Can they make it four? Florida Everblades start quest for ECHL Kelly Cup four-peat

The Florida Everblades, three-time defending Kelly Cup champions, will open the 2024-25 season on Friday on the road against the Jacksonville Icemen. This past June, they became the first team in ECHL history to win three straight Kelly Cups.

And they did it with three different captains: John McCarron in 2022, Ben Masella in 2023, and Joe Pendenza in 2024. Each player subsequently retired, leaving coach Brad Ralph with the question of who will wear the "C" on his sweater when the team opens the 2024-25 season on Saturday night in Jacksonville against the Icemen.

"I think all the captains in the last three years had different leadership styles, and that's fine," Ralph said. "Obviously, all three worked. So again, we're going to give it some time."

In January, midway through last season, Pendenza was named the captain, and he went on to lead the Everblades to the three-peat. However, he elected to hang up his skates and settle into post-hockey life.

"He's got a house down in Naples and he took a job," Ralph said. "Joe is an iron man, an unbelievable player for us, just so versatile. He's played a lot of hockey. We're very thankful for Joe and everything he brought to the organization and team. But I'm happy to see players move on with their lives. If they feel like this is a spot for them to live and start the next phase of their life, I'm really proud of that."

So that means it's time for the next man to step up. And there are a number of players who could take up that role. Forward Oliver Chau, the team's leading scorer and winner of the June M. Kelly Playoff MVP award last season, is one such player.

Chau, an Ontario native, is entering his third full season as a professional player, with all but 16 of his 128 games being with the Everblades (he also had a couple of stints in the American Hockey League). His 60 regular season points led the team last season combined with his playoff MVP award, helped to earn him an AHL contract with the Everblades' new affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds.

"Hopefully he can use that as a confidence boost to take that step and find the leaderboard in points in the regular season and lead this team to another Cup," Ralph said.

While the AHL contract is good news for Chau's development, it can present a challenge to the Everblades. It gives Springfield more leeway to call him up as needed, which could limit his time in Florida.

Another challenge will be maintaining offensive production overall. The Everblades' three leading scorers not named Chau have left. Pendenza retired, and Sean Josling and Bobo Carpenter are playing in Europe. That puts Logan Lambdin as a candidate for next man up.

Lambdin is a Michigan native and former Michigan State Spartan who is entering his fourth pro season. The Everblades picked him up in a trade deadline deal with the Kalamazoo Wings in 2023. He had 33 points with a near-even mix of 18 goals and 15 assists during the regular season last year.

This year, Lambdin has the opportunity to get on the first or second line and increase his scoring output. He also served as an assistant captain last year, so he will be looked upon for his leadership.

Goalie Cam Johnson is back, though like Chau, he has an AHL contract with Springfield and could spend some time there. A fan favorite for the last four years, the Michigander was the goalie for all three Kelly Cups and won two playoff MVP awards.

On defense, Riese Zmolek is also returning. A Minnesota native, he was one of the team's top defenders and an assistant captain during his first season in Estero last year, going plus-17 in the regular season and plus-21 in the playoffs. He will take on a leadership role if called upon but is sanguine on the topic of who will end up being the captain.

"There's a lot of guys in there that could wear letters or are deserving of letters," Zmolek said. "It's a good locker room. Everyone wants to win. Everyone works hard. It's just a great group of guys."

Zmolek is joined by fellow returner Jordan Sambrook of Ontario, who will provide some added continuity, having been with the club for the 2022 and 2024 Kelly Cups. A new face on defense who has impressed Ralph in training camp is fellow Ontarian Santino Centorame, who was signed in the offseason after playing for the Indy Fuel, where he got some playoff experience.

Also new this year is the team's affiliations. Along with the AHL affiliation with Springfield, the Everblades have a new NHL affiliation with the St. Louis Blues. The parent club has sent down two defensemen to start the season in Estero: Anton Malmström and Jérémie Biakabutuka.

The nephew of former NFL running back Tim Biakabutuka and a Québec native, Biakabutuka was a familiar face to the Everblades as he spent nearly all of his rookie season with the rival Orlando Solar Bears. St. Louis' ECHL affiliate last year was Orlando, so with the change in affiliation, Biakabutuka comes to Estero.

"I know he's a big kid, he's talented," Ralph said. "We know he's going into a second-year pro season, so we're going to be looking for him to take a big step in his development process. Our goal is to help him realize his goal of playing in the NHL and getting called up this year."

Malmström, from Sweden, played 12 games between the Thunderbirds and the Orlando Solar Bears after finishing collegiate play at Bowling Green State. This will be his first full professional season.

The team will raise its third straight and ECHL record fourth overall Kelly Cup championship banner on Friday, Oct. 25, before their 7:30 home opener against the Atlanta Gladiators. It's become a familiar sight, as familiar as seeing players skating around holding the Kelly Cup over their heads in June. Another familiar sight has been seeing the Kelly Cup show up at Southwest Florida bars and it may or may not have ended up in the Gulf of Mexico at one point.

"There was a lot of partying around town, taking it restaurants and bars and parties," Ralph said. "And then it went off for repairs. Again."

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Can they make it four? Florida Everblades start quest for ECHL Kelly Cup four-peat