WICHITA, Kan. – The day is finally here! Beginning tonight, 26 teams across the ECHL landscape will begin a collective 936 game, 179-day long march through the regular season to have a chance to play for a championship starting in mid-April. If a team is lucky enough to play into June, they will have played a maximum of 101 (exhibition, regular-season and playoffs) games and only one champion will be crowned.
But for just a minute, let’s fast-forward (as if time isn’t moving quick enough already) to six months from now when the dust from the regular-season has settled.
Here’s The Sin Bin’s 2019-20 “Way Too Early” ECHL Individual Awards and Playoff-Bound Staff Picks!
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
| Most Valuable Player | Most Outstanding Goalie | Most Outstanding Defenseman | Rookie of the Year | Coach of the Year | |
| Matthew Harding | Dan DeSalvo, South Carolina | Pat Nagle, Toledo | Kyle Rhodes, Cincinnati | Justin Brazeau, Newfoundland | Kevin Kerr, Greenville |
| C.C. Hawkley | Josh Kestner, Toledo | Tomas Sholl, Idaho | Alex Breton, Allen | Karl El-Mir, Indy | John Snowden, Newfoundland |
| Dylan Schofield | Jesse Schultz, Cincinnati | Tomas Sholl, Idaho | Matt Register, Allen | Brandon Hawkins, Wheeling | Doug Christiansen, Indy |
| Chad Boerth | Adam Pleskach, Tulsa | Sean Bonar, Atlanta | Cody Donaghey, Orlando | Alex Tonge, Florida | John Snowden, Newfoundland |
| Rachel Gillett | Adam Pleskach, Tulsa | Tomas Sholl, Idaho | Keoni Texeira, Indy | Brandon Hawkins, Wheeling | Rob Murray, Tulsa |
| Travis Rogers | David Pacan, Brampton | Tomas Sholl, Idaho | Tom Parisi, South Carolina | Logan Thompson, South Carolina | Jeff Pyle, Atlanta |
| Evan Miller | Jesse Schultz, Cincinnati | Tomas Sholl, Idaho | Logan Roe, Florida | Brandon Hawkins, Wheeling | Brad Ralph, Florida |
NORTH DIVISION PLAYOFF TEAMS
| Harding | Hawkley | Schofield | Boerth | Gillett | Rogers | Miller |
| Adirondack | Adirondack | Adirondack | Adirondack | Adirondack | Brampton | Adirondack |
| Brampton | Brampton | Maine | Brampton | Maine | Maine | Newfoundland |
| Newfoundland | Maine | Newfoundland | Newfoundland | Newfoundland | Newfoundland | Reading |
| Reading | Newfoundland | Worcester | Reading | Reading | Worcester |
SOUTH DIVISION PLAYOFF TEAMS
| Harding | Hawkley | Schofield | Boerth | Gillett | Rogers | Miller |
| Florida | Florida | Florida | Florida | Atlanta | Atlanta | Florida |
| Greenville | Greenville | Norfolk | Jacksonville | Florida | Florida | Greenville |
| Orlando | Jacksonville | Orlando | Orlando | Jacksonville | Orlando | Orlando |
| South Carolina | Orlando | South Carolina | South Carolina | South Carolina | South Carolina | South Carolina |
CENTRAL DIVISION PLAYOFF TEAMS
| Harding | Hawkley | Schofield | Boerth | Gillett | Rogers | Miller |
| Cincinnati | Cincinnati | Cincinnati | Cincinnati | Cincinnati | Cincinnati | Cincinnati |
| Ft. Wayne | Ft. Wayne | Ft. Wayne | Ft. Wayne | Indy | Ft. Wayne | Ft. Wayne |
| Indy | Kalamazoo | Indy | Toledo | Kalamazoo | Indy | Indy |
| Toledo | Toledo | Toledo | Wheeling | Toledo | Toledo | Toledo |
MOUNTAIN DIVISION PLAYOFF TEAMS
| Harding | Hawkley | Schofield | Boerth | Gillett | Rogers | Miller |
| Allen | Allen | Idaho | Allen | Allen | Idaho | Idaho |
| Idaho | Idaho | Kansas City | Idaho | Idaho | Tulsa | Kansas City |
| Kansas City | Rapid City | Tulsa | Kansas City | Tulsa | Utah | Tulsa |
| Tulsa | Tulsa | Wichita | Tulsa | Utah | Wichita | Utah |
KELLY CUP FINALISTS & CHAMPION
| Kelly Cup Finalists | Kelly Cup Champion | |
| Matthew Harding | South Carolina vs. Tulsa | Tulsa Oilers |
| C.C. Hawkley | Newfoundland vs. Ft. Wayne | Newfoundland Growlers |
| Dylan Schofield | Indy vs. Orlando | Indy Fuel |
| Chad Boerth | Newfoundland vs. Ft. Wayne | Newfoundland Growlers |
| Rachel Gillett | Newfoundland vs. Tulsa | Tulsa Oilers |
| Travis Rogers | Newfoundland vs. Idaho | Idaho Steelheads |
| Evan Miller | Florida vs. Idaho | Idaho Steelheads |
SEASON STORYLINES
Here are some of the storylines our team will be following as the season goes along:
- The Response to Instant Replay: Glitches, Hiccups, and Successes with the Implementation
- How will new fighting rules impact the role of fighting in the ECHL?
- Can Newfoundland win back-to-back Kelly Cup Championships?
- The parity across the ECHL
- Does the Toronto model of flooding the ECHL affiliate work a second time and do more teams follow suit?
- Does the shift of so many Manchester players and coach to Indy take them to the next level?
- How will Greenville and Rapid City benefit from having affiliations this year?
- How does Allen bounce back after a poor 2018-19 season?
- Is this the year Toledo finally gets over the hump and wins a Kelly Cup title?
- Will the league see a 40-goal scorer for the first time since the 2017-18 season?
Keep visiting The Sin Bin all season long for extensive AHL, ECHL, and SPHL coverage!
