This weekend is Mavericks History Weekend which will include the first jersey retirement in Mavericks history. Sebastien Thinel, who was captain of the Mavericks from 2010-2015, will be in attendance to see his Number 43 ascend into the rafters of the Silverstein Eye Centers Arena. The Mavericks have announced that several members of the Mavericks alumni will be in attendance as well. These players will include Charlie Effinger, Jared Lavender, Bryce Aneloski, Andrew Courtney, and Derek Pallardy. Throughout the past 10 seasons of Mavericks hockey, there have been a number of players who have carved out their own places in the history of the team.

Ahead of this weekend, I thought it would be a good idea to assemble an “All-Time Team” pulling figures from the last 10 seasons. When the idea came to me, I was very excited about it. I didn’t realize how hard it would be to make the decisions of who has earned a place on the team. Of course, there were a few easy figures, but there were a few surprises for me as well. I have decided to assemble two teams instead of one. I will split them up between the Central Hockey League era and the ECHL era. The two leagues are very different and have their own strengths and weaknesses in their own way. So, without further ado, let me present my picks for the All-Time Mavericks Teams!

Central Hockey League Era: 2009-2014

Forwards

Sebastien Thinel 2010-2015

I’m sure this comes as no surprise that Sebby is my first pick for this team. Sebastien Thinel will go down in history as the greatest player to ever play for the Mavericks. He is the all-time franchise leader in points with 342 points in 265 games played for the Mavericks. He is also the all-time franchise leader in assists with 250 assists! Not only is he a huge figure in Mavericks history, but Sebby was also a monumental figure in the history of the Central Hockey League. When the CHL folded in 2014, Sebby was ranked third in all-time points for the league at 919 points in 698 games played. He also ranked at 2nd in all-time assists with 609 assists, and he ranked at 4th in all-time goal scoring with 310 goals. In the one season he played in the ECHL, he scored 70 points (17g,53a). If that season had been in the CHL, he would have had 989 career points which would have put him first overall in league history. What could have been for Sebby!

Not only was Sebastien a fantastic player, but he is also a fantastic person. He is a genuinely good person who cares about his community. The Mavericks were lucky to have him as their captain for 4 seasons, and he absolutely deserves having his jersey retired this weekend.

Andrew Courtney 2011-2017

Andrew Courtney was another no-brainer selection for this team. Andrew Courtney signed with the Mavericks right out of college after he graduated from the University of Lethbridge in 2011. In his first season, he only played 7 games for the Mavericks but managed to score 4 points. In his first full season with the Mavericks in 2011-12, he scored 59 points (29g,30a) and he never really slowed down. His lowest scoring season was his last season with the Mavericks in 2016-17 in which he scored 26 points (9g,17a). That is quite an impressive record. Courts ranks second in all-time points scored for the Mavericks (291), first in all-time goals (149), second in all-time assists (142), second in all-time penalty minutes (396), and first in all-time games played (360). He also holds the record for most goals scored in a single season which is 36 which he scored in the 2014-15 season. Andrew wore the captain’s “C” in his final season with the Mavericks.

Andrew doesn’t deserve being named to this list just because of his many records. He also spent his entire professional career with the Mavericks. Andrew Courtney is as much of a Maverick as you can find. Sometimes it was easy to see mistakes he made instead of seeing the great things he did, but as time has passed his true importance to the franchise has been better realized.

John-Scott Dickson 2011-2014

Before he was behind the bench as a coach, John-Scott Dickson was another one of the greatest players in Mavericks history. JSD came to the Mavericks in 2011 and quickly established his place on the team. In his first season with the Mavericks, he scored 57 points (27g,30a). He was also a gritty two-way forward. Just as he preaches to the team today, he was always willing to put himself on the line to block a shot or get into a battle in the corners. JSD ranks third in all-time points for the Mavericks with 154, third in all-time goals scored (75), fourth in all-time assists (79), and third in all-time games played (220). JSD wore the “A” of alternate captain in his final season with the Mavericks. When he retired, he became an assistant coach with the Mavericks, and two seasons later he became the head coach.

John-Scott Dickson was a gritty, tough, and skilled player for the Mavericks. He is also one of the biggest class acts to have graced the Mavericks organization.

Defensemen

Dave Pszenyczny 2010-2014

Dave is another no-brainer choice. Chezy was a fan favorite in his 3 seasons with the Mavericks and was one of the best offensive defensemen the Mavericks have ever had. I already have a whole blog devoted to Chezy and his time with the Mavericks so I won’t elaborate about his career here very much. I will, however, point out that Chezy ranks fifth in all-time games played for the Mavericks with 177 games, and third in all-time penalty minutes with 385 minutes! He is now the head coach of the Quad City Storm in the Southern Professional Hockey League.

Jared Lavender 2009-11, 2012-13

Jared Lavender is my first pick from the inaugural team. Lavender was a versatile defenseman and fan favorite. Jared was so versatile that he also played left wing when needed. In his first season with the Mavericks, he played 49 games and had 7 points (2g,5a). Unlike the other players on this list, Lavender isn’t a holder of any Mavericks records, but he deserves this spot nonetheless. He was a huge part of the inaugural team and helped establish the fan base of the Mavericks. In fact, every player on that team probably deserves at least an honorable mention for this reason alone. Without players like Lavender, who put their bodies and careers on the line with an upstart, rough-and-tumble expansion team, the Mavericks wouldn’t be what they are today.

Goaltender

Charlie Effinger 2009-10, 2011-12

Charlie Effinger didn’t play a full season for the Mavericks in the first year, but he is a major reason for why the Mavericks survived their first season. Effinger was a late-season addition, only playing in 13 games for the Mavericks and posting a 2.68 Goals Against Average, and a Save Percentage of .913. He almost single-handedly saved that season and helped propel the Mavericks into the playoffs. Effinger played in 5 games of those playoffs and had a .926 SP and GAA of 2.64.

Honorable Mentions

Colt King 2012-2014

Many fans remember Colt King as a hulking, intimidating fighter. But Colt King was much more than just a set of fists. Colt King was the quintessential power forward, able to drop the gloves and put the puck in the net. In 2012-13 he scored 30 points (18g,12a) and 93 penalty minutes. In 2013-14 he scored 32 points (16g,16a) and 128 penalty minutes.

Henrik Odegaard 2013-2014

Henrik Odegaard was only with the Mavericks for one season and he only scored 4 points. But he goes down in history as the only Maverick to date to play in the Olympic games. Odegaard was a part of the Norwegian team and played with them in Sochi in the 2014 Winter Olympics. He only played one season in North America and he spent that season with the Mavericks. He now plays in Norway for Frisk Asker and his head coach is coincidentally former Mavericks head coach Scott Hillman.

Shane Owen 2013-14

Shane Owen was the brick wall in net that helped lead the 2013-14 Mavericks to be the regular season champions of the Central Hockey League. That year, Owen posted a .917 Save Percentage and a GAA of 2.58. He also took the Mavs 6 games into the playoffs against the Arizona Sun Dogs with a .925 SP. He now plays for the Fife Flyers of the EIHL.

ECHL Era 2014-Present

Forwards

Andrew Courtney 2014-17

Yes, Andrew Courtney was just that good. He transcends botheras of Mavericks hockey!

Rocco Carzo 2015-Present

Without a doubt, Rocco Carzo deserves to be on this list. Currently, he is the Captain of the team and he is playing some of the best hockey of his career. In his first season with the Mavericks, he scored 56 points (15g,41a) in 69 games. He was an integral part of the Brabham Cup winning team in 2015-16. Last season he only played 12 games before he tore his ACL and had to miss the rest of the season. But he’s back this season and better than ever. He scored the first goal of the season for the Mavericks and already has 29 points (12g,17a). In terms of records, as of now, he is ranked fourth for all-time points scored (135), fourth for all-time goals scored (50), third for all-time assists (85), and fourth for all-time games played (183).

Jared Van Wormer 2016-Present

This was a hard decision, not because Van Wormer isn’t a fantastic player but because we still haven’t seen a lot of Van Wormer yet. Last season was his first full season with the Mavericks and posted 42 points (22g,20a) in 70 games. He is currently the leading point scorer on the team (he’s managed to stay leader even while he’s been on a stint in the AHL). This year he has been named as an ECHL All-Star for the Western Conference. As Van Wormer continues to play, I have a strong feeling he will become one of the all-time greats to have played for the Mavericks.

Defensemen

Bryce Aneloski 2015-18

Aneloski is without a doubt one of the best defensemen of the ECHL era for the Mavericks. In his first season with the Mavericks, he posted 28 points (8g,20a). In 2016-17 he signed a PTO with the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL and ended up playing most of the season with them, one of the first Mavericks PTOs to stick. In his final year with the Mavericks, he posted 37 points (5g,32a). He finished his Mavericks career with 146 games played, 13 goals, and 59 assists. He is the second highest scoring Mavericks defenseman behind Dave Pszenyczny. Aneloski retired after last season and is now the head coach of the U12 KC Junior Mavs hockey team.

Patch Alber 2014-16, 2016-17

Patch Alber was a potent offensive defenseman who played for the Mavericks in several different stints. He is the third highest scoring defenseman behind Bryce Aneloski. In 129 games played for the Mavericks, he had 6 goals and 60 assists for a total of 66 points.

Goaltender

Josh Robinson 2014-17

The Man, the Myth, the Legend. Josh Robinson will go down as the greatest goaltender to ever play for the Mavericks. He was an integral part of the team’s meteoric rise in the 2015-16 season. That season he posted a Save Percentage of .931 and a GAA of just 1.88. He also had a personal win streak of21 games that season. He was named the ECHL goaltender of the year for 2015-16and his 1.88 GAA was the fourth best GAA in ECHL history. His GAA and save percentage from that year are the best of any Mavericks goaltender. He was on a whole different level in 2015-16.

Honorable Mentions

Tanner Fritz 2015-16

Tanner gets an honorable mention because he was the first Mavericks player to ever reach the NHL. The Mavericks signed Fritz in 2015 and he ended up catching the ire of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, who were our AHL affiliates at the time. The next season he started with the Sound Tigers and ended up playing in 34 games for the New York Islanders in the 2017-18 season.

Trevor Ludwig 2015-2016

Trevor Ludwig was the Captain of the Brabham Cup winning team. He played in 65 games for the Mavericks that season and scored 25 points (4g,21a)

Mark Cooper 2017-Present

I debated whether to give Mark an honorable mention or place him on the all-time team. I ended up going with Jared Van Wormer because Van Wormer is a more complete player. But Mark Cooper deserves to be mentioned. In his first season with the Mavericks last year he posted 47 points (23g,24a) and this season he already has 33 points (12g,21a). He’s going to keep lighting the lamp for the Mavericks and will no doubt go down as one of the truly great Mavericks players.

It’s hard to believe that the Mavericks are playing their tenth season. These past 10 years have given Kansas Citians so many wonderful opportunities to see hockey and to enjoy the game. The Mavericks are the team that got me hooked on hockey and I can’t wait to see what the next 10 years have in store for the Mavericks. To close things out I will leave you with this video. Enjoy this production from a 12-year old me!