Florida Everblades ready for another title defense

Florida Everblades goalie Cam Johnson ended last season hoisting the Kelly Cup for the third straight time. Now, he’s back on the ice after lifting someone up for the first time this offseason.

“I had a little baby this summer Lennon is her name,” Johnson said.

Johnson, a first time father, added, “it was always number one on my bucket list to be a dad so to finally check that box is really cool. You know it’s super special super rewarding. It’s nice to look forward to see her face every day after practice.”

The Everblades are in the final days of the preseason before starting the 2024-25 regular season. Despite making history as the first ECHL team to win the Kelly Cup three straight years, this team is not getting complacent.

“Once you get a taste of winning, you want to do it again,” Everblades head coach Brad Ralph said. “It’s you know, it’s that feeling that your chasing every year. so I think the returning players will come back with that want level. the new players coming in they came here for a reason. They wanted to win.”

The saying goes, “If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best.” As the defending champs, the Everblades know they have a target on their back once again.

“It puts a little pressure on us to be at our best every game,” Johnson said. “You know we really don’t have nights off which is huge when it comes to the end of the season. We kind of play playoff hockey the whole year.”

Center ice at Hertz Arena already reads “4-time Kelly Cup Champs.”

“When I saw it, I got some shivers,” forward and Kelly Cup Finals MVP Oliver Chau said. 

During the home opener on October 26, the Everblades will add their fourth banner to the rafters.

 “It’s kind of a culmination of all of last year but you know once the banner goes up, puck is ready to drop, we got to get ready for the season,” Chau said.