Kansas City, Florida to open 2024 Kelly Cup Finals on Friday
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The battle to determine the national “AA” hockey champion begins Friday when the Western Conference champion Kansas City Mavericks host the Eastern Conference champion Florida Everblades in Game 1 of the 2024 Kelly Cup Finals at 7:05 p.m. CT at Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence, Missouri.
Celebrating its 36th Season in 2023-24, the ECHL is the Premier ‘AA’ Hockey League and is the third-longest tenured professional hockey league behind only the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League.
The Kelly Cup trophy is named for Patrick J. Kelly, who presents it each year to the postseason champion. Kelly was one of the founding fathers of the ECHL and was the second inductee into the ECHL Hall of Fame in 2008. Kelly served as Commissioner for the league’s first eight seasons and was named Commissioner Emeritus in 1996, a title that he continues to hold. Kelly, who celebrates his 71st season in professional hockey in 2023-24, coached 1,900 career games and had 935 wins. Kelly coached in the Eastern Hockey League, the Southern Hockey League and the National Hockey League where he was the only coach to ever lead the Colorado Rockies to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Game 2 will be Saturday at 7:05 p.m. CT at Kansas City before the series shifts to Hertz Arena in Estero, Florida, where the Everblades will host Game 3 on Wednesday, June 5 at 7:30 p.m. ET and Game 4 on Friday, June 7 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Game 5, if necessary, would be at 7:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 8. The series would return to Kansas City, if necessary, for Game 6 on Monday, June 10 at 7:05 p.m. CT and Game 7 on Wednesday, June 12 at 7:05 p.m. CT.
The ECHL is the primary development league for the AHL and the NHL. The ECHL and the AHL are the only two minor professional hockey leagues that are recognized in the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL and the National Hockey League Players’ Association. The CBA states that any player on an NHL entry-level contract designated for assignment to a minor league must report if assigned to a team in the ECHL or the AHL. A player on an NHL entry-level contract assigned to a minor professional league other than the ECHL or the AHL is not required to report and can request reassignment to a team in the ECHL or the AHL.
Kanas City is the ECHL…
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