The Florida Everblades are an American professional ice hockey team. They began playing in 1998. The team plays in the ECHL. They play their home games in Estero, Florida at Hertz Arena. They are the ECHL affiliate for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). They are also the affiliates for the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League (AHL).
| Florida Everblades | |
|---|---|
| City | Estero, Florida |
| League | ECHL |
| Conference | Eastern |
| Division | South |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Home arena | Hertz Arena |
| Colours | Green, white, navy blue |
| General manager | Brad Ralph |
| Head coach | Brad Ralph |
| Affiliates | Florida Panthers (NHL) Charlotte Checkers (AHL) |
| Website | Official website |
| Franchise history | |
| 1998–present | Florida Everblades |
| Championships | |
| Regular season titles | 4 (1999–00, 2008–09, 2017–18, 2020–21) |
| Division titles | 8 (1999–00, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2014–15, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2021–22) |
| Conference titles | 6 (2003–04, 2004–05, 2011–12, 2017–18, 2021–22, 2022–23) |
| Kelly Cups | 3 (2011–12, 2021–22, 2022–23) |
The team was started in 1998 by Craig Brush, Peter Karmanos Jr., and Thomas Thewes. They would name the team the Florida Everblades, a reference to the Everglades in Florida.[1]
On October 16, 1998, the team would play their first game as the Florida Everblades. They would be defeated by the Pee Dee Pride 5–3.[2]
The team would be successful during the 2011–12 season. They finished with 39 wins, 26 losses, and 85 points and would make it all the way to the Kelly Cup finals. They would win their first Kelly Cup after defeating the Las Vegas Wranglers four games to one.[3] The Everglades would win back-to-back Kelly Cups in the 2021–22 and 2022–23 seasons.[4][5]
On July 6, 2022, the Everblades and the Florida Panthers announced their affiliation.[6] The Everblades were previously affiliates with the Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning,[7] and Nashville Predators.[8]
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