The end of each ECHL season is where the Haves are separated from the Have Nots.
Before that, the league is biblical. In the beginning it is the Knowns and the Unknowns.
Save for the traditional powerhouses in Florida, Fort Wayne, South Carolina, Kansas City, etc., most of the ECHL starts the year in the group of Unknowns.
The 2026-27 Railers are in that category again.
Their Knowns are substantial. They have the same coaching staff and many familiar faces. They play in the same division as always. Their biggest unknown is their new American Hockey League affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds.
So far, Worcester has received only one player from the Thunderbirds, although he is a very good one in goaltender Parker Gahagen.
How much more help the Railers will get — that is an unknown.
Worcester commences its ninth year in the ECHL with a pair of games this weekend. The Maine Mariners are the opponent Saturday, with a 6:05 p.m. puck drop. Trois-Rivières is at the DCU Center Sunday afternoon at 3:05.
The Railers are 5-3-0 in season openers, 0-2-0 versus Maine. The overall record includes a 4-2-0 mark on home ice. Both of those DCU Center losses happened in the past two seasons. Both were discouraging games that were preludes to very slow starts.
This season’s Knowns include some history. If Worcester wins Saturday or Sunday…whenever…it will be the 1,000th victory in the city’s pro hockey history. The IceCats, Sharks and Railers have combined for a 999-871-278 record.
The IceCats had 403 victories, the Sharks 339, and the Railers have 257.
Coach Nick Tuzzolino is a Known. He has a .559 winning percentage in one-plus seasons, second best in the city’s pro history to Don Granato of the IceCats. Over a full season that translates to 80 points.
One big Unknown is offense.
Worcester begins the season having to replace 66 goals from last year’s top three snipers. They were scored by the Callin brothers, Drew and Anthony, as well as captain Anthony Repaci, who had 23. Repaci, who played in all 72 games last season, will miss opening weekend recovering from surgery.
The team is hopeful he will return in weeks, not months.
“It’s not something we’ll rush,” Tuzzolino said at Tuesday night’s Meet the Team event. “We want to have him for the long haul.”
There are ways to close the gap between goals for and goals against.
“Better defense is 1,000 percent part of the recipe,” Tuzzolino said. “Replacing [Repaci] is a big part of that right now but if you look at guys coming in like [Steve] Moses, Jordan Kaplan, [Cole] Donhauser, Lincoln Hatten and [MacAuley] Carson who went on a run for us, I do think it is there.
“And you have Matt DeMelis, in his third year, progressing after two, who has the potential to put up 30 goals.”
Worcester is counting on production from Moses, the 37-year-old speedster from Leominster who is coming home from a very good career in Europe.
The Railers will carry three goaltenders, as will most of the ECHL. Gahagen is one of the best in the league. He has split each of the last three seasons between the AHL and ECHL. That is likely to happen again this year.
Worcester will open the year with two ECHL rookies behind him in William Lavallière and Chase Clark.
The Railers have some talent and experience on defense. Cam McDonald is back for a third year. Adam Samuelsson has played in 144 ECHL games and Michael Suda returns after an excellent sophomore season.
“Defense is very big for us right now,” Tuzzolino said. “We have good, strong defensemen and a great Number One (Gahagen) in net. Beyond that we have a very fast, hard-nosed, blue collar team. Where we will succeed is earning those blue collar goals.”
The Railers have a great affiliation with St. Louis, via Springfield, even if Gahagen is the Blues’ only contribution to date, Tuzzolino said.
“The Rangers will help us out, too,” he added. “We’re looking at two teams that are both injury riddled. There’s a trickle down effect. We have a good partner. The communication is great.”
Hartford and the Rangers have helped the Railers through the years. This season’s contribution is defenseman Cooper Moore, who played in Hartford last season. He is expected to be a top-line defenseman with Worcester.
“I can see him really growing with us,” Tuzzolino said, “and staying for as long as he can.”
Last season’s 5-0 loss on Opening Night set the stage for a 1-8-1 start that Worcester never recovered from. The Railers were 34-23-6 after that and won their last six in a row.
Extending the streak to at least seven straight on Saturday would get this latest bid to end their playoff drought pointed in the right direction.
Bill Ballou can be reached at vetgoalie@aol.com
