2018 Kelly Cup playoffs

The 2018 Kelly Cup playoffs of the ECHL began in April 2018 following the conclusion of the 2017–18 ECHL regular season. The Kelly Cup was won by the Colorado Eagles, in their last season in the ECHL before joining the American Hockey League, in seven games over the regular season champions, the Florida Everblades.
==Playoff format==
At the end of the regular season the top four teams in each division qualifies for the 2018 Kelly Cup playoffs and be seeded one through four 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.
==Playoff seeds==
After the regular season, 16 teams qualify for the playoffs. The Florida Everblades were the first team to qualify during the regular season on February 28. The Everblades were the Eastern Conference regular season champions and clinched the Brabham Cup with the best record in the ECHL on April 5. The Toledo Walleye earned the top seed in the Western Conference.
Final seeds
=== Eastern Conference ===
====North Division====
#Adirondack Thunder – Division champions, 89 pts
#Manchester Monarchs – 88 pts
#Reading Royals – 87 pts
#Worcester Railers – 82 pts
====South Division====
#Florida Everblades – Brabham Cup winners, division champions, 112 pts
#South Carolina Stingrays – 104 pts
#Orlando Solar Bears – 75 pts
#Atlanta Gladiators – 69 pts
===Western Conference===
====Central Division====
#Toledo Walleye – Division champions, 105 pts
#Fort Wayne Komets – 98 pts
#Cincinnati Cyclones – 81 pts
#Indy Fuel – 78 pts
====Mountain Division====
#Colorado Eagles – Division champions, 102 pts
#Idaho Steelheads – 96 pts
#Allen Americans – 78 pts
#Wichita Thunder – 76 pts
==Playoff bracket==
== Division semifinals ==
=== North Division ===
==== (1) Adirondack Thunder vs. (4) Worcester Railers ====
==== (2) Manchester Monarchs vs. (3) Reading Royals ====
=== South Division ===
==== (1) Florida Everblades vs. (4) Atlanta Gladiators ====
==== (2) South Carolina Stingrays vs. (3) Orlando Solar Bears ====
=== Central Division ===
==== (1) Toledo Walleye vs. (4) Indy Fuel ====
==== (2) Fort Wayne Komets vs. (3) Cincinnati Cyclones ====
===Mountain Division===
==== (1) Colorado Eagles vs. (4) Wichita Thunder====
==== (2) Idaho Steelheads vs. (3) Allen Americans====
== Division finals ==
=== North Division ===
==== (N1) Adirondack Thunder vs. (N2) Manchester Monarchs ====
===South Division===
==== (S1) Florida Everblades vs. (S3) Orlando Solar Bears====
=== Central Division ===
==== (C1) Toledo Walleye vs. (C2) Fort Wayne Komets ====
===Mountain Division===
==== (M1) Colorado Eagles vs. (M2) Idaho Steelheads ====
==Conference finals==
===Eastern Conference===
==== (S1) Florida Everblades vs. (N1) Adirondack Thunder ====
=== Western Conference ===
==== (M1) Colorado Eagles vs. (C2) Fort Wayne Komets ====
== Kelly Cup finals ==
=== (S1) Florida Everblades vs. (M1) Colorado Eagles ===
==Statistical leaders==
===Skaters===
These are the top ten skaters based on points.
Player 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	+/–	PIM
Michael Joly 	Colorado Eagles 	24	13	16	29 	+11	16
Michael Kirkpatrick	Florida Everblades	18	11	11	22 	+5 	12
Mitchell Heard 	Florida Everblades	20	9 	13	22 	+4 	39
John McCarron 	Florida Everblades	21	10	10	20 	+3 	62
Gabriel Desjardins 	Fort Wayne Komets 	18	9 	11	20 	+13	12
Matt Register 	Colorado Eagles 	24	3 	17	20 	+4 	16
J.C. Beaudin 	Colorado Eagles 	22	10	8 	18 	+0 	6
Ryan Schmelzer 	Adirondack Thunder	17	9 	8 	17 	+9 	24
Shawn Szydlowski 	Fort Wayne Komets 	17	4 	13	17 	+0 	16
Garrett Thompson 	Fort Wayne Komets 	18	7 	9 	16 	+5 	16
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
===Goaltending===
This is a combined table of the top five goaltenders based on goals against average and the top five goaltenders based on save percentage, with at least 240 minutes played. The table is sorted by GAA, and the criteria for inclusion are bolded.
Player 	Team 	GP	W	L	OTL	SA 	GA	GAA 	SV% 	SO	TOI
Mackenzie Blackwood	Adirondack Thunder 	5 	3	1	0 	112	4 	1.00	0.964	1 	240
Parker Milner 	South Carolina Stingrays	4 	0	2	2 	95 	7 	1.54	0.926	0 	273
Cal Heeter 	Orlando Solar Bears 	8 	4	3	0 	255	14	1.90	0.945	1 	443
Philippe Desrosiers	Idaho Steelheads 	10	4	3	2 	290	19	2.00	0.934	0 	571
John Muse 	Reading Royals 	4 	0	1	3 	200	11	2.02	0.945	0 	328
Drew Fielding 	Adirondack Thunder 	10	5	5	0 	360	25	2.35	0.931	1 	639
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)
== See also ==
* 2017–18 ECHL season
* List of ECHL seasons
== References ==
==External links==
*ECHL website
Category:ECHL seasons
Category:2018 in hockey