2019-2020 Florida Everblades Preview
With the extent of their organizational depth, Nashville should rely on Florida heavily.
For the 2019-20 season, the Nashville organization will have a full-time ECHL affiliate - a luxury they have been lacking for some time now. In the Everblades, Nashville has paired up with an exceptional organization that has an exceedingly competitive track record.
The past few days, Rachel and I (Eric) have been previewing the Milwaukee Admirals by position, and today we’ll look briefly at the Everblades and the players sent to Estero relevant to Milwaukee and Nashville. You can find our previous three entries in this series linked below:
2019-20 Milwaukee Admirals Preview: The Goalies
2019-20 Milwaukee Admirals Preview: The Defense
2019-20 Milwaukee Admirals Preview: The Forwards
For this preview, we’ll once again be using the data viz work of our own Bryan Bastin (@ProjPatSummitt); that visualization can be explored further here.
2018-19 Numbers & Thoughts on 2019-20
Hunter Garlent (F) – 24 – St. Mary’s University [USports]
Garlent is making the leap from the Canadian USports circuit, which is an increasingly common route for former Major Junior players. He’s an unknown commodity but was the driving force behind St. Mary’s offense last year, scoring nearly a primary point per game and posting a 19% goals-for rate relative to his teammates.
He’s nearly four seasons removed from nearing 100 points in a season with Peterborough of the OHL.
Tanner Jeannot (F) – 22 – Milwaukee Admirals [AHL]
I was a bit surprised to see Jeannot get assigned to Florida over the likes of Tommy Novak or Mathieu Olivier. But, as Rachel noted astutely, his development path is a little unclear. Seven goals last year isn’t bad given his ice time and a seven percent shooting rate, but top-line minutes in the ECHL is probably for the best.
Zach Magwood (F) – 21 – Milwaukee Admirals [AHL]
ED: Earlier this summer I was making the case for Magwood to receive an expanded role in Milwaukee. His ability to drive scoring was uncharacteristically good for a bottom-six player in Milwaukee (14% relative goals-for rate). But it’s clear the depth chart won’t allow this and Magwood will split time like he did in 2018-19.
RK: As Eric says, Magwood is a victim of forward depth in Milwaukee. He would be my first pick for a call-up in the event of injury, but he’s got to put in the work to prove himself.
Hugo Roy (F) – 22 – Atlanta Gladiators [ECHL]
Roy is also joining the pro ranks from USports play in Canada last season, but he had a more extended audition with Atlanta at the end of 2018-19. I’m not as high on his potential as I am with Garlent but think he could be useful depth for the Admirals in times of need.
Scott Savage (D) – 24 – Milwaukee Admirals [AHL]
It’s important to note here that Savage has been loaned to the Maine Mariners of the ECHL but Milwaukee still has him under contract. This is a frustrating but expected move. Savage played astute defense in his 19 games with Milwaukee last year, allowing just 1.6 goals against per 60 minutes.
Ken Appleby (G) – 24 – Jacksonville IceMen [ECHL]
ED: The goalies are a case of picking your poison. Appleby was pedestrian for an IceMen team that struggled throughout the season, collecting just two wins, posting a save percentage below 0.900, and allowing over five goals-against above average.
RK: Appleby is a monster of a man, but will his size be an advantage at the ECHL level? He can sink or swim this season.
Cam Johnson (G) – 25 – Binghamton Devils [AHL]
If you can believe it, Johnson was even worse for Binghamton, collecting just 11 wins in nearly 30 starts and allowing a staggering 26.04 goals-against above average. I think the starter’s crease may lean Johnson due to experience, but it’s likely a toss-up.
Contract Status
...
| Player | 2019-20 Team | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hunter Garlent | Florida [ECHL] | AHL | UFA | UFA | UFA | UFA | UFA |
| Hugo Roy | Florida [ECHL] | AHL | AHL | UFA | UFA | UFA | UFA |
| Zach Magwood | Florida [ECHL] | $753.3K | $753.3K | RFA | RFA | RFA | RFA |
| Tanner Jeannot | Florida [ECHL] | $713.3K | $713.3K | RFA | RFA | RFA | RFA |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Scott Savage | Maine [ECHL] | AHL | UFA | UFA | UFA | UFA | UFA |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ken Appleby | Florida [ECHL] | AHL | UFA | UFA | UFA | UFA | UFA |
| Cam Johnson | Florida [ECHL] | AHL | UFA | UFA | UFA | UFA | UFA |
Of the nine players currently assigned to the ECHL, just two are on NHL contracts: Zach Magwood and Tanner Jeannot. It will likely stay that way despite any exceptional performances, due to the 50-contract limit.
Call-Up Short List
This list is, of course, fluid due to injuries and other variables, but when it comes to forwards, the list should likely go as follows:
1. Tanner Jeannot
2. Zach Magwood
3. Hunter Garlent
4. Hugo Roy
I would bet Johnson gets any call-up in net, and defensive depth will depend on who else gets reassigned from Milwaukee, but I imagine Savage will stay in Maine as long as they can keep him there.
Another name to watch is Michael Huntebrinker. If things get real dicey, the 27-year old is coming off a 44-point season (in 36 games) in Reading and notched seven points in two preseason games for Milwaukee.
He’s currently playing on an standard ECHL player agreement with Florida.
All contract information is courtesy of capfriendly.com. All statistics are courtesy of eliteprospects.com, echl.com, and theahl.com. The 2018-19 model is courtesy of Eric Dunay (@ERock_28) and C.C., and the viz is courtesy of Bryan Bastin (@ProjPatSummitt).