Everblades Coach Brad Ralph: "Our Goal, No Doubt, is to Win Three Cups in a Row."

Brad Ralph understands just how unlikely the success of his Florida Everblades is. 

Winning back-to-back Kelly Cups in the ever-turbulent world of AA hockey, where call-ups and roster shakeups year in and year out are a foregone conclusion, is a long shot at best.

Owning the sparkling record the Everblades have under Ralph’s tenure goes beyond luck. There’s a secret sauce in Florida, something in the warm water that catches on in the locker room.

Perhaps Ralph has tapped into a fountain of youth-like ability to get the most out of his rookies and veterans alike. Perhaps it's the sunshine-producing endorphins that drive his guys to play their hearts out. Whatever the reason, Ralph has compiled a near-unmatched record since joining the Blades in 2016-17.

Ralph now finds himself in rarefied air, on the cusp of making ECHL history as the first and only club to capture three straight league titles. And make no mistake, that is the end goal.

“There's a lot of factors that play into why certain organizations are successful year after year,” Ralph shared during a candid sit-down with The Hockey News. “You've got to look to the location down here in southwest Florida. It's a vacation destination. There are a lot of reasons that we can recruit good hockey players. They want to golf, they want to spend time in the sun and fish and whatnot. So that's part of it.

“You know, we've got a great facility. I think Craig Brush has done an amazing job over the 25 years. He's the architect of this organization and the building. We've got a great minor league set up here. And then just the support we've received from our fans, from our ownership, from the hockey operations. The big package here, it's a first-class organization. And that helps to sustain success year after year. 

"We're all trying to angle to recruit the best players and provide a great experience because I think at the end of the day, if these players are happy to play here, they're just going to be much more energized to give their all on the ice.”

The allure of the Sunshine State has allowed Ralph and co. to retain a large crop of the Blades core year in and year out, earning a locker-room cohesion that has resulted in playoff paydirt.

Ralph is aware of the realities of an AA system. In that regard, his aim as an ECHL coach is two-fold: to hone and cultivate the skills of the next wave of Panthers hopefuls, and to build a league title contender. 

"We have a common goal, right? The common goal is to get these players called up, and if they're not getting called up, our goal is to win a championship. That is the bond that keeps us together. And obviously, over the course of a long season, you're getting to know them on a personal level."

Reflecting on his past life as a pro hockey player, Ralph characterized himself as a competitor first and foremost, with a mixture of grit and production whose end goal, at all times, was to win.

“My strongest attribute is I was a competitor. I love to win more than anything and probably a detriment to my career as a player in that I wasn't as selfish as I needed to be to really produce. But I was a two-way centreman, a strong defensive game, a little bit of offense. Learning how to win and helping my team win was really what drove me as a player.”

That engrained desire for success on and off the ice has carried over to his coaching career, one he shares has perhaps come more naturally than his nine years on the ice.

“I felt more comfortable standing in front of my players than I ever did as a player,” he admits. “It felt like I was in the right spot at that time. And you're right, it was a journey as a player, and it's been a journey as a coach here. And all those lessons, good and bad, have led to some beliefs and just how I manage my team and a locker room that obviously has worked for me at this level.”

Opening up his playbook, Ralph admits there’s no hard and fast secret to success, no set approach for one particular squad.

A balanced team is a successful team, one that attacks the net, plays a defensive-minded brand of hockey, and out-work the competition.

“There's no specific answer that translates year to year. Us winning back-to-back Cups was a byproduct of 14 years of coaching for me. It was a byproduct of players that we've had for seven years, five years, four years. We've worked extremely hard to create this energy and enthusiasm to raise the Kelly Cup. So it's been a long time coming for all of us. But it's different year to year,” he shared.

“My style is a balanced approach. I believe defense is critical. You have to be good defensively to win. You have to limit odd-man rushes against, you have to protect the house, and you have to win your net front battles. Just to get you in the door, you've got to be good defensively. I demand that from my players. 

"There's a lot of work and a lot of compete and a lot of jam that comes with playing strong defensive hockey. So that's part of it. But on the other side, you've got to score goals to win games as well. My approach is we're going to work on everything.”

Romanticizing the what-ifs in pro sports is a time-honored tradition amongst fans and media alike. The Everblades, with Ralph once again at the helm, are staring into the face of the ages, going for the elusive and unconquered ECHL three-peat.

It's lofty, perhaps outrageous, but the goal of each and every player and hockey perssonel in the league is to hoist Patrick J. Kelly's Cup. This year is no different, he says.

"I think personally, I'm always looking for the next challenge and the next goal. It's hard to say that's the goal because we've got so much to accomplish between now and then. When you play almost 100 games a year, it's exhausting. And that was one of our biggest challenges last year. We win, we have our core group of players coming back that are 30 years old, let's say on average. They're tired. So last year was one of the hardest years for me to ever coach," he admits candidly.

"So yeah our goal no doubt is to win three cups in a row, the first team to ever do it. That is going to be the goal. It's a big goal, but sure, why not? I mean, what else? We won back-to-back years and let's look for the next challenge that's never been done before."