The Pittsburgh Penguins today named the Florida Everblades as the organization's ECHL affiliate, President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas announced.
“The Penguins are excited to partner with the Florida Everblades, who are one of the premier organizations in the ECHL,” said Penguins Assistant General Manager Jason Spezza. “As an organization, our player development system puts a strong emphasis on a three-tiered development model between the NHL, AHL and ECHL, and we feel that Florida’s championship pedigree and winning environment will help our players reach their maximum potential. Under the leadership of Craig Brush and Head Coach Brad Ralph, the Everblades have won four of the last five Kelly Cup championships and our goal to provide Coach Ralph with quality prospects that can continue to help the Everblades bring championship hockey to Southwest Florida.”
Starting with the upcoming 2026-27 campaign, the Everblades will serve as the secondary developmental affiliate for the Penguins, joining the organization’s primary developmental affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League (AHL). The Everblades play in the ECHL’s South Division in the Eastern Conference.
The Florida Everblades were founded in 1998 and operate out of Estero, Florida in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metropolitan area. Acquired by David Hoffmann and Hoffmann Family of Companies in 2019, the Everblades are one of the most successful clubs in ECHL history. They are the only team all-time to win five Kelly Cups (ECHL Championship), which includes championships in four of the last five seasons (2026, ’24, ’23, ’22, ’12), and they are also the only team to win the Kelly Cup in three consecutive seasons. The Everblades have qualified for the postseason in 25 of their 26 seasons and own the ECHL record for playoff games played and playoff wins.
