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!
