The ECHL was the first of North America’s recognised professional leagues to return to action for 2020/21.

However, that beginning back in December was fraught with difficulties for teams, coaches and players alike, in a situation nobody had faced before.

After many teams chose to opt-out of this shortened campaign, the ECHL was reduced to just fourteen competing teams.

This certainly wasn’t the perfect start for Andrew Lord’s tenure as head coach of the Greenville Swamp Rabbits.

Piecing together a team during any off-season isn’t an easy task but during a pandemic, those problems increase tenfold.
Some on social media ridiculed Lord for building ‘Cardiff 2.0’ in Greenville but surrounding yourself with experienced veterans who you’re familiar with, will, at the very least give you a platform on which to build from.

Bearing in mind this is a franchise that has infrequently tasted success during its history, there weren’t many raised eyebrows when Greenville dropped to three straight regulation defeats following an opening day overtime success against South Carolina.

Since then Lord has worked his magic with a patchwork of a roster that has seen him use 37 players to date and with two players recently added that number is due to rise.

Greenville has lost just one game in regulation since the fourth game of the campaign.
After compiling a twelve game point streak that was only recently brought to an end, the Swamp Rabbits have won their two last two outings.

Admittedly during the last fifteen games, the Swamp Rabbits have won just four outings in regulation but Lord’s men have become a tough team to beat through sixty minutes.
To judge a team solely in the somewhat lottery of overtime or the shinny that is the shootout is pure folly.

What Lord has been able to accomplish so far is in stark contrast to Greenville’s recent history.

The Greenville Swamp Rabbits have made the playoffs on just one occasion, posting a losing record in four of the last five seasons, failing to hit thirty wins in any of those campaigns.

You can read more about the full scale of the job Andrew Lord was facing when he took on the role here: https://wp.me/p2gDti-VX

Perhaps what is the most impressive part of Greenville’s strong season to this point is the play of rookies under Lord’s guidance.
Defenseman Sam Jardine might be leading the way in points but the next three leading scorers are all rookies from different backgrounds.

Greg Meireles might have been drafted 168th by Florida in 2019 but is still to earn an NHL deal.
The 22-year-old centreman, formerly of the Kitchener Rangers, has fifteen points (4-11-15) in sixteen games.

Max Zimmer was passed over having been taken 106th overall by Carolina in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
The 23-year-old left-winger made his professional debut just before the pandemic hit and has used that AHL experience to his advantage. He leads Greenville with six goals and has nine points through fifteen outings.

Like Zimmer, Ben Finklestein was also passed over after being selected in the 2016 draft (Florida).
The defenseman wasted little time making an immediate impact on his debut, scoring a tying power-play marker in the third period before netting the winner in overtime. With nine points (4-5-9) in thirteen games, the Boston University graduate is the second-leading scorer on the blue line.

As importantly, if not more so, has been the play of sophomore goaltender Ryan Bednard.
Drafted by Florida in 2015, the 23-year-old wasn’t penned to an NHL deal until April 2019 by the Panthers.
With a 7-2-3 record, he owns the joint-most wins by all goaltenders and is ranked 7th in GAA and 12th in save percentage (.917). With two shutouts in the last week of action, Bednard is making himself an integral part of Greenville’s success.

With the Charlotte Checkers having opted out of this year’s AHL season, it’s a double edge sword for Greenville’s prospects of success. There isn’t any help coming from the affiliate if roster movement is required but the club won’t be losing their best players to the AHL, at least in the current climate.

Often accused of having success because of money, connections and the stature of Cardiff in the Elite League, Andrew Lord has shown that to be incorrect.
He’s able to mould a very competitive roster from almost nothing and turn them into a team that is incredibly hard to beat.

Whatever happens this season, it’s been a very promising start to the Vancouver native’s coaching journey in North America.

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