The Toledo Walleye had a successful year of recognition and setting new ECHL and franchise records.
Heading into the 2022-2023 season, Coach Dan Watson brought back 12 players from the previous season’s team. They were an effective squad that went to Kelly Cup Finals but fell short to the Florida Everblades. This was the highest number of returning players to any ECHL team this season.
Throughout the regular season, Toledo continuously smashed attendance records with an average of 7,713 fans at each game, surpassing the previous season’s average of 7,358. During the playoffs, Toledo was the top team in the ECHL in attendance, with an average crowd of 8,165 fans.
Toledo tied the ECHL record for most road wins at 26. This also set a new franchise record for the Walleye. Toledo also went on an 18-game win streak from February 5th to March 18th, heading into the end of the regular season. This was the second longest in the 35-year history of the ECHL. Their win streak set a new Walleye franchise record. Toledo also led the ECHL with their effective special teams unit. They led the league in power play percentage, 24.5%, and penalty kill percentage, 85.2%.
Brandon Hawkins set a new Walleye franchise record for the most goals scored in a single season with 39 goals. He broke the previous record by Kyle Bonis, who netted 36 goals. The Walleye scored 252 goals as a team while giving up only 179. Gordie Green led the team in assists with 44.
Their stellar goalies can also define Toledo’s season. Sebastian Cossa, the first-round draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings in 2021, went 26-16-4 on the season. Cossa’s goals-against average was 2.56, with a 91.3% save percentage. Cossa’s counterpart, John Lethemon, ranked second in the league in shutouts with four, a save percentage of 93%, and in goals-against average with 1.99. Lethemon is the only goalie in Toledo Walleye history to win the Nick Vitucci ECHL Goaltender of the Year award. He finished the season with an 18-1-3 record.
Overall, they finished their memorable season 2nd in the ECHL’s Central Division with a record of 45-19-5. Toledo ended their season in the Western Conference Finals when they could not find an answer to Idaho’s tenacious play winning only one of five games. Their Kelly Cup Playoff record was 9-4-0. Toledo swept Indy and Cincinnati 4-0 in the first two rounds. Toledo became the first ECHL team since 2011 to start the playoffs with eight consecutive wins.
