The ECHL has announced the two coaches for the 2024 ECHL All-Star Classic, which will take place on January 15th at Enmarket Arena, the home of the Savannah Ghost Pirates. Everett Sheen of the Idaho Steelheads and Andrew Lord of the Greenville Swamp Rabbits were both named coaches, as their respective teams led their conferences in winning percentage heading into the ECHL Holiday Break, which has now come to an end as teams resumed games on Wednesday Night.
Everett Sheen
Sheen, 37, will be making his second straight All-Star Classic appearance as his Steelheads also led the West at the Holiday Break last season. This season, Idaho is the top team in the ECHL, with a record of 21-5-1 with just a two-point lead in the Western Conference over the Kansas City Mavericks, a place which is no stranger to the Steelheads as they would go on to win the Brabham Cup as the top team in the ECHL last season during the regular season posting a record-shattering 58-11-3 record as Sheen would end up taking home Coach of the Year honors. Despite a strong regular season, Idaho would have to fight their way through the West to get to the Kelly Cup Finals, where they would ultimately lose in four games to the Florida Everblades. Sheen is in his seventh year with the Steelheads and third as head coach, as he spent the first four seasons in Idaho as an assistant coach. The Lethbridge, Alberta native played five seasons in the ECHL, spending time with the Reading Royals, Ontario Reign, and Colorado Eagles, amassing 48 goals and 89 assists for 137 points.
Andrew Lord
There are a few coaches in the ECHL who never seem to get enough credit, and one of those coaches is the man they call “Lordo.” In his fourth season with the Swamp Rabbits, Greenville holds the top spot in the North with a five-point lead over the Adirondack Thunder heading into Wednesday Night’s games. In his four years as head coach, the Swamp Rabbits have yet to miss the Kelly Cup Playoffs, with their biggest run coming in Lordo’s first year with Greenville, where the team would make it to the second round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs. Prior to coming over to coach in North America, Lord spent six seasons with the Cardiff Devils in the EIHL, where he led the team to a 221-75-22 record and is currently the winningest Head Coach in Devils history, along with leading the team to nine separate titles. The Vancouver Native spent three seasons in the ECHL as a player with the Wheeling Nailers, putting up 42 goals and 62 assists for 104 points in 165 games, and would also play five seasons in the EIHL, all with the Cardiff Devils, where he’d put up 63 goals and 110 assists for 173 points in 216 games.
