Updates: Kelly Cup Playoffs, Steve Martinson, Brett Ferguson, CBA, Schedule, All-time Hat Tricks, Division Alignment and More

My list of blog topics to cover has gotten long enough to finally sit down and write them out. Here they go in no particular order:  

- The Kelly Cup playoffs are moving right along, and the two I predicted would be in the finals (Florida & Kansas City) are both trailing in the Conference Finals:

• Kansas City is in real trouble in the Western Conference Finals, trailing Toledo 3-1. The Mavericks lost 4-1 last night in Toledo and will have to win game five (also in Toledo) Saturday night to avoid elimination. Kansas City was #2 in scoring during the regular season  (3.56 goals per game), but has scored 0, 1, and 3 goals in the three losses to the Walleye. 
• In the Eastern Conference Finals, Florida dropped the first two games at home against Trois-Rivières by scores of 1-0 and 2-1 to dig themselves a big hole. In game three (on the road), the Everblades were losing 2-0 after the second period. Florida turned it around in the third period, outshooting the Lions 21-3 and scoring four goals in less than 15 minutes to win the game 4-2. Games #4 and #5 are tonight and Saturday in Trois-Rivières.
• Despite trailing 2-1 in the series, Florida has outshot the Lions by a wide margin. The series total is 105-44, and three games were 41-18, 32-14, and 32-12. The Everblades will have to win one of the two games this weekend to get the series back to Florida.
• Colton Hargrove has been the best player for Florida during the playoffs. He leads the team in points (11), goals (6), points per game (.92), and game-winning goals (2). 
• Toledo's win at home last night was the first home win of the conference finals. Home teams are now 1-6.  

- The playoff attendance for the final four teams varies widely. Here are the playoff averages:

• 8045 - Toledo
• 6080 - Florida
• 3719 - Kansas City
• 2731 - Trois Riviéres
  

 

- I am sure most of you have seen the Myles Jack/Steve Martinson press conference from last week by now, but if you haven't, here is the video: 

- I had a chance to catch up with Coach Martinson earlier this week, or I should say General Manager Martinson. He was in Athens, wrapping up things with the Rock Lobsters, but spending the majority of his day making phone calls, as recruiting is already underway even though players can't be signed until a month from today (June 23). He is also working on finding an affiliation. Martinson inherited a tough situation when it comes to an affiliation. If you watch the video above, he addresses in some detail the history of affiliations in Allen. The bottom line is that he will have to build a team that can excel and be competitive in the playoffs without having a bunch of NHL/AHL contracted players. Toledo is likely to be in the Kelly Cup Finals (leading Kansas City 3-1) and has had only one or two contract players (other than goalies) all season. It means Allen will have a roster of more experienced players looking to win a championship, rather than moving up to the AHL to go along with some high-end rookies/younger players looking to move up.

 

- I get asked about Brett Ferguson's status with the team all of the time. I can officially say, after talking to team President Jonny Mydra this morning, that Brett will not be returning next season. He was offered the opportunity to return as the assistant coach, but did not accept that offer. Brett was well-liked by management, players, and fans. Everyone will be pulling for him wherever he lands. Personally, it was a real pleasure working with him, and he will be missed. 

 

- A new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is currently being negotiated between the ECHL and PHPA (Professional Hockey Players Association). It will be essential for coaches/general managers to know what is in the new CBA as recruiting progresses. Salary-related numbers, including salary cap, minimum, and maximum salaries for players and rookies, are a must. There is always a chance changes could be made to the veteran rules and/or which European leagues count toward veteran status. It will be hard to make decisions without knowing what is in the new CBA. Stay tuned!

 

- The Kelly Cup playoffs could go as long as June 11, but that doesn't change the critical dates coming up in June:

June 8 - The Protected list is due. This is an unlimited number of players. Teams typically protect every player who meets the qualifications. Here are the main qualifications:

1. Signed in 2024-25 and has not been traded or released.

2. Signed in 2024-25, and was recalled to the NHL/AHL and has not been traded or released.

3. Received a qualifying offer last summer for the 2024-25 season, but DID NOT sign, and has not been traded or released. 

 

June 20 - Future considerations trade deadline. I am going from memory, but I recall Allen will both lose and gain players in this process. None of these is for a specific player. Teams will choose from a list of players; the number and terms were decided at the time of the trade.

 

June 22 - Season-ending rosters due. Season-ending rosters may include up to 20 players and cannot include any players who did not sign an ECHL contract with the team in 2024-25. 

 

June 23 - First day to sign contracts for the 2025-26 season. There will be informal agreements with players before June 23, but contracts can't be signed before June 23.  

 

 

- I will do a deep dive on the 2024-25 Allen schedule later in the summer. Here is the schedule broken down by how many times the Americans play each team, showing home (H) and away (A) games:

 

• 15 - Tulsa (7H, 8A)
• 10 - Utah (5H, 5A)
• 10 - Wichita (5H, 5A)
• 9 - Rapid City (6H, 3A)
• 7 - Idaho (2H, 5A)
• 7 - Kansas City (3H, 4A)
• 5 - Tahoe (2H, 3A)
• 3 - Greensboro (3H)
• 3 - Norfolk (3H)
• 3 - South Carolina (3A)
• 1 - All-star game (1H)

 

- Here are the numbers of home games by day of the week. A couple more Friday/Saturday games than last season:

• 1 - Monday (All-Star game on MLK day)
• 9 - Wednesday 
• 1 - Thursday
• 12 - Friday
• 12 - Saturday
• 2 - Sunday

 
 

- I don't think the promotion schedule is out yet, but here are the dates for two of the popular promotions:

• Star Wars Night - Saturday, November 15, against Tulsa
• Top Gun Night - Friday, January 30, against Rapid City.   

 

 

- I did some work on hat tricks by Allen players for a friend, and it took quite a while, so I thought I would share the information. Here are the hat tricks by season since Allen joined the ECHL. Some great memories on this list. The 2022-23 season stands out as a special year for hat tricks:

 

• 2024-25
• Brodzinski
• Watts
• Asuchak

• 2023-24
• Marcinew
• Brodzinski
• McAuley

• 2022-23
• Crone (3)
• Hargrove (2)
• Finlay (2)
• Novak 

• 2021-22
• Troock (2)
• Costello
• Gould
• Winquist
• Henman

• 2020-21
• Mychan
• Lancaster

• 2019-20
• Topping
• Gagne
• Guptill
  

• 2018-19
• Breton
• Steffes
• Doty
• Pochiro
• Shmyr

• 2017-18
• Arseneau
• Steffes
• Guptill

• 2016-17
• Moore (2)
• Hanson

• 2015-16
• Costello
• Stevenson
• Crane

• 2014-15
• Combs (2)
• Costello
• Hanson
• Follmer
• Abeltshauser 

 

DID YOU KNOW: Here are a couple of my recent ECHL Stats posts you might find interesting:

 

- In the 20 years between 1995 and 2015, there were no repeat champions in the ECHL. Since 2015, there have been 3 repeat champions. These three teams have won seven of the last nine Kelly Cups. Florida is still alive for a 4th straight Kelly Cup in 2025.

 

Florida: 2024, 2023, 2022

Colorado: 2018, 2017

Allen: 2015, 2016

 

 

- The ECHL announced a week ago that the 2025-26 season opens with eight games on Friday, October 17. Formed in 1988-89 with five teams in four states, the ECHL has grown into a coast-to-coast league that will have 30 teams in 23 states and one Canadian province playing 1,080 games (72 games each) from Oct. 17, 2025 to April 12, 2026. 

 

All 29 teams from last season have returned, and the only change is the addition of the expansion team called the Greensboro (NC) Gargoyles to the Eastern Conference, North Division. The Eastern Conference will have an eight-team North Division and a seven-team South Division, while the Western Conference will have an eight-team Mountain Division and a seven-team Central Division.

 

Here is the team breakdown by Conference and Division:

 

Eastern Conference

North Division - 8 teams

Adirondack

Greensboro

Maine

Norfolk

Reading 

 

Trois Rivières

Wheeling

Worcester

South Division - 7 teams

Atlanta

Florida

Greenville

Jacksonville

Orlando

Savannah

South Carolina 

 

Western Conference

Central Division - 7 teams

Bloomington

Cincinnati

Fort Wayne

Indy

Iowa

Kalamazoo

Toledo 

 

Mountain Division - 8 teams

Allen

Idaho

Kansas City

Rapid City

Tahoe

Tulsa

Utah

Wichita