The San Jose Sharks trimmed their training camp roster by 13 players yesterday. That took the training camp roster from from 55 players to 42 players. Two players were sent back to their junior teams and the other 11 were assigned to the San Jose Barracuda training camp which will officially open on Monday, September 25. This list of 11 is of special interest to Allen Americans fans as this is the group from which Allen is most likely to get players assigned. They are all under contract with San Jose.
Defensemen
Micheal Brodzinski
Cavan Fitzgerald
David Makowski
Jeremy Roy
Forwards
Jonathan Martin
Colby McAuley
Bryan Moore
Alex Schoenborn
Alexander True
Manuel Wiederer
Goalie
Stephon Williams
- The complete training camp roster for the Barracuda has not yet been released but remember coach Martinson has indicated he will have five players attending the camp on a tryout basis. Martinson himself will also be in attendance at the Barracuda training camp.
- The last two days I made an attempt to look at the Allen Americans 2017-18 roster in terms of offensive production and toughness/grit. Today I want to take a look at the roster in terms of leadership on and off the ice. This is an important component of success for any hockey team. Even more so this season when you think the entire on ice leadership team from last season will not be back. Co-captains Chad Costello (playing in Germany), Gary Steffes (retired) and alternate captain Dyson Stevenson (traded to Wichita) will certainly be missed. However, as I was reading the bios of some of the new players it seemed to me the roster for the upcoming season is filled with players that can fill the void.
Joel Chouinard has already been named captain for the upcoming season and that choice has been heralded by everyone. Joel has served as captain and alternate captain in the past and if you watched him last season, his first with Allen, you could see him take on more and more of a leadership role as the season progressed. As Steve Martinson said when he named Chouinard captain, "This is what comes to mind when I think of Joel. He does everything right. He is in top shape and always the hardest worker. He is a team first player." Chouinard is also by far the most experienced when it comes to AHL games played. Combined the roster has 440 AHL games, Joel has 204 of them.
Casey Pierro-Zabotel - It is hard to imagine Casey won't have a big leadership role on this team. When you are the winner of the last two Kelly Cups playing for two different teams (Allen & Colorado) it says all you need to know about how to win. Casey was an alternate captain in Colorado last season and also served in that capacity when he played for Gwinnett in 2014-15. I am sure he will be counted on for leadership on the ice and in the locker room.
I have had players tell me in the past team leadership is so much more than who wears a "C" or "A" on the ice. The current roster has plenty of players with leadership qualities. Here are the players on the current Allen roster (17 players) that have been a captain or alternate captain in the past. This info is from the website eliteprospects.com
Miles Liberati - alternate captain for his junior team (North Bay Battalion - OHL)
Jaynen Rissling - alternate captain and captain for his junior team (Calgary Hitmen - WHL)
Eric Roy - alternate captain for two seasons on his junior team (Brandon Wheat Kings - WHL)
Dalton Thrower - captain of his junior team (Vancouver Giant - WHL)
Mathieu Aubin - captain in Cincinnati (ECHL) and alternate captain in Utah (ECHL)
Tanner Eberle - alternate captain for two years in juniors (Moose Jaw Warriors - WHL)
Zach Pochiro - alternate captain for his junior team (Prince George Cougars - WHL)
With only 17 players currently on the Allen roster you can look for three or four more to be added. Players signed by coach Martinson or assigned by San Jose. There will assuredly be more leaders in this group. Bottom line is this team will have plenty of leaders on and off the ice. You can never have too many players that have a team first attitude. And one of the traits of a good leader is they are also good followers.
OTHER COMMENTS
- I heard from the league office that the press release on all of the critical dates for the upcoming season should be released some time next week.
- Congrats to Riley and Angie Gill who announced they are expecting their second child in March.
- The Mountain Division has a new look this season with Alaska folding and Kansas City moving to the Central Division along with the addition of long time Allen rivals Wichita and Tulsa. If you are on Twitter and haven't already done so, you should give the other Mountain Division Team Sin Bin writers a follow. It is a great way to keep up with the happenings around the division.
@SinBinRush - Mike Crook covers the Rapid City Rush
@SinBinThunder - Matt Harding & Zach Courter cover the Wichita Thunder
@SinBinEagles - Jay Hay covers the Colorado Eagles
@Rich_Lohman - Rich Lohman covers the Tulsa Oilers
- It was a good day on Sunday for Chad Costello and Spencer Asuchak. Chad's team (Iserlohn Roosters) earned their first win after three loses. Better yet Chad scored his first goal of the season. Spencer's team (HKM Zvolen) also won to improve their record to 2-2. He also has one goal thus far.
DID YOU KNOW: As the Allen roster stands today (17 players) they have a combined total of 644 games played for the Americans. Ten of the 17 players have games played for Allen. Here are those 10 players with games played in an Americans jersey:
122 - Riley Gill
101 - Mike Gunn
92 - Eric Roy
72 - Joel Chouinard
62 - Jonathan Lessard
62 - Tanner Eberle
58 - Casey Pierro-Zabotel
34 - Miles Liberati
33 - Zach Hall
8 - Kyle Neuber
Thanks for the updates.
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