Swamp Rabbits break long-standing records after an incredible start to the eighth campaign in the Upstate.
BY: Brian Tosti, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
Greenville, SC – The Greenville Swamp Rabbits wrapped up the team’s eighth season in The Upstate last month, breaking several franchise records. The team fell short of the postseason after an impressive start of the year. Greenville produced nine players to the AHL this season and also saw the franchise’s eighth player advance to the NHL.
REGULAR SEASON RECORDS
Overall: 24-40-7-1 | Home: 11-20-4-1 | Away: 13-20-3-0
SWAMP RABBITS LEADERS
Points: Caleb Herbert (52)
Goals: Caleb Herbert (24)
Assists: Evan Jasper, Joe Basaraba (29)
Penalty Minutes: Jack Nevins (137)
Plus/Minus: Caleb Herbert (+8)
Power Play Goals: Evan Jasper (6)
Shorthanded Goals: Joe Houk, Evan Jasper (1)
Multi-Point Games: Evan Jasper, Caleb Herbert (16)
Games Played: Joe Basaraba, Chad Duchesne (71)
Wins: Ty Rimmer (14)
GAA: Brandon Halverson (3.74)
Save %: Brandon Halverson (.902)
Shutouts: Chris Nell (1)
*Forward/Defensemen stats based on a minimum of 35 games played
**Goaltender stats based on a minimum of 20 games played
SEASON NOTES
The Swamp Rabbits promoted nine different players to the AHL this season equaling 13 individual player call-ups. Caleb Herbert became Greenville’s leading man with appearances on three different AHL rosters. Rookie Dawson Leedahl saw the most action at the next level this season, logging 38 games at the ‘AAA’ level. In the AHL, Greenville alums accounted for 124 games and 25 points (7G, 18A) across four teams (Hartford, Charlotte, San Jose, and Utica).
The team had one of the best starts offensively of any ECHL team in recent memory. By the middle of December, the top three scorers in the league were on Greenville’s roster. Caleb Herbert, Allan McPherson, and Branden Troock were the first three players in the ECHL to breach the 30-point level. Herbert became the fastest Greenville skater to achieve 30 points in franchise history, reaching the mark in his first 19 games. It was the first time since 2012 that an ECHL player entered December with 30 points as Chad Costello (39), Jack Combs (34), and Michael Forney (30) each hit 30 points while playing for the Colorado Eagles.
BREAKING GROUND
- Most Power Play Goals in a Game: 3 (11/15/17 vs. ATL)
- Longest Winning Streak: 8 Games (10/28 – 11/17)
- Most Shots in a Game: Evan Jasper – 12 (1/20/18 vs. ATL)
- Longest Point Streak: Caleb Herbert – 17 Games (10/13 – 11/24)
- Most Points by a Defenseman (Career): Joe Houk – 87 PTS (28G, 59A)
- Most Games Played by a Goaltender: Ty Rimmer – 42
- Most Saves by a Goaltender: Ty Rimmer – 1,260
The Swamp Rabbits broke some standing records this season. Some of the records that fell were the club’s longest winning streak and the individual record for longest point streak in team history. Caleb Herbert’s 17-game streak broke Brendan Connolly’s 14-game streak that’s been the franchise record since the 2011-12 season. Joe Houk also became the club’s leading point-getter from the blue line, surpassing Wes Cunningham who achieved 73 points (9G, 64A) in 125 games.
DEBUTS
The Swamp Rabbits roster was a mix of many different rookies throughout the season which led to a plethora of professional and ECHL debuts this season. A total of 14 different players made their debut in pro hockey this season and an additional seven players appeared in the ECHL for the first time in their careers. Players who made their pro debut this season accounted for 73 points (28G, 45A) on the Swamp Rabbits roster. Those players making their ECHL debuts accounted for an additional 21 points (9G, 12A).
Pro Debut: Timmy Moore, Johno May, JT Henke, Spencer Dorowicz, Ryan Ferrill, Dawson Leedahl, Guillaume Naud, Robert Powers, Sergey Zborovskiy, Riley Sweeney, Brock Beukeboom, Carter Struthers, Brenden Kotyk, and Braeden Ostepchuk.
ECHL Debut: Derek Sutliffe, Malte Stromwall, Jacob Barber, Garret Clemment, Daniel Echeverri, Jake Schultz, and Tyler Palmer.
ANOTHER LEVEL
Goaltender Brandon Halverson became the eighth Swamp Rabbits alum to make his NHL debut when he entered the New York Rangers game on Feb. 17, 2018. The netminder joins Cam Talbot, Mackenzie Skapski, Nathan Lieuwen, Connor Knapp, Julien Brouillette, Marc-Andre Bourdon, and Shane Harper as the only Greenville alumni to make their NHL debut since the team formed in 2010.
ROOKIE FOR THE AGES
Forward Evan Jasper produced 50 points in his first full season, becoming just the third player in franchise history to reach the mark as a rookie. Ahti Oksanen tallied 52 points last season while Marc-Olivier Vallerand set the pace in the inaugural season of 2010-11 with 53 points. Jasper ended the season by making his AHL debut with the Hartford Wolf Pack but was still ninth among all ECHL rookies this season in scoring.
ECHL HONORS
Caleb Herbert
- Player of the Week (Nov. 13-19)
- Player of the Month (November)
- ECHL Plus Performer (November)
Forward Caleb Herbert was the most dominant player for the Swamp Rabbits this season and caught the eyes of the league. During a historic month of November, the Bloomington, Minnesota native outscored all other ECHL skaters, notching 23 points (11G, 12A) in 13 games. Only teammates Allan McPherson and Josh Winquist came close to his production, earning 18 points each. Herbert earned a plus-12 rating in the month to go along with his scoring success. His best week came in the middle of the month, collecting nine points (5G, 4A) in four games. Each of his accolades helped push Greenville to a second-place ranking in the Eastern Conference at the end of the month.
MILESTONES
Games:
Joe Basaraba: 250th career game (3/10 vs. ORL)
Caleb Herbert: 200th career game (3/21 @ TUC)*
Allan McPherson: 200th career game (10/27 @ MAN)
Jack Nevins: 200th career game (12/28 vs. BRM)
Ty Rimmer: 150th career game (11/30 vs. FLA)
Matt Prapavessis: 150th career game (12/21 vs. SC)
Carter Sandlak: 150th career game (1/7 vs. NOR)
Branden Troock: 150th career game (10/24 @ ADK)
Chad Duchesne: 100th career game (3/17 @ NOR)
Daniel Echeverri: 100th career game (3/6 vs. SC)
Matt Johnson: 100th career game (3/28 @ FLA)
Austin McKay: 100th career game (3/2 @ FLA)
Shane Walsh: 100th career game (2/23 @ FW)
* while in AHL
Goals:
Sergey Zborovskiy: 1st career goal (10/14 vs. WHL)
Dawson Leedahl: 1st career goal (10/14 vs. WHL)
Brenden Kotyk: 1st career goal (10/24 @ ADK)
Sean Flanagan: 1st career goal (1/28 @ JAC)
Spencer Dorowicz: 1st career goal (2/23 vs. JAC)
Guillaume Naud: 1st career goal (3/2 @ FLA)
JT Henke: 1st career goal (3/9 @ SC)
Johno May: 1st career goal (3/23 vs. JAC)
Points:
Joe Basaraba: 150th career point (3/6 vs. SC)
Caleb Herbert: 100th career point (11/30 @ SC)
Joe Houk: 100th career point (1/19 vs. ATL)
PIMS:
Curt Gogol: 1,000 career PIMS (11/17 vs. ORL)
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