Opening Day Roster Due this Afternoon, Four Players From Iowa Arrive in Allen, Player Profiles and More

The Allen Americans roster increased to 26 players yesterday as four players from the Iowa Wild roster were assigned to the Americans. Two of the players, left wing Pavel Jenys and center Chase Lang are under NHL contracts so the technical term for their assignment is, reassigned by Minnesota (NHL) to Allen (ECHL). The other two players, goalie C.J. Motte and defenseman Josh Thrower are under contract to the Iowa Wild (AHL) so their transaction is, loaned to Allen (ECHL).


- The Allen roster as of this morning includes three goalies, 10 defensemen and 13 forwards but that number will be reduced by this afternoon when the opening day roster is submitted to the league office (2:00 pm). General manager Steve Martinson has never kept more than eight defensemen to start the season so something must be in the works to reduce that number. There will only be two goalies on the opening day roster in my opinion and they will be C.J. Motte and Jeremy Brodeur.


- How many players on the opening day roster remains to be seen and nothing is certain until the list is made public. Remember, there can be 21 players on the active roster for the first month of the season as long as their cumulative salaries stay under the salary cap ($13,470). In addition there can be two players on reserve that don't count against the salary cap. The final category is injured reserve (IR). An unlimited number of players can be placed on injured reserve but once placed on IR they must remain for minimum of 14 days.


-  Here is the press release issued by the Allen Americans about the four players from Iowa that should be at practice this morning: https://allenamericans.com/americans-receive-four-from-iowa/


- Here is some additional information about Pavel Jenys, Chase Lang, and C.J. Motte. Allen fans are already familiar with Josh Thrower. Josh was invited to the Minnesota Wild prospect tournament in early September and earned himself a contract with the Iowa Wild (AHL) based on his performance.

PAVEL JENYS

Pavel Jenys

 Pavel is a 6'3" 210 pound, 22 year old who hails from the Czech Republic. He was drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the seventh round of the 2014 NHL draft. He is a left shot who is listed as a left wing on the Iowa roster. Over the last two seasons he has played in 94 ECHL games (Quad City and Rapid City) and had 51 points (29G, 22A) for a points per game average of .54. He has played in 17 AHL games for the Iowa Wild and had four points (1G, 3A). When you read scouting reports his strengths are his size which enables him to win puck battles in the corners, his ability as net front player, his quick and accurate shot. He has never been a top scorer on his team so look for Jenys to be contribute in more ways than just the scoreboard. He could thrive the the Martinson style offense and improve on his results in Rapid City last season when he had 35 points (17G, 18A) in 48 games. Here is the only video I could find of Pavel.

C.J. MOTTE

C.J. Motte

C.J. is a 6'0" 185 pound goalie from Michigan who is starting his fifth year as a professional. He played his college hockey at Ferris State University where he served as captain of the team in his senior season. He was a Hobey Baker (Heisman for hockey) finalist is in 2013-14 and was also an all-academic player in college. C.J. has a brother (Tyler) who is a forward for the NHL Vancouver Canucks. Last season Motte spent most of his time in Quad City. Playing for the last place team in the ECHL he had a GAA of 3.45 and save percentage of .910 in 28 games. He excelled when called up to the AHL. He played three games for the Chicago Wolves and had a 2.30 GAA and .922 save percentage. In six games with the Iowa Wild he had a GAA of 2.13 and a save percentage of .926. His great play in Iowa earned him an AHL deal and he will be their depth goalie if there are any injuries in Iowa or Minnesota. He will get a lot of work in Allen, starting with the season opener in Kansas City on Friday night.

Here is a shootout save Motte made a couple of years ago:

CHASE LANG

Chase Lang

Chase is 6'1" 193 pound, right shot center from British Columbia. The 22 year old was the sixth round draft choice of the Minnesota Wild in the 2014 NHL draft. He played his junior hockey in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Last season he played 22 games with Iowa (0G, 2A) and 18 games for Rapid City (4G, 6A). Lang had good numbers in his junior career but has not transferred those numbers to his pro career. What Lang will bring to the Allen lineup is a two way player that will excel defensively and is a good penalty killer. Here is a video I found about Chase that is self explanatory:

DID YOU KNOW: With the addition of the four players from Iowa, the Americans average age is now 24.15 which places them as the fifth youngest team in the ECHL. The current roster has played 571 games in the AHL.