Brabham Cup

The Henry Brabham Cup is the trophy awarded annually by the ECHL to the team that finishes with the most points in the league during the regular season. The Brabham Cup has been awarded 34 times to 16 different franchises since its debut in 1989.[1]

Brabham Cup
SportIce hockey
Awarded forECHL team with the most points in the regular season
History
First award1988–89 ECHL season
First winnerErie Panthers
Most winsAlaska Aces
Toledo Walleye (5 each)
Most recentIdaho Steelheads

History

Unlike the playoff championship, which was originally awarded with the Riley Cup and now the Kelly Cup, the trophy was introduced during the league's inaugural season in 1988 by the league's board of governors and was named after in recognition of Henry Brabham, who co-founded the ECHL in 1988–89 with five teams in four states. Brabham, who was the first inductee into the ECHL Hall of Fame in 2008, owned three of the original five teams. The Virginia businessman was crucial to the league surviving its earliest seasons.

Only five Brabham Cup winners have gone on to win the ECHL Kelly Cup playoff championship, with the Alaska Aces doing so three times, despite the guaranteed home-ice advantage in all rounds of the playoffs.

Eight franchises — the Alaska Aces, Cincinnati Cyclones, Florida Everblades, Idaho Steelheads, Knoxville Cherokees franchise (including the Pee Dee Pride), Louisiana IceGators, Toledo Storm franchise (including Toledo Walleye), and the Thunderbirds/Nailers franchise (the Winston-Salem Thunderbirds and the Wheeling Thunderbirds/Nailers) have won the Brabham Cup on multiple occasions, with the Aces and Storm/Walleye winning five times, the Everblades winning four, the former Cherokees/Pride and Thunderbirds/Nailers franchises having won three each, while the others have two.

Winners
  Team won the Kelly Cup.
  Team lost in the Kelly (or Riley) Cup finals.

Defunct franchises are listed in italics.

Year Winner Points Playoff result Cup #
1988–89 Erie Panthers 77 Lost Semifinals (CAR)[2] 1
1989–90 Winston-Salem Thunderbirds 82 Lost Riley Cup Finals (GRE)[3] 1
1990–91 Knoxville Cherokees 97 Lost Division Semifinals (LOU)[4] 1
1991–92 Toledo Storm 95 Lost Division 1st Round (LOU)[5] 1
1992–93 Wheeling Thunderbirds 88 Lost Riley Cup Finals (TOL)[6] 2
1993–94 Knoxville Cherokees 94 Lost 1st Round (LOU)[7] 2
1994–95 Wheeling Thunderbirds 97 Lost 1st Round (BIR) 3
1995–96 Richmond Renegades 105 Lost Riley Cup Quarterfinals (JAX) 1
1996–97 South Carolina Stingrays 100 Won Kelly Cup[8] 1
1997–98 Louisiana IceGators 96 Lost Kelly Cup Semifinals (PEN)[9] 1
1998–99 Pee Dee Pride 106 Lost Conference Finals (MIS)[10] 3
1999–00 Florida Everblades 108 Lost Conference Quarterfinals (AUG)[11] 1
2000–01 Trenton Titans 104 Lost Kelly Cup Finals (SC)[12] 1
2001–02 Louisiana IceGators 116 Lost Division Semifinals (JAC)[13] 2
2002–03 Toledo Storm 104 Lost Division Finals (CIN)[14] 2
2003–04 San Diego Gulls 108 Lost Division Semifinals (AK) 1
2004–05 Pensacola Ice Pilots 107 Lost Conference Quarterfinals (GVL)[15] 1
2005–06 Alaska Aces 113 Won Kelly Cup[16] 1
2006–07 Las Vegas Wranglers 106 Lost Conference Semifinals (IDH)[17] 1
2007–08 Cincinnati Cyclones 115 Won Kelly Cup[18] 1
2008–09 Florida Everblades .7301 Lost Division Finals (SC)[19] 2
2009–10 Idaho Steelheads[20] 103 Lost Kelly Cup Finals (CIN)[21] 1
2010–11 Alaska Aces[22][23] 97 Won Kelly Cup[24] 2
2011–12 Alaska Aces 97 Lost Conference Finals (LV) 3
2012–13 Alaska Aces 106 Lost Conference Semifinals (STK) 4
2013–14 Alaska Aces 97 Won Kelly Cup 5
2014–15 Toledo Walleye 107 Lost Conference Finals (SC) 3
2015–16 Missouri Mavericks 109 Lost Conference Semifinals (ALN) 1
2016–17 Toledo Walleye 106 Lost Conference Finals (COL) 4
2017–18 Florida Everblades 112 Lost Kelly Cup Finals (COL) 3
2018–19 Cincinnati Cyclones 110 Lost Division Finals (TOL) 2
2019–20 Not awarded2
2020–21 Florida Everblades .6673 Lost Conference Semifinals (SC) 4
2021–22 Toledo Walleye .7083 Lost Kelly Cup Finals (FLA) 5
2022–23 Idaho Steelheads 119 Lost Kelly Cup Finals (FLA) 2

Notes
1. ^ Results based on points percentage, not total points, as teams ceased operations mid-season and not all teams played 72 games.
2. ^ The South Carolina Stingrays and the Florida Everblades were both tied at 92 points after 62 games were played when the ECHL announced that the remainder of its 2019–20 season would not be played due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
3. ^ Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, teams played an imbalanced schedule and the regular season championship was awarded based on points percentage.

See also

References
  1. "ECHL Awards". ECHL. Archived from the original on 2008-02-15. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  2. "1988-89 ECHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  3. "1989-90 ECHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  4. "1990-91 ECHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  5. "1991-92 ECHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  6. "1992-93 ECHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  7. "1993-94 ECHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  8. "1996-97 ECHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  9. "1997-98 ECHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  10. "1998-99 ECHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  11. "1999-00 ECHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  12. "2000-01 ECHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  13. "2001-02 ECHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  14. "2002-03 ECHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  15. "2004-05 ECHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  16. "2005-06 ECHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  17. "2006-07 ECHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  18. "2007-08 ECHL Playoff Results". hockeydb.com. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  19. "2008-09 ECHL Playoff Results". hockeydb.com. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  20. "2009-10 ECHL Regular Season Standings". echl.com. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  21. "2009-10 ECHL Playoff Results". hockeydb.com. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  22. "2010-11 Regular Season Standings". echl.com. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  23. "2010-11 ECHL Standings". hockeydb.com. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  24. "2010-11 ECHL Playoff Results". hockeydb.com. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
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