.  

Like Jacksonville, there’s a lot of balance to the Mavericks’ lineup, and they rank second in offense (4.2 goals per game) and fourth in defense (2.75 goals against per game). 

The Mavericks also stay out of the penalty box, averaging only 9.65 minutes – fewer than every team in the league except the Icemen. That discipline is particularly important in the Mountain Division, where teams – looking at you, Allen Americans – tend to lose their cool too often to sustain success.

Patrick Curry is having a monster season with 27 goals (fifth in the ECHL) and 60 points (second), but there are many offensive weapons, such as Jacob Hayhurst, Nolan Walker and Cole Coskey, and they’ve helped take the pressure off the rookies – Max Andreev, Cade Borchardt and Kyle Jackson – who were so strong out of the gate.

Idaho is within six points of the Mavericks, so things could get interesting in the Mountain Division down the stretch, but there’s one statistic that has me confident the Mavericks will take the division crown – they’re an unreal 20-2-1 on the road.

3. Idaho Steelheads/Last Ranking: 4

Record: 35-14-3

I definitely did a doubletake when I saw the score from Saturday night’s game at Tulsa – a 10-4 victory by the Oilers. And things looked a little dour Sunday, when the Oilers took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission with a 19-6 shot advantage.

But then, the Steelheads returned to form. 

They got goals from A.J. White, Parker AuCoin, Trevor Zins and Willie Knierim, Jake Kielly finished with 28 saves and the Steelheads won 4-2 with a 38-30 shot advantage. It was a reminder that when the Steelheads assert their will, they’re downright scary to play against.

Call-ups have hurt the Steelheads – Mark Rassell and Ty Pelton-Byce went to the AHL in the last couple weeks – but they’re still 8-1-1 in their last 10 games and absolutely have the talent and coaching to at least challenge Kansas City for the division title.

The Steelheads need to lock in on the penalty kill, which has killed only 6 of 10 opposing power plays in the last three games and now ranks 10th at 80.3%. 

At the same time, the power play ranks first at 29%, and the offense is averaging a league-best 4.37 goals per game for the season, and it always seems just a matter of time until they score. 

A lot of that is because they can generate offense from the blue line, as Zins has been doing well lately. If forwards Rassell and Pelton-Byce return, then look out, Steelheads opponents.

4. Greenville Swamp Rabbits/Last Ranking: 7

Record: 36-16-2

OK, it wasn’t against exactly top-flight competition – Atlanta and Rapid City, my two lowest-ranked teams – but the Swamp Rabbits won four of their last five games and outscored the Gladiators and Rush 24-11 along the way.

When the goaltending of Jacob Ingham and Ryan Bednard is on, the Swamp Rabbits are tough to beat. Problem is, those goalies have some occasional hiccups that give you pause.

Carter Souch is one of the most exciting players in the league people don’t seem to talk about – he’s got 18 goals and 47 points in 54 games – and I like the defensive corps that includes Joe Leahy (seven goals, 24 points), Max Martin (five goals, 20 points) and Lordanthony Grissom (three goals, nine points).  

Greenville remains atop the South Division, but it’s getting tight. Jacksonville has pulled within four points and has two games in hand.

5. Florida Everblades/Last Ranking: 10

Record: 27-15-9

The two-time defending-champion Everblades remain in fourth place in the South Division, but it’s worth noting that’s where they finished the 2022-2023 regular season, before knocking off everyone in their path.

On a 7-1-2 run, Florida again seems to be gaining momentum at the right time. It may need home-ice advantage more this season than last, though, since the Everblades are 16-7-3 at home and 11-8-6 on the road.

One of the best forward combinations in the ECHL is Florida’s Joe Pendenza, a crafty 33-year-old veteran, and Oliver Chau, an opportunistic 26-year-old, and they’ve been joined on the top line lately by Sean Josling, who’s always dangerous.

The Florida power play is improving – it was 4 of 13 in a three-game sweep of the visiting Worcester Railers last week – and is now up to 21st in the league at 18.2% efficiency. That’s a good sign for the Everblades, who are well coached by Brad Ralph and, quite probably, the last team anyone else in the division will want to face in the first round of the playoffs.

DON'T BLINK. 2-0 BLADES 🤌 pic.twitter.com/T2qIDw6LyN

— Florida Everblades (@FL_Everblades) February 25, 2024

6. Adirondack Thunder/Last Ranking: 6

Record: 33-11-7

Since losing three straight to the Everblades from Feb. 7-10, the Thunder have gone 3-0-1.

That’s a good response by the North Division’s leading team.

Forward Yushiroh Hirano has been coming on strong with three goals and 12 points in his last 12 ECHL games, though there was an AHL call-up in there, and getting Timur Ibragimov back from the AHL helped, too, taking the pressure off the likes of Ryan Smith and Shane Harper in the offensive end.

Defensively, there are a lot of nice pieces – such as Ryan Wheeler – but I always come back to the goaltending as being the thing that makes Adirondack truly scary. Whether it’s Tyler Brennan, Vinnie Purpura or Jeremy Brodeur, there are just so many great options for coach Pete MacArthur.

7. Norfolk Admirals/Last Ranking: 8

Record: 29-19-4

The Admirals have won 10 of their last 12 games. And now that they have rookie Carson Golder back from the AHL, look out. He has three goals and five points in four games since returning from Manitoba, giving him 15 goals and 27 points in 31 ECHL games.

He actually was on the third line in the last game – along with Kamerin Nault and Brandon Osmundson – and we’ve never seen such depth from an Admirals team that hasn’t ever made the playoffs.

The Admirals have two NHL prospects in net with Winnipeg’s Oskari Salminen and Carolina’s Yaniv Perets, and there’s a defense in Norfolk that won’t be afraid to bruise you up a bit, so there’s a lot to be optimistic about – finally! – with a team that annually had dwelled in the ECHL cellar.

8. Toledo Walleye/Last Ranking: 5

Record: 29-12-9

The Toledo offense – led by Brandon Hawkins, who leads the league in goals (31) and points (66) – is the most dangerous in the entire league. I mean, Sam Craggs centered the third line on Sunday, a 3-2 home loss to the Fort Wayne Komets, and he’s got 24 goals.

But, patient as I’ve tried to be about the Walleye goaltending, it’s become a concern. 

John Lethemon, the ECHL’s reigning Goaltender of the Year, has a .884 save percentage. Jan Bednar’s is 883. It’s not all their fault – the defense is prone to getting caught in transition and isn’t going to scare anyone physically – but the netminders aren’t stealing games.

Toledo is in a 2-3-1 drought and it still struggles with Kalamazoo – a 3-6-2 record in the season series – and the Walleye may very well face the Wings in the first round of the playoffs.  

There’s still plenty of time for Toledo to reassert itself, but its lead in the Central Division has shrunk to five points over Wheeling and six over Indy, and Toledo no longer is the heavy favorite in the division it was a month ago.

9. South Carolina Stingrays/Last Ranking: 9

Record: 31-19-3

The Stingrays’ offense, which ranks fifth in the league with 3.6 goals per game, has been stifled a bit lately. The Stingrays are coming off back-to-back road losses at Norfolk, where they were outscored 5-3.

Jack Adams is one of the ECHL’s most dangerous rookies – he has 19 goals and 48 points in 54 games – but he needs help. With Austin Magera in the AHL, the Stingrays need other forwards to step up and fill the scoring void.

The good news is the Stingrays generate offense from the blue line with the likes of Connor Moore and Michael Kim, they’re reliable in their own end and the goaltending has been strong. Mitchell Gibson has done the heavy lifting and is 17-10-2 with a 2.27 GAA, a .910 SP and three shutouts.

10. Indy Fuel/Last Ranking: 12

Record: 28-18-5

There was a time, back in late November, when the Fuel dropped as far as 24th in the rankings, but coach Duncan Dalmao has the Fuel churning; they’re on a 7-2-1 run.

Indy has two goalies, Zach Driscoll and Mitchell Weeks, who can get hot and take over games. And they need to, because if there’s a soft spot with Indy, it’s the defensive corps that’s prone to make some mistakes.

The top Indy offensive players, Cameron Hillis, Kyle Maksimovich and Colin Bilek, can play with anyone in the league. But really, it’s the Fuel’s depth that impresses. Bryan Lemos, Santino Centorame and Matus Spodniak are among Indy’s highly underrated players.

🚨 AMERICAN HERO 🚨

Colin Bilek, the @ArmyWP_Hockey grad scoring on Made in America Night... almost like we scripted it...

2-1 Fuel 🦅 pic.twitter.com/jcX7n0HQjs

— Indy Fuel (@IndyFuel) February 25, 2024

The Rest Of The ECHL

11. Wheeling Nailers/Last Ranking: 2

Record: 30-20-2

12. Kalamazoo Wings/Last Ranking: 14

Record: 27-20-3

13. Newfoundland Growlers/Last Ranking: 11

Record: 24-21-9

14. Fort Wayne Komets/Last Ranking: 15

Record: 26-22-5

15. Tulsa Oilers/Last Ranking: 13

Record: 24-22-6

16. Orlando Solar Bears/Last Ranking: 17

Record: 26-18-8

17. Utah Grizzlies/Last Ranking: 18

Record: 24-27-1

18. Maine Mariners/Last Ranking: 21

Record: 22-23-6

19. Wichita Thunder/Last Ranking: 24

Record: 19-26-7

20. Worcester Railers/Last Ranking: 16

Record: 22-23-6

21. Allen Americans/Last Ranking: 19

Record: 22-25-3

22: Iowa Heartlanders/Last Ranking: 20

Record: 21-24-7

23. Reading Royals/Last Ranking: 27

Record: 20-24-7

24. Cincinnati Cyclones/Last Ranking: 23

Record: 23-24-5

25. Trois-Rivières Lions/Last Ranking: 22

Record: 20-24-6

26. Savannah Ghost Pirates/Last Ranking: 26

Record: 19-28-5

27. Rapid City Rush/Last Ranking: 25

Record: 20-30-2

28. Atlanta Gladiators/Last Ranking: 28

Record: 17-35-3