Mavericks eye ECHL title with most familiar roster in the league

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (KCTV) - Hockey season is just 10 days away in Kansas City. In less than two weeks, the KC Mavericks will begin their trek towards the Kelly Cup Finals – and this year, a lot of players are back for the journey.

The Mavericks return 13 players from a year ago – more than any other team in the ECHL.

“We’ve set a high standard. We’ve continued to have a lot of success here. They want to be a part of it,” said Mavs’ Head Coach and General Manager, Tad O’Had. “We’ve got a lot of unfinished business. The guys want to get back on the ice and get after it.”

The Mavericks have established themselves as one of the premier franchises in their league. They’ve won back-to-back Mountain Division titles. In 2024, they made it to the Kelly Cup Finals, and in 2025 made it to the Western Conference Finals – but this year, the Mavs are focused on winning a championship.

“We continue to look at areas that we can improve,” O’Had said. “We focused on that with our recruiting of free agents in the offseason, just how we build this roster. This goes from the players, the staff, ownership – all the way down, all the way up. We want to understand how we can be the best team and win a championship here.”

The Mavericks return a strong corps of players from last year’s team that made a run to the Western Conference finals. Their 13 returning players give the team a lot of experience, but some new pieces have been sprinkled in hopes of pushing the team over the top.

“The guys that came back are back for a reason,” said forward David Cotton. “We established a culture that we’d like to continue going forward. For the new guys, we have a lot of high-skill guys that we added to the squad, so just bringing them into the group and starting off on the right foot.”

Puck drops on the Mavericks’ season is set for Oct. 17. The players can’t wait to take the ice in front of a raucous home crowd.

“This place is always fun. I remember my first home game here and it was a blast,” said Mavericks forward Luke Loheit. “We’re super excited. We’re ready to get going. This time of year is hockey season, so I think we’re all ready to get out on the ice and compete.”

You can find out more about the Mavericks -- including their season schedule -- here. All Saturday home games for the Mavericks will be aired on KCTV’s sister station, KSMO.