An hour before the Florida Everblades squared off against the Mississippi Sea Wolves in the season opener of the Blades' 10th season, a couple of players who had made it all possible had their jerseys retired and hung from the rafters.



Reggie Berg and Tom Buckley, Nos. 10 and 14, respectively, led the Blades in almost every offensive statistical category both are first or second in points and assists. Berg played with the Blades in almost every season, from 19992007 with a break in '0203, and Buckley was with the team from 19992004.



During Friday's jersey retirement ceremony, Blades nfl jerseys wholesale from china General Manager Craig Brush credited Berg and Buckley with aiding in Florida's success ninestraight trips to the playoffs, more victories in the past nine years than any other ECHL team.



" . You can't win without great players, and these two are the very best," Brush said. "For players to develop, a team needs leadership from their coaches but especially from their fellow players."



Berg and Buckley were more than just leaders for the Blades. During their time in Southwest Florida, the two players became wellknown in the community both took time to help coach nfl jerseys wholesale Junior Everblades youth hockey practices and participate in charity events.



As Berg and Buckley walked across the red carpet on the ice to pull on ropes to unveil their retired numbers high above the crowd on Friday, everyone in the arena had a chance to reflect on just what this pro hockey team has meant to Southwest Florida.



From that first game on Nov. 19, 1998, when cars waited in a virtual parking lot on Interstate 75 to get to the arena, to Friday night, when the darkened arena flashed with fans' lightup blue necklaces and three championship banners hung from the ceiling, the Everblades have come a long way.



Staci Ovitch and her 6yearold niece, Emma Wickenheiser, have had season tickets since 1998. Ovitch, a Detroit native, was relieved when she moved to Estero in the late '90s and heard the Blades were coming to town.



"I've been here since the first game," she said, her oversize Blades jersey hanging just past her knees. "I love it."



For the record, Emma was wearing a Blades jersey, too.



A few feet away from Staci and Emma was Roy Miller, event staff supervisor at Germain Arena. He signed up to be an usher at the arena in 1998, before it was even built.



"I had to apply at the Radisson," he said with a laugh.



Miller and his wife, Carole, have worked the doors for Blades home games since 1998.



While the Blades might not have the cachet or the fame of a majorleague baseball team or an NFL franchise, they seem to have been a good fit for Southwest Florida.



As their 10th season begins, memories abound of the past nine years. But as this year's Blades team takes the ice in new jerseys, more memories seem certain to follow. The team's success doesn't show any signs of ending anytime soon.



"Over the past nine years, (Florida) has become the model team in the ECHL," said ECHL Commissioner Brian McKenna, who spoke at Germain Arena prior to the jersey retirement ceremony. "Off the ice, there is no better operation in minorleague sports."



That's a tough claim to back up, but you can bet the Blades will do their best to fulfill it, with Berg and Buckley's retired numbers hanging above to remind them of whose example to follow.