“A Novice’s Guide to Hockey”: the KC Mavericks and the ECHL
So let’s say you live in Kansas City, and you want to see live hockey. You don’t want to travel three-plus hours to St. Louis to watch the Blues. So what do you do? Well, lucky for Kansas City hockey fans, we have a pretty competitive ECHL club in the Kansas City Mavericks (formerly the Missouri Mavericks) that offers affordable tickets and a great overall fan experience, even for non-hockey enthusiasts or hockey novices.
But perhaps you know nothing about the Mavericks, the ECHL, or minor league hockey in general? Maybe you want to be a little informed before you get tickets on SeatGeek (obligatory promo!) or buy that Mavericks hockey sweater. Well, this edition of the “Novice’s Guide to Hockey” will focus on everything you need to know about the Mavericks and the ECHL, in order to enhance your fan experience before you set foot in Silverstein Eye Centers Arena for live professional hockey.
The Mavericks have experienced some success in the CHL and ECHL (though no postseason title)
The Mavericks were founded in 2009 as the Missouri Mavericks, bringing professional hockey back in the KC Metro area since the folding of the IHL and consequently, the Blades back in 2001. One of the key reasons for bringing back hockey in the KC area was the construction of the Silverstein Eye Centers Arena, which had the goal of being a smaller venue that could reasonably support minor league sports teams, such as hockey and indoor soccer (they also host the Comets of the Indoor Soccer League). The Mavericks first joined the Central Hockey League, a smaller minor league hockey league that had a few affiliations with NHL teams (such as the Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars).
The Mavericks experienced tremendous success in the CHL, as they posted an overall record 186–116–26 from 2009–2014, with 2014 being the final seasons for the CHL as a whole. In the CHL’s swan song campaign, the Mavericks won the regular season title, though they were upset in the second round of the playoffs by the Arizona Sun Dogs. After the CHL ceased operations, the ECHL (formerly known as the East Coast Hockey League), usurped the Mavericks (and other CHL teams), which proved to be a boost for the organization as the NHL made the AHL and ECHL the two “official” minor leagues of the NHL (with the AHL being the top level and ECHL being the second level league).
After struggling in their first ECHL season, the Mavericks exploded in 2015–2016, which put them on the map not just with KC-Area hockey fans, but sports fans in general. The club, an affiliate of the New York Islanders at the time, were bought in February by Lamar Hunt Jr. of the Kansas City Chiefs, who had a goal of investing in the club in order to grow the sport in the metro with the hope of KC netting a NHL franchise in the future (he also just recently bought a tier II junior club in Topeka recently as well). On the ice, the Mavs finished the season with 109 points and a 52–15–3 record, which helped them earn a Brabham Cup, which goes to the team with the most points in the Regular Season. Even though the Mavs fell short in the playoffs, losing in the semifinals to the Allen Americans in seven games, the Mavs became known for wild crowds and a strong following by seasons end.
At the start of the 2017–2018 season, the Missouri Mavericks changed their name to the Kansas City Mavericks, with the hope of growing the sport as well as the club not just in the Missouri area of the KC Metro, but on both sides of the State Line as well. Furthermore, the Mavs have gone through some organizational changes as well, as they changed affiliates starting last season. Instead of the Islanders, the Mavs are now affiliated with the Calgary Flames and Stockton Flames of the AHL. Unfortunately, despite the name and affiliate change, as well as the strong backing from Hunt as an owner, the Mavs have failed to capitalize on their dream season of 2015–2016, as they have missed the playoffs the past two seasons.
The Mavs are looking like an early favorite for the Kelly Cup so far in 2018–2019
Through seven games, the Mavs are 5–1–1 and are currently tied for third in the Mountain Division standings, just a point behind the Tulsa Oilers (a St. Louis affiliate) and the Rapid City Rush (who do not have an affiliate). The team is led offensively by forwards Jared Vanwormer and Mark Cooper, who both lead the team in points with 11. Cooper is the leading sniper of the pair, as he has a team-leading five goals, but Vanwormer has been the leading playmaker, as he leads the team in assists (8) as well as shot attempts (29).
On the blue line, defenseman Willie Rakob has accumulated six points (on six assists) and has a plus-minus of 6, which leads all Mavs defensemen. As for defense in between the pipes, Nick Schneider started the year with a nice four-game sample (sporting a 2.72 GAA and .907 save percentage) before being called back up to Stockton. Since Schneider’s call up, Halifax product Mason McDonald has been the Mavs’ main goaltender and to sterling results: he has a 90.1 save percentage and 2.25 GAA since being sent down from Stockton in early October.
The Mavs are coming off a nice weekend homestand stretch where they won in overtime over local the Kansas rival Wichita and Utah on back-to-back nights at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena, both in dramatic fashion. Take a look at the game winner from Saturday night against Utah in the waning moments of overtime:
The Mavs wrap up their home stand against the last place Allen Americans on Tuesday night. If they can finish this stretch with a clean sweep (which they should considering the momentum gained from this weekend), it is possible that they may be in first place in the Mountain Division by Wednesday morning.
The ECHL is an official minor league recognized by the NHL…though a second-division one
In the past, there used to be a greater number of minor leagues in hockey: The AHL, ECHL, IHL, CHL, just to name a few were all considered the NHL’s minor leagues. However, since the CHL shut down in 2014, the NHL decided to narrow things down in order to make hockey’s minor league structure more aligned to the one we see in professional baseball. So, the NHL only recognizes two minor leagues where NHL teams can assign and call up players: the AHL and the ECHL. The AHL is the top minor league division, while the ECHL is a tier below.
The ECHL was founded in 1988 and formerly known as the East Coast Hockey League, but has just gone by “ECHL” since 2003 as they began to expand into the Midwest and West Coast. There are currently 27 teams in the ECHL, with 25 of them affiliated with NHL teams. The two teams currently “independent” are the Rush (which I mentioned above) and the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. The ECHL is broken into two conferences and four divisions, similar to the format of the NHL. The Eastern Conference consists of the North and South Division while the Western Conference consists of the Central and Mountain Division. The Mavericks are currently in the Mountain Division along with the Rush, Oilers, Americans, Wichita Thunder, Utah Grizzlies, and Idaho Steelheads.
Much like the NHL, the ECHL awards a regular and a postseason champion. The regular season champion receives the Brabham Cup (which the Mavs got into 2016), and the postseason champion receives the Kelly Cup. For the postseason, the top four clubs for each division qualify for the playoffs and play within the division for the first two rounds. The division winners then play in the semifinals, and the conference winners play in the Kelly Cup in a best of seven format. The Colorado Eagles won the Kelly Cup a season ago, their second overall, and the Alaska Aces, Hampton Roads Admirals, and South Carolina Sting Rays have the most ECHL titles in league history. Unfortunately, only the Sting Rays are still around the ECHL today, as both the Aces and Admirals are currently defunct franchises.
Though it’s smaller-time hockey, Mavs home games are an experience
I do hope at some point, the Mavs transition to the AHL, as I think moving up in the minor league system will generate more hockey fans and enthusiasm in the KC area. After all, more of the top prospects play in the AHL, while the ECHL is more for lower round prospects or guys who are going through their share of struggles either in the NHL or AHL. There was talk about the Blues exploring a possible relationship with Kansas City as an affiliate a year ago, but those discussions fell through, and as of now, the San Antonio Rampage are the AHL affiliate for the Blues in 2018–2019. That being said, the discussions have been there, and as the Mavs continue to garner new hockey fans in KC, those AHL talks will get more legitimate in the future (though the issue is what arena to use, as Silverstein may be too small for the AHL’s standards, and it seems unlikely that the Sprint Center will relinquish many dates to an AHL franchise when they make so much on concerts and special events).
However, even though it’s maybe “small time hockey”, Mavs games are a hoot. Though it only has a capacity of about 5,800, tickets are reasonably priced and relatively easy to get, and the fan environment is hard to beat. Fans get hyped after big goals, big hits and of course, fights, and they are a supportive group that gets behind the Mavs players on the ice. Yes, the “Orange Army” (the name of the Mavs’ fan base…a play on Sporting KC’s fan group moniker) may be a little too “soccer mom-esque” (they don’t have the brutal, blood-thirsty attitudes of hockey fans in traditional areas like Canada, the Upper Midwest or Northeast), but that is more of a characteristic of sports fans in the KC area in general. And if you got a family (which is the general population of Mavs fans), then it’s probably better that crowds tend to be more positive and tame than what is expected for a hockey game in the minors, as you will see below (i.e. drunk, foul mouthed, high-testosterone, single or unhappily married males).
Nonetheless, Mavs hockey is worth seeing and following if you are any kind of Kansas City sports fanatic. It’s worth the price of admission, and the experience is only getting better each and every year both in the arena and on the ice. Yes, I would encourage KC folk to make the trek to St. Louis to watch NHL hockey at some point (especially considering the reports that Blues attendance is hurting early on this season…their mediocre record probably has something to do with that). But also go see a Mavs game this year…or maybe a few. They are having a great start to the season right now, and hockey in KC will only grow as long as local hockey is supported.
And besides…there’s something special about minor league hockey…I think my love for movies like “Slapshot” and “Goon” have something to do with that. I wonder how many Mavs fans feel the same way…
