By John Sellars, Head Equipment Manager, Florida Everblades

Here we go, set to kick off another season in the ECHL. It was great to see everyone in Orlando for another successful annual meeting! Thank you to all the ladies and everyone who work behind the scenes to help make the annual meeting such a great success, your hard work and dedication do not go unnoticed!

With the ECHL kicking off its 38th season, congratulations to the Trois-Rivieres Lions on winning the 2024-25 Kelly Cup by defeating the Toledo Walleye 4 games to 1.

The ECHL will now be represented by 30 franchises, which is up from 29 for the 2025-26 season. We are welcoming the Greensboro Gargoyles. The Gargoyles will play in the North Division, out of Greensboro, NC. They will be playing out of the First Horizon Coliseum, which hasn’t been home to professional hockey since 2004!

Last season the ECHL did not have an All-Star Game for the first time since 2016. This season the All-Star Game will be returning and hosted in Allen, TX by the Allen Americans.

It was announced that two new franchises will be joining the ECHL, one of them starting in the 2026-27 season located in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. The second team is a returning ECHL franchise, located in Augusta, GA. They will be joining the league in 2027-28, upon the completion of their new arena located in downtown Augusta. This will put the ECHL at 32 member teams heading into the 2027-28 season, which would equal the amount of NHL franchises. This will be a league first, something to look forward to in the near future!

Once again, there has been quite a bit of movement in the ECHL amongst equipment managers & athletic trainers. Congratulations to all of those who moved up and on to better opportunities, and welcome to all the new faces around the league! Wishing everyone a safe and successful season, best of luck and safe travels!