Allen Signs Veteran Forward Mathieu Aubin, The French Connection & One of the Allen Family Needs Prayers

Another piece of the puzzle fell into place yesterday as the Allen Americans announced the signing of veteran forward Mathieu Aubin. Aubin is 6' 2" and weighs 205 pounds. He will turn 31 on Monday. Mathieu was a fifth round draft choice (#130 overall) of the Montreal Canadiens in the 2005 NHL draft. He has played in 544 ECHL games averaging .86 points per game over his career. He also has 83 AHL games to his credit scoring 27 points (12 goals 15 assists).


- Aubin has played for four different ECHL teams including six seasons with Cincinnati where he was part of two Kelly Cup championships (2008 & 2010). He played one season in Bakersfield (2009-10) and has been with the Utah Grizzlies since 2013-14. With all of the great recruiting tools in Steve Martinson's tool box maybe the best recruiting tool you can ever have is when a player has a girlfriend/wife that lives or works in the DFW area. Joel Chouinard and Daniel Tetrault are two great examples. I didn't hear this from the Americans but my reporting says Aubin is another example.


- Like many hockey players from Canada, Aubin comes from a hockey background. His dad, Normand, was a third round draft choice (#51 overall) of the Toronto Maple Leaf in the 1979 NHL draft. He played in 63 NHL games in his career. Normand had some sick numbers in his junior career in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). In his NHL draft year (1978-79) he had 149 points (80 goals 69) assist in 70 games. For his junior career (254 games) he averaged 2.03 points per game which is #38 all time in the QMJHL. An even more amazing stat is he averaged just over a goal per game scoring 258 goals in his 254 junior career. I would say Mathieu comes from good hockey "stock".


- Look for Aubin to bring a goal scorers touch to the Allen lineup. All of the scouting reports you read about him talk about him having excellent goal scoring hands. Just as important will be his veteran presence and leadership. He has been a team captain (Cincinnati) and alternate captain (Utah) so you can see him being a mentor for the younger guys on the team even if he isn't wearing a letter on his jersey.


- Here are a couple of videos from the past. The first is from 2011 where his coach is talking about his return to the Cincinnati Cyclones. The second video is from 2013 when Mathieu along with a couple of other players are talking about the just completed Cincinnati season. Watch the second video all the way through as there are two clips of Aubin.

- Aubin is one of several players on the Allen roster with a partiality to the #9. With his veteran status it might be a good bet he ends up with that number.


- With the signing of Aubin the Allen Americans "French Connection" grows. He joins Joel Chouinard, Olivier Archambault and Jonathan Lessard with french as their first language. I know Allen fans hope this list grows by one more in the name of Vincent Arseneau. According to the website eliteprospects.com Arseneau has still not signed a contract for the upcoming season. If he is attending an AHL training camp that will be a sure giveaway of where he might end up if he plays in the ECHL. AHL training camp rosters should be out next week.


- Congrats to David Makowski and Bryan Moore who will be attending the San Jose Sharks training camp which starts today. A great experience for both these young players. Here are all the training camp details plus the full training camp roster. Some of the names on this list will undoubtedly spend time in Allen this season. Many of the players on this list will be assigned to the Barracuda training camp which I think will start next week. https://www.nhl.com/sharks/news/sharks-announce-2017-training-camp-schedule--roster/c-291037532


- It has not been announced by the Americans yet put they will have several players attend camp with the Barracuda. Those names should be made public in the next few days.


- A couple of questions I have been asked recently are when will the ice go in on the main rink at the Allen Event Center (AEC) and why do press releases on player announcements say the "Allen Americans and Globe Life are proud to announce" all the time? I am told the ice will go in on the main rink after the Theresa Caputo show which is scheduled for October 1st. There is already ice in the community rink. Globe Life has become an Allen Americans corporate sponsor and that sponsorship includes being the presenting sponsor for all player transactions so you will see that reference in each press release from the Americans relating to transactions. If you have any questions throughout the season send them to me on social media, in the comments section of the blog or by email (janssenfamily@msn.com) and if I don't have the answer I will track it down.


- If you have been following the Allen Americans since the beginning you may remember a sales representative by the name of Kelley Sklar. Kelley walked me thorough the AEC while it was still under constructions. Hard hats required but she took me to every nook and cranny of the building. You may also remember the enforcer on that first team was a player by the name of Britt Dougherty. Britt was tough as nails but had to retire after the 2009-10 season because of an injury. To make a long story short Kelley and Britt met during that first Allen season and fell in love. When Britt retired after the 2009-10 season he moved home to Swift Current, Saskatchewan and Kelley moved with him. They are now married and have a three month old son. Yesterday Tom Manning shared with me a post that one of Kelley's friends (Amanda Ransom) shared on social media. If you remember Kelley and Britt or are one of the "once red always red family" keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Here is the post from Amanda. "One of my dearest lifelong friends, Kelley Dougherty's three month old son, Beckett Dougherty, was recently diagnosed with Infant Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. The is a very rare childhood cancer. Kelley and her husband Britt currently live in Swift Current but have transferred Beckett to Toronto (over 20 hours away) in order to get him the best possible care. This will be a long journey for the family and we would love to show them support in any way we can. Please consider making a donation in the link below. More importantly, please pray for this sweet family and their brave little boy. Be one of thousands of people all over the world praying for Beckett."

Beckett Dougherty

Here is the link where you can make a contribution if you desire: https://www.gofundme.com/beckettdougherty



DID YOU KNOW: I can't remember when Allen had so many players on the roster that were drafted by the NHL. Being drafted by the NHL when you are a young hockey player is a big deal and quite an honor. Ten of the 17 players signed and announced by the Americans thus far are NHL draftees. Here is the list with NHL team, draft year and what round the player was drafted.

Joel Chouinard -  Colorado Alavanche 2008 (sixth round #167 overall)
Miles Liberati - Vancouver Canucks 2013 (seventh round (#205 overall)
Jaynen Rissling - Washington Capitols 2012 (seventh round (#197 overall)
Eric Roy - Calgary Flames 2013 (fifth round #135 overall)
Dalton Thrower - Montreal Canadiens 2012 (second round #51 overall)
Olivier Archambault - Montreal Canadiens 2011 (fourth round #108 overall)
Mathieu Aubin - Montreal Canadiens 2005 (fifth round #130 overall)
Kyle Neuber - Columbus Blue Jackets 2009 (seventh round #197 overall)
Casey Pierro-Zabotel - Pittsburgh Penguins 2007 (third round #80 overall)
Zach Pochiro - St. Louis Blues 2013 (fourth round #112 overall)