ESTERO, Fla. (WINK) — The Florida Everblades begin their quest for a sixth Kelly Cup championship with a new NHL affiliation and familiar championship expectations.
Southwest Florida is now part of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ player development pipeline. The Everblades won a record fifth Kelly Cup last season, their fourth in five years.
“I think the Pittsburgh Penguins do a phenomenal job in terms of their organization, their details, and their development,” Head Coach Brad Ralph said. “How much stock they put into the ECHL.”
The pipeline brings defenseman David Breazeale to Southwest Florida from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He’s eager to learn from the championship roster.
“What better group of guys to learn from than guys who have won championships before and who know what it takes to be a really good professional hockey player?” Breazeale said.
Ralph said the foundation stays the same despite new faces on the roster. The team’s approach to practice and game systems will remain consistent.
“Fortunately, there’s not going to be a lot of changes in terms of how we operate, whether it’s in practice or our systems in games,” Ralph said.
Ralph said the roster includes 10 returners and 10 contracted players, with more expected. Returning champion Carson Gicewicz said success starts with focusing on the immediate task.
“Every year you start from zero again,” Gicewicz said. “So we’re not looking at repeating. We’re looking at handling game one.”
The Everblades host the Orlando Solar Bears at Hertz Arena in two preseason games. Both games start at 7:30 p.m.
The Kelly Cup goes back up for grabs Nov. 9.