ESTERO, Fla. – Throughout the world of professional sports, there are thousands upon thousands of players. There are many good ones. There are fewer great ones. A handful are immortals. In the 28-year history of the Florida Everblades—the most storied organization in the ECHL—one player is the best ever to don the iconic Blades sweater. That player is John McCarron.

In a special announcement made by the Florida Everblades, John McCarron’s #25 will be retired on Saturday, April 18, making Captain Everblade the fourth player in organization history to have his number retired for all eternity, the greatest honor that can be bestowed upon a Blades player. The McCarron number retirement ceremony will take place in special pre-game ceremonies prior to that evening’s matchup versus the Reading Royals, the final game of the regular season.

A two-time Kelly Cup champion with the Everblades, McCarron joins the Mount Rushmore of the Everblades players, as his #25 will be unfurled in the Hertz Arena rafters alongside the sweaters of iconic former Everblades Reggie Berg (#10), Tom Buckley (#14), and Ernie Hartlieb (#9). 

McCarron’s jersey retirement will be the first since Hartlieb earned the honor on October 19, 2012, as the Everblades were raising the organization’s first of four Kelly Cup championship banners captured just five months earlier. Berg and Buckley were the first Everblades players to have their numbers retired, earning that distinction in joint ceremonies on October 19, 2007.

During an illustrious seven-year career in Estero, McCarron transformed the Florida Everblades record book into a veritable cornucopia of his accomplishments over a franchise-record 464 games, including 90 Kelly Cup playoff game appearances. Including the postseason, McCarron holds franchise records in goals (178), assists (264) and points (441), while ranking second in penalty minutes (731). 

Across 373 regular-season contests, just one game off Matthieu’s Roy club record of 374, McCarron has set team records in goals (152), assists (212) and points (364). The Macomb, Michigan native is also the most recent Blade to score four goals in a game, a feat that he accomplished on December 3, 2016, versus Orlando.

A member of the 2022 and 2023 Kelly Cup champions—the second and third of a league-record four league crowns won by the Everblades—McCarron put his professional career on hold before rejoining the Blades for the 2023 stretch run and postseason that put a bow on his time in Estero.

After being selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the sixth round of the 2012 National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft, McCarron embarked on a four-year collegiate tenure at Cornell University from 2011 to 2015. The Ivy League graduate began his professional career with the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers in 2015. McCarron also saw action with three different American Hockey League (AHL) clubs—the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, St. John’s IceCaps, and Stockton Heat—across four seasons.

Upon hanging up his skates at the professional level, McCarron continues making championship-level contributions in the Southwest Florida community that he and his family are proud to still call home. John now resides in Estero with his wife, Rosanna, and their two daughters. He currently serves as Investment Portfolio Manager with the Hoffmann Family of Companies. 

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