Reality Check

Now that the Everblades have a coach, it's time to think about next seasons roster. As much as I'd love to see everyone from last year come back it's not going to happen. This is because of a rule the ECHL has regarding veteran players (you may remember this from my IHL rant last month). The league has a rule in place that places a limit on the number of veterans a team is allowed to have on their active roster. The ECHL defines a veteran the following way...

"A veteran shall mean a player, other than a goaltender, who has played in at least 260 regular season games of professional hockey."

Why is this important? Well, the ECHL limits their teams to only four veterans at a time on their active roster. I've gone ahead and sorted through the team's roster at the end of the year, checked them through Hockey DB, and used my trusty calculator to see which guys qualify as a veteran. Junior hockey and college hockey don't count toward their status as those are played under armature status (that means NCAA, WHL, OHL, etc.). Playoff games don't count either so I've not included them in my calculations. I've put it all in a nice, easy to read, spreadsheet for you (I'm such a hockey nerd). The link to the sheet itself is here if you don't like the squished version.



I went ahead and highlighted the players that would be considered veterans in that lovely blue color. I took the liberty of adding Peter Metcalf, because I choose to hold out hope that a new coach may change his mind and bring him back (a girl can dream). I didn't include players with AHL/NHL contracts as the league doesn't count them, and I also didn't include goalies as they are exempt from veteran status.

As you can see, there are six players that qualify as veterans. I think it's no secret that I'd like to see Ryan Lang and Peter Metcalf next year, but beyond that I really have no opinion on who should make the cut. Ernie Hartlieb is definitely a given, the season ticket holders would mutiny if he didn't come back. I hope the team starts announcing signings soon, the wait is killing me.