For the third straight season, the Florida Everblades will come into the season as the reigning Kelly Cup Champions after defeating the Kansas City Mavericks in five games in last year’s Kelly Cup Final. Despite coming away with the Kelly Cup last season, the Everblades finished third in the South with a record of 40-23-7-2 and would come back from down 3-1 against the Jacksonville Icemen in the opening round of the playoffs, but it would be smooth sailing the rest of the way for the Everblades.
The Everblades have built themselves on being a team that can be very tough to score against and will play a very physical game, and the way that this year’s roster is shaping up, it should be more of the same heading into the 2024-25 season. However, there will be some changes for the Everblades heading into next season.
New Affiliation
After signing a multi-year affiliation agreement with the St. Louis Blues, the Florida Everblades will have a new affiliate in the St. Louis Blues/Springfield Thunderbirds. The Blues had been without an ECHL affiliate since 2020 when they were affiliated with the Tulsa Oilers. Despite the change in affiliates, the Everblades are expected to keep two of their key players in Oliver Chau and Cam Johnson, who have both signed AHL contracts with the Thunderbirds. Johnson has played a major role in the Everblades Three-Peat, including back-to-back Kelly Cup MVP Awards in 2022 and 2023. Last year, Oliver Chau took home the Kelly Cup MVP award after putting up 23 points (9G, 14A) in 23 games. Chau is another big piece of the Everblades as he’s put up 39 goals and 58 assists for 97 points in 112 games with the Blades.
However, two players who won’t be back in an Everblades uniform next season are Evan Cormier and Zach Uens. Cormier spent 22 games in Florida, putting up a 10-7-3 record with a 2.93 GAA, .907SV%, and one shutout. Cormier was not on the Everblades Kelly Cup Playoff Roster. Uens would play in 61 games for the Everblades last season, putting up three goals and 17 assists for 20 points. He added one goal in 23 games during the Kelly Cup Playoffs.
Gains and Losses
The Florida Everblades would lose a couple of key players this Summer as Cole Moberg and Sean Josling would both take the overseas route, and Bobo Carpenter would be traded to the Cincinnati Cyclones along with Zach Tsekos. Carpenter would later decide to take the overseas route and play in the UK with the Belfast Giants. However, the most significant loss for the Everblades might be the loss of Captain Joe Pendenza, who is not expected to play this season.
The Everblades would go out and make a couple of big splashes in the Summer as they added Connor Doherty and Alex Kile, who both spent last year with the Maine Mariners. Kile will be entering his ninth season in the ECHL as he’s put up 130 goals and 158 assists for 288 points in 308 career games with the Cincinnati Cyclones, Florida Everblades, and Maine Mariners. The 30-year-old forward has proven that he can be an effective top-line forward and will also add some more experience to the Everblades roster. Kile is coming off a 37-goal season. After losing Joe Pendenza, who is not expected back next season, the Everblades will need a new captain, and Doherty spent the last three seasons as the captain in Maine, making him one of the candidates. Like Kile, Doherty will also be entering his ninth season in the league as he’s put up ten goals and 65 assists for 75 points in 345 games with the Kansas City Mavericks, Worcester Railers, and Maine Mariners. The 31-year-old defenseman is coming off an injury-shortened year in Maine, which limited him to 36 games, where he put up one goal and seven assists for eight points.
Colton Hargrove and Kris Myllari would also sign in Florida. They both spent last season with the Allen Americans. Hargrove, 32, joins the Americans after spending the past two seasons in Allen, which included a 39-goal season during the 2022-23 season. The former seventh-round draft pick of the Boston Bruins in 2007 has just two years of ECHL experience under his belt but has spent four seasons in the AHL as well as two seasons overseas. Last year, the Everblades got a ton of production from the blue line, and with the loss of Cole Moleberg and Will Reilly, they had to find someone to fill that role, and that’s where Myllari fits in. The 27-year-old defenseman is entering his fifth season in the league as he’s put up 30 goals and 85 assists for 115 points in 275 games with the Utah Grizzlies, Kansas City Mavericks, and Allen Americans. I would expect Myllari to be on the Everblades’ top defensive pairing when the season begins in a few weeks.
Goaltending
It’s hard to talk about the Florida Everblades without mentioning the goaltending. As previously mentioned, Cam Johnson has led Florida to three consecutive Kelly Cup Championships and has been a workhorse for the team. He’s gone 82-44-11 with a 2.43 GAA, .916SV%, and 11 shutouts. His Kelly Cup Playoff numbers are even better: He’s 47-13-3 with a 1.97 GAA, .928SV%, and 11 shutouts in 63 career Kelly Cup playoff games.
One of the signings that I believe was overlooked this Summer was the re-signing of goaltender David Tendeck. The 24-year-old goaltender was claimed off waivers by the Everblades last season, which would be the third different team he played with during the 2023-24 season and the fifth team he’s played with throughout his five-year career. Tendeck would only make three appearances with the Everblades but would go 3-0 with a .099 GAA and .972SV%. The former sixth-round pick of the Arizona Coyotes has a career record of 34-44-5 with a 3.33 GAA, .898SV%, and four shutouts in 89 career games. I would expect him to be a very strong backup behind Cam Johnson, which could set Florida up for a very strong goaltending tandem heading into the 2024-25 season.
Expectations
There’s no doubt that the expectations will once again be sky-high for the Florida Everblades as they begin their quest for a fourth straight Kelly Cup Championship. Brad Ralph, who will go down as one of the best coaches in ECHL History, has done a fantastic job putting together a championship team and will return for his ninth season behind the bench of the Everblades. I would expect Florida to be the favorite to win the South Division this year.
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