10 storylines to follow for the Toledo Walleye during the 2024-25 season

The Toledo Walleye have a ton of talent back from a team that made a deep run in the playoffs last season, and expectations remain sky high.

Coach Pat Mikesch enters his second year with a hungry returning group that put together a solid regular season. Mikesch also has added some promising newcomers that might get the Walleye over the hump and claim the city’s first pro hockey championship since 1994.

ECHL MVP Brandon Hawkins and young goaltending prospect Jan Bednar head up the group of returning players that posted a 48-14-9 record for 105 points and finished first place in the Central Division then reached the Western Conference finals.

There are plenty of storylines for Walleye fans to watch for this season.

Here are 10 to monitor this season, the Walleye’s 15th as a franchise:

Will the Walleye continue to thrive on having a substantial home-ice advantage, while also continuing to be consistently successful on the road?

The key to the franchise’s consistency (playoff berths in 10 of 13 seasons) has been equal success on the road and at home. Only one team in the ECHL (Kansas City) had a better home record and road record than the Walleye did last year. Toledo went 23-7-6 at the Huntington Center (52 points) and went 25-7-3 away from home (53 points). The Walleye set a franchise record in attendance with 34 sellouts at home, where the atmosphere provided by the fans gives the team a significant boost. Toledo won 12 in a row at home and 12 in a row on the road to end the regular season as part of a 22-game winning streak.

What impact will having four veterans have?

Last year, the team had just two veteran players (the ECHL allows teams to have four veterans who have played in at least 260 pro games). This year there are four vets on the roster, including ECHL MVP Hawkins, ECHL All-Star Jalen Smereck, and former Kalamazoo captain Chaz Reddekopp. Former Toledo forward Tyler Spezia, who has played in 240 AHL games, also has returned. That experience and talent should pay dividends on and off the ice, especially when things tighten up in the playoffs.

Will the special teams units be able to continue to perform at a high level this season?

The outcome of many games, especially in the playoffs, comes down to the success of a team’s power play and penalty kill units. Toledo’s special teams units will once again be led by two Northview High School graduates. Walleye assistant coaches Alden Hirschfeld (penalty kill) and Brent Bain (power play) take great pride in leading the special teams. In 2022-23, Toledo had both the top power-play unit (24.5 percent) and penalty kill (85.2) in the ECHL. Last year, it ranked second on the PP (25.2) and ninth on the PK (81.7).

Who will be on a line with Brandon Hawkins and Tyler Spezia?

The team’s No. 1 line most likely will consist of the veteran duo. Hawkins, led the league in scoring and set franchise records in goals scored (40) and points (93), has tallied 238 points in 188 games for the Walleye (1.3 points per game). Spezia, who spent the last four seasons playing at the higher level AHL, averaged 0.75 points per game in a Walleye uniform. The leading candidate to complete the line would be Trenton Bliss who has averaged 1.1 points per game in 101 contests for the Walleye. But secondary scoring should be in abundance with a forward group that looks deep and should be productive.

Will Brandon Hawkins continue to climb the franchise’s all-time scoring list and repeat as ECHL MVP?

Speaking of Hawk, he just needs three more goals to become the Walleye’s all-time goal-scoring leader. Hawkins currently has 114 goals, two behind Shane Berschbach (116). Hawkins, who already has the second most points in team history (238), also will likely move into second place on the assists list. Hawkins has 124 helpers, 19 behind his friend and former linemate T.J. Hensick. Only one player, Chad Costello of the Allen Americans, has won consecutive ECHL MVPs (2017 and 2018).

How much support will the Walleye’s AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids provide, and what impact will those players have?

The Detroit Red Wings organization has shown an increased willingness to trust the Walleye organization will some of their top prospects. In recent seasons, the NHL organization has sent its top goaltending prospects to Toledo and supplied the ECHL team with both of its goalies. This season, second-year pro Bednar will be joined by another goalie in the organization’s pipeline, Carter Gylander. Grand Rapids also has provided Toledo with quality players up front with forwards Carson Bantle and Gabriel Seger — two big bodies who provide additional scoring threats. How many prospects and how long will they stay in Toledo are the biggest unknowns.

Can Mikesch find the balance between the high scoring, finesse that leads to success during the regular season with a tight-checking, physical style that is key in the playoffs?

Mikesch, a former USHL (high-level juniors) coach, has a better handle on what it takes to be successful in the ECHL. A total of 13 players are back from a team that won the Central Division title and reached the conference finals in the playoffs primarily with speed, skill, and finesse. To balance the wide-open, high-scoring style, Mikesch also has brought in size and physicality. The bigger pieces upfront and on the back end should give the team a much-needed edge, creating protection and more open ice for the smaller offensive stars.

How will goaltender Jan Bednar grow in his sophomore season?

Bednar, a fourth round draft choice of the Red Wings in 2020, was a 21-year-old fresh-faced rookie when he made his pro debut for the Walleye last season. Bednar hopes to follow the path set by former Walleye netminder Sebastian Cossa, who started his career in Toledo and has worked his way up to contention for a spot in Detroit. Bednar, a native of the Czech Republic, looks to shore up his consistency after putting up solid numbers (22-7-2 with a 2.37 GAA and .917 save percentage) last season. Bednar looks to be the clear No. 1 and will be paired with another Red Wings prospect, Carter Gylander, in net.

How many player transactions and injuries will the team have to endure?

Perhaps the greatest X factor and one that is completely out of the team’s control is the impact injuries and call-ups will have on the team’s success. While the Walleye enjoyed a relatively unscathed regular season (aside from the loss of Adrian Beraldo) last year, Toledo was hurt by the injury bug in the playoffs. Productive forwards Trenton Bliss and Orrin Centazzo were lost for the final three games of the Western Conference Finals and the team went 1-2 without them. The Walleye’s role as a developmental team for the Red Wings also makes Toledo’s roster vulnerable to injuries at the higher levels in Grand Rapids and Detroit. Roster upheaval has upended other Walleye teams but a core of veterans should remain the backbone of the team regardless of losses of players to AHL clubs.

Will the 2024-25 Walleye team win the Kelly Cup?

The clear-cut goal — and one which the Walleye players are not shying away from — is to capture Toledo’s first title since the Storm won the Riley Cup in 1994. The Walleye have made two trips to the Kelly Cup Finals since 2019 with four straight appearances in the conference finals. Can this veteran and talented group get the Walleye over the hump? Winning a championship is the ultimate goal and the most difficult to obtain. A lot has to go right from puck luck to surviving the grind and pressure of the playoffs. Time will tell if this group has what it takes.