The 2023 Kelly Cup playoffs of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). Th ...

hockey league began on April 19, 2023, following the conclusion of the 2022–23 ECHL regular season and ended on June 9 with the

Florida Everblades The Florida Everblades are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Estero, Florida, in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metropolitan area. They play in the ECHL and are affiliated with the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League ( ...

winning their second consecutive Kelly Cup and third overall over the

Idaho Steelheads The Idaho Steelheads are an American professional minor league ice hockey team based in Boise, Idaho, and a member of the ECHL. The Steelheads play in the Mountain Division of the ECHL's Western Conference since the 2016–17 season. In 1996, th ...

in four games.

Playoff format

Since all 28 teams were able to complete all 72 games this season, the league went back to the points system, where it didn't matter anymore about the point percentage that was used the year prior since all 28 teams played all 72 games. The top 4 teams in each division qualified for the playoffs based on highest point total earned in the season. Then the first two rounds of the playoffs are held within the division with the first seed facing the fourth seed and the second seed facing the third. The division champions then play each other in a conference championship. The Kelly Cup finals pits the Eastern Conference champion against the Western Conference champion. All four rounds are a best-of-seven format. The

secured the top record, winning the

Brabham Cup The Henry Brabham Cup is the trophy awarded annually by the ECHL to the team that finishes with the most points in the league during the regular season. The Brabham Cup has been awarded 33 times to 16 different franchises since its debut in 1989. ...

, and therefore scheduled to have home ice advantage for all the rounds they advance in. 11 out of the 16 teams in this year's playoffs were participants in the previous Kelly Cup Playoffs.

Playoff seeds

After the regular season, 16 teams qualified for the playoffs. The

Toledo Walleye The Toledo Walleye are a professional ice hockey team based in Toledo, Ohio. The Walleye are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the ECHL. The Walleye were founded in 1991 as the Toledo Storm and play their home games at ...

were the first to clinch a playoff spot for the second year in a row, while the Adirondack Thunder were the last, completing the impossible comeback to overtake the

Worcester Railers The Worcester Railers (also called Worcester Railers HC) are a professional ice hockey team based in Worcester, Massachusetts. The team began play in the 2017–18 ECHL season, and is a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference of ...

for the final spot in the North Division. ''Final seeds and points:''

Eastern Conference

North Division

Newfoundland Growlers The Newfoundland Growlers are a professional minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The team began play in the 2018–19 ECHL season and have home games at Mary Brown's Centre. They are members ...

– Division champions, 98 pts *

Reading Royals The Reading Royals are a professional ice hockey team that currently plays in the ECHL. The team participates in the North Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. The Royals play their home games at the Santander Arena located in downtown Re ...

– 88 pts * Maine Mariners – 87 pts * Adirondack Thunder – 75 pts

South Division

South Carolina Stingrays The South Carolina Stingrays are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in North Charleston, South Carolina. The Stingrays play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. They play their home games at the North Charleston Co ...

– Division champions, 95 pts *

Jacksonville Icemen The Jacksonville Icemen are a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL in Jacksonville, Florida, that began play in the 2017–18 season. The team is affiliated with the New York Rangers and plays their home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Are ...

– 93 pts * Greenville Swamp Rabbits – 89 pts *

– 85 pts

Western Conference

Central Division

Cincinnati Cyclones The Cincinnati Cyclones are a professional ice hockey team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team is a member of the ECHL. Originally established in 1990, the team first played their games in the Cincinnati Gardens and now play at Heritage Bank C ...

– Division champions, 103 pts *

– 98 pts * Indy Fuel – 91 pts *

Fort Wayne Komets The Fort Wayne Komets are a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This team was previously a member of the Central Hockey League, the original Inter ...

– 75 pts

Mountain Division

–

winners, Division champions, 119 pts *

Allen Americans The Allen Americans are a professional ice hockey team headquartered at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas, which currently plays in the ECHL. The team was founded in 2009 in the Central Hockey League (CHL) where they played f ...

– 77 pts * Kansas City Mavericks – 76 pts *

Utah Grizzlies The Utah Grizzlies are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. Franchise history The current Utah Grizzlies franchise started in 1981 as the Nashville South Stars ...

– 74 pts

Playoff bracket

Division semifinals

North Division

(1) Newfoundland Growlers vs. (4) Adirondack Thunder

(2) Reading Royals vs. (3) Maine Mariners

South Division

(1) South Carolina Stingrays vs. (4) Florida Everblades

(2) Jacksonville Icemen vs. (3) Greenville Swamp Rabbits

Central Division

(1) Cincinnati Cyclones vs. (4) Fort Wayne Komets

(2) Toledo Walleye vs. (3) Indy Fuel

Mountain Division

(1) Idaho Steelheads vs. (4) Utah Grizzlies

(2) Allen Americans vs. (3) Kansas City Mavericks

Division finals

North Division

(1) Newfoundland Growlers vs. (2) Reading Royals

South Division

(2) Jacksonville Icemen vs. (4) Florida Everblades

Central Division

(1) Cincinnati Cyclones vs. (2) Toledo Walleye

Mountain Division

(1) Idaho Steelheads vs. (2) Allen Americans

Conference finals

Eastern Conference

(N1) Newfoundland Growlers vs. (S4) Florida Everblades

Western Conference

(M1) Idaho Steelheads vs. (C2) Toledo Walleye

Kelly Cup finals

(M1) Idaho Steelheads vs. (S4) Florida Everblades

Statistical leaders

Skaters

These are the top ten skaters based on points. ''GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

Goaltending

This is a combined of the top five goaltenders based on

goals against average Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on ...

and the top five goaltenders based on

save percentage Save percentage (often known by such symbols as SV%, SVS%, SVP, PCT) is a statistic in various goal-scoring sports that track saves as a statistic. In ice hockey and lacrosse, it is a statistic that represents the percentage of shots on goal ...

, with at least 400 minutes played. The table is sorted by GAA, and the criteria for inclusion are bolded. ''GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime Losses; SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts; TOI = Time on ice (in minutes)''

References

{{Reflist Kelly Cup playoffs 2022–23 ECHL season