Awards roll in as Kansas City Mavericks open Kelly Cup hockey playoffs on home ice

Having surged through the regular season as the class of the ECHL, the Kansas City Mavericks will open professional hockey’s Kelly Cup playoffs on Friday night at Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence.

The Mavericks will take on the Tahoe Knight Monsters in Game 1 of the Mountain Division series at 6:05 p.m. Central Time on Friday, April 24. The teams will then turn around and play Game 2 on Saturday, again at 6:05 p.m.

The ECHL regular-season champion Mavericks (55-12-3) owned the league’s top record, earning the Mountain Division title and home ice as the postseason begins. KC had the best record in the ECHL for the majority of the 2025-26 season; Tahoe arrives at the playoffs 35-30-4.

This is a best-of-seven series. Games 3 and 4 — and, if necessary, 5 — will be at the Knight Monsters’ home arena, Tahoe Blue Event Center, in Stateline, Nevada. Game 3 is set for Wednesday, April 29; Game 4 is scheduled for April 30; and Game 5 would be May 2. The puck will drop at 9 p.m. CT each evening.

Games 6 and 7, if needed, would be back here at Cable Dahmer Arena. The sixth game would take place at 7:05 p.m. CT on May 4, and the seventh would be earmarked for 7:05 p.m. on May 6.

Mavericks’ GM/head coach is ECHL Coach of Year

The Mavericks have been cleaning up on the ice this season, and that dominance has not gone unnoticed by the ECHL’s coaches, broadcasters, PR folks and reporters.

Together, that group of league insiders this week voted Mavericks general manager and head coach Tad O’Had the ECHL Coach of the Year for 2025-26.

O’Had garners the honor, known as the John Brophy Award, following a campaign in which KC captured the Brabham Cup with the league’s top win/loss record. The strong season-long showing delivered the Mavs to a third straight Mountain Division title.

O’Had has put together a Mavericks team that’s going to be a tough out on all fronts. They boast one of the league’s highest-scoring offenses and a defense among its most stingy. Their 55 wins and 115 points rank among the top regular-season performances in league history.

O’Had has compiled a 255-136-14 record in six seasons with the organization, which recently re-upped its affiliation agreement with the NHL’s Seattle Kraken and AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds. O’Had coached in this year’s ECHL All-Star Game, as well.

Mavericks’ Marcus Crawford named top ECHL defenseman

O’Had has company on the awards podium: Mavericks defenseman Marcus Crawford is the ECHL’s Defenseman of the Year for 2025-26.

Crawford recorded 14 goals and 72 assists (86 points) in 70 games, becoming the first defenseman in league history to lead the ECHL in scoring, per a Mavericks news release. He led all ECHL players in assists and points, and his 72 assists set a new single-season franchise record.

Crawford also led all ECHL defensemen in power-play assists (33) and power-play points (39) while tying for the league lead among defensemen with 14 goals.