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The 2019–20 ECHL season was the 32nd season of the ECHL. The regular season began in October 2019 to and was set to conclude in April 2020 with the Kelly Cup playoffs to follow. Twenty-six teams in 19 states and two Canadian provinces were each scheduled for 72 games.
| 2019–20 ECHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | ECHL |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 11, 2019 – March 11, 2020 |
| Total attendance | 3,449,348[1] |
| Average attendance | 4,327[1] |
| Regular season | |
| Brabham Cup | Not awarded |
| Season MVP | Josh Kestner (Toledo) |
| Top scorer | Josh Kestner (Toledo) |
On March 12, 2020, the league announced that the season has been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] On March 14, the league cancelled the remainder of the season.[3]
The league did not award the regular season trophy, as the AHL had done following the pandemic termination, because of a league rule regarding regular-season bonuses paid to the league champion from the playoff revenue pool. The South Carolina Stingrays were unofficially league regular-season champions at 92 points (44-14-4, .742 winning percentage), with 38 wins in regulation, as they were tied with the Florida Everblades (43-13-6, .742 winning percentage), which had 37 wins in regulation.
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Team changes
- The Manchester Monarchs ceased operations after four seasons in the league following the 2015 AHL/ECHL franchise swap that was part of the creation of the AHL's Pacific Division.[4] The Monarchs' owners had put the team up for sale during their final season, but failed to find new owners and the franchise was terminated by the league.[5]
Affiliation changes
| ECHL team | New affiliates | Former affiliates |
|---|---|---|
| Florida Everblades | Nashville Predators (NHL) Milwaukee Admirals (AHL)[6] |
Carolina Hurricanes (NHL) Charlotte Checkers (AHL) |
| Greenville Swamp Rabbits | Carolina Hurricanes (NHL) Charlotte Checkers (AHL) |
Independent |
| Norfolk Admirals | Independent | Arizona Coyotes (NHL) Tucson Roadrunners (AHL) |
| Rapid City Rush | Arizona Coyotes (NHL) Tucson Roadrunners (AHL) |
Independent |
Annual Board of Governors meeting
The annual ECHL Board of Governors meeting was held at the New York-New York Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas from June 17 to 21, 2019.[7] The Board approved of a rule change extending overtime from five minutes to seven minutes in the same three-on-three sudden death format used since the 2015–16 season. In addition, the Board approved a rule change for the 2020 Kelly Cup Playoffs regarding players on NHL or AHL contracts. Should such player have played 260 or more regular season games, they must have played a minimum of five games in the AHL that season in order to be eligible for the ECHL Kelly Cup Playoffs. The rule does not apply for players on ECHL contracts.[8]
The league also added the AHL's fighting major counter rule, where a player is suspended one game for the 10th to 13th fighting major, and two games for the 14th and subsequent fighting majors (excluding when the opposing fighter is charged with an instigator penalty).
All-star game
The 2020 ECHL All-Star Game was held on January 22, 2020, at the Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas.[9] The All-Star Classic retained the four team, 3-on-3 player tournament style used the previous season, including two teams made from the Wichita Thunder (named Team Bolts and Team Hammers) and one team for each conference's All-Star players.[10] In addition to the ECHL All-Star players, each team also had a player from the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association with Dani Cameranesi, Kali Flanagan, Gigi Marvin, and Annie Pankowski taking part in the festivities.[11]
In the round-robin, the Team Bolts went 2–0–1, Team Hammers went 1–1–1, and both conferences went 1–2–0. The skills competition took place in between rounds of the tournament. The Tulsa Oilers' J.J. Piccinich won the fastest skater event, the Idaho Steelheads' Brady Norrish won the hardest shot event, and the Atlanta Gladiators' Tommy Marchin won the accuracy shooting event.[12] The results of the skills competition re-seeded the teams for the semifinal round where the Eastern Conference tied Team Bolts 4–4 and the Western Conference defeated the Team Hammers 4–1. The Eastern Conference All-Star team then defeated the Western Conference 4–2. The Florida Everblades' Logan Roe was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.[12]
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Final standings[13]
- Eastern Conference
| North Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x – Newfoundland Growlers (TOR) | 60 | 42 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 240 | 177 | 85 |
| x – Reading Royals (PHI) | 60 | 37 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 218 | 176 | 80 |
| Brampton Beast (OTT) | 62 | 34 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 229 | 206 | 71 |
| Maine Mariners (NYR) | 62 | 32 | 26 | 3 | 1 | 182 | 186 | 68 |
| Adirondack Thunder (NJD) | 63 | 22 | 28 | 8 | 5 | 197 | 219 | 57 |
| Worcester Railers (NYI) | 61 | 21 | 36 | 4 | 0 | 161 | 230 | 46 |
| South Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x – South Carolina Stingrays (WSH) | 62 | 44 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 216 | 147 | 92 |
| x – Florida Everblades (NSH) | 62 | 43 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 227 | 156 | 92 |
| Greenville Swamp Rabbits (CAR) | 64 | 29 | 30 | 4 | 1 | 210 | 226 | 63 |
| Atlanta Gladiators (BOS) | 61 | 29 | 28 | 2 | 2 | 200 | 230 | 62 |
| Orlando Solar Bears (TBL) | 62 | 27 | 29 | 5 | 1 | 170 | 180 | 60 |
| Jacksonville Icemen (WPG) | 60 | 24 | 29 | 6 | 1 | 173 | 206 | 55 |
| Norfolk Admirals (Ind.) | 60 | 14 | 38 | 8 | 0 | 149 | 248 | 36 |
- Western Conference
| Central Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x – Cincinnati Cyclones (BUF) | 63 | 38 | 17 | 7 | 1 | 196 | 161 | 84 |
| Toledo Walleye (DET) | 59 | 37 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 225 | 163 | 79 |
| Fort Wayne Komets (VGK) | 62 | 31 | 23 | 6 | 2 | 218 | 220 | 70 |
| Indy Fuel (CHI) | 60 | 30 | 26 | 2 | 2 | 195 | 175 | 64 |
| Kalamazoo Wings (VAN) | 61 | 23 | 30 | 7 | 1 | 194 | 241 | 54 |
| Wheeling Nailers (PIT) | 59 | 24 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 163 | 206 | 53 |
| Mountain Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x – Allen Americans (MIN) | 62 | 40 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 247 | 195 | 88 |
| Idaho Steelheads (DAL) | 61 | 36 | 18 | 3 | 4 | 168 | 155 | 79 |
| Utah Grizzlies (COL) | 62 | 34 | 17 | 7 | 4 | 207 | 164 | 79 |
| Tulsa Oilers (STL) | 63 | 29 | 26 | 7 | 1 | 199 | 196 | 66 |
| Rapid City Rush (ARI) | 60 | 29 | 25 | 5 | 1 | 181 | 200 | 64 |
| Wichita Thunder (EDM) | 62 | 24 | 30 | 8 | 0 | 181 | 233 | 56 |
| Kansas City Mavericks (CGY) | 61 | 24 | 32 | 4 | 1 | 167 | 217 | 53 |
x - clinched playoff spot, y - clinched regular season division title, z - Brabham Cup (regular season) champion
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At the end of the regular season, the top four teams in each division would have qualified for the 2020 Kelly Cup playoffs and be seeded one through four based on highest point total earned in the season. However, as the season was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the playoffs were not held. At the time of the cancellation, six teams had already clinched playoff berths: the Allen Americans, Cincinnati Cyclones, Florida Everblades, Newfoundland Growlers, Reading Royals, and South Carolina Stingrays.
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Due to the season being abbreviated, only individual regular season awards were given as the team-based awards from the regular season were not awarded, unlike the AHL (which awarded the regular season trophy).
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| Patrick Kelly Cup: | Not awarded |
| Henry Brabham Cup: | Not awarded [a] |
| Gingher Memorial Trophy: | Not awarded |
| Bruce Taylor Trophy: | Not awarded |
| John Brophy Award: | Steve Bergin, South Carolina[14] |
| Most Valuable Player: | Josh Kestner, Toledo[15] |
| Kelly Cup Playoffs Most Valuable Player: | Not awarded |
| Goaltender of the Year: | Tomas Sholl, Idaho[16] |
| Rookie of the Year: | Tyler Sheehy, Allen[17] |
| Defenseman of the Year: | Alex Breton, Allen[18] |
| Leading Scorer: | Josh Kestner, Toledo |
| Plus Performer Award: | Ben Masella, Florida[19] |
| Sportsmanship Award: | Spencer Watson, Indy[20] |
| Community Service Award: | Connor Doherty, Worcester[21] |
All-ECHL teams
First Team[22]
- Tomas Sholl (G) – Idaho Steelheads
- Alex Breton (D) – Allen Americans
- Logan Roe (D) – Florida Everblades
- Josh Kestner (F) – Toledo Walleye
- Tyler Sheehy (F) – Allen Americans
- David Vallorini (F) – Brampton Beast
Second Team[22]
- Parker Milner (G) – South Carolina Stingrays
- Eric Knodel (D) – Reading Royals
- Miles Liberati (D) – Tulsa Oilers
- Brady Ferguson (F) – Newfoundland Growlers
- Tim McGauley (F) – Utah Grizzlies
- Jesse Schultz (F) – Cincinnati Cylones
Rookie Team[23]
- Billy Christopoulos (G) – Toledo Walleye
- Justin Baudry (D) – Cincinnati Cyclones
- Joseph Duszak (D) – Newfoundland Growlers
- Samuel Asselin (F) – Atlanta Gladiators
- Justin Brazeau (F) – Newfoundland Growlers
- Tyler Sheehy (F) – Allen Americans
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- The Professional Hockey Players Association and the ECHL Collective Bargaining Agreement state that the team that finishes first in the regular season is paid a fee from the league's playoff pool based on ticket revenue from playoffs. The South Carolina Stingrays were statistically the league champions, (44-14-4, 38 regular seasons wins) over the Florida Everblades (43-13-6, 37 regular season wins). Both teams had a .742 winning percentage (92 points in 62 games). The league decided not to offer the regular season trophy as the regular season bonus money is paid from the league's playoff pool.
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