STEELHEADS POWER RANKINGS: ECHL Scoring Race

This is the first edition of our weekly power rankings, where we at IdahoSteelheads.com will see where the Steelheads and their players rank among the best of the best in the ECHL. This week, we take a look at the ECHL scoring race, where one particular Idaho sniper has quickly climbed the leader board!

*All Statistics current as of 11/22*

5) Riley Brace; Wheeling Nailers.

After several years of bouncing back and forth between the AHL and ECHL, Riley Brace had a breakout offensive campaign with Wheeling last year. Brace had 67 points with Wheeling last season, and he’s off to an even better pace 18 games into this season. Brace has eight goals and 18 points in 16 games this year, and is sizzling in November. The Ontario native has points in six of his past seven games, with seven goals and 12 points during that stretch.

4) Jesse Root; Missouri Mavericks

Steelheads fans know full well what Jesse Root can do when he’s feeling strong about his game. Root played 15 games with Idaho last season in his rookie year split between the Steelheads and the AHL’s Texas Stars, putting up 16 points with the Steelies. Root’s at it again this year with the Mavericks, with nine goals and 18 points on the year. Root’s goal scoring has been sporadic with Missouri, with three two-goal games on the year but going six games between goals in November, a drought he busted Saturday with, naturally, a two-goal game. After scoring eight goals and notching eight assists in 15 games with Idaho last year, Root has nine goals and nine assists in 16 games this year. You can’t say he’s not consistent.

3) Tyler Barnes; Missouri Mavericks

One of Root’s teammates is off to a pretty nice start himself. Tyler Barnes has 19 points in 16 games for the Mavs after a standout rookie season with the Toledo Walleye a year ago when he scored 74 points, Toledo’s new single-season record. Barnes doesn’t show up in the top-3 of any offensive category besides points thus far this season, showing a balanced skill set that makes him dangerous. Like Root, he’s never quiet for long and hasn’t been held off the sheet for a period longer than two games this season.

2) Colton Beck; Idaho Steelheads

You could argue that no player has been better than Colton Beck over the last two weeks in the ECHL. Beck has 13 points over Idaho’s last six games, and the only games in which he hasn’t had a point in that stretch are games in which Idaho has been shutout. Beck has seven multipoint games this year, including two four-point performances. You can expect Beck to be high on the Steelheads scoring list for a while now, since he’s proven since the midway point of his rookie year that he’s capable of it. Beck has 51 points in 48 games dating back to January 16th of last season. He’s second in the ECHL assists and doing a great deal of his damage at 5-on-5, but he sits two points behind a player familiar with the top of the leader board.

1) Chad Costello; Allen Americans

Wade MacLeod finished second in the league scoring race last season for the Steelheads chasing Chad Costello, and this season Beck has picked up that torch. Costello won the ECHL scoring title last year with a dizzying 124 points and he’s ahead this season with 24 in the first 18 games. Costello has been an assist machine this year, with a league-leading 18. Costello has at least one assist in 10 of the past 11 games for Allen, including three assists as part of a four-point effort that pushed him past Beck on Sunday night. Costello has played one more game this season than Beck, but the two scorers seem to be on headed for an entertaining duel when the Americans and Steelheads meet on December 9th and 13th in Allen.