Monday, May 5, 2025

My Trip to Malta and Italy, Allen Americans Update, Status of Coach Search, Recruitment Tool Kit, Playoff Update, New ECHL Franchise, Draft Schedule and More

 

Nancy and I just returned from our almost three week trip to Italy with our good friends from Minnesota, Dave and Lin Carter. Dave, Lin and myself went to high school together (Bloomington, MN High School class of 1965). Dave and I have been hunting together since we were 15 (going on 63 years) and will make it 64 years this fall. I often get asked about our trips so please indulge me with the following which is way too long, but something I wanted to share along with a photo:

We had a wonderful trip starting in Malta, traveling to Sicily and then up the Adriatic Sea on the eastern coast of Italy ending our trip in Venice. It is such a history lesson when you visit Europe and learn about countries that date back to thousands of years BC and visit so many spectacular churches that were built 1000-2000 years ago. While many have been destroyed and rebuilt over the centuries, some have not.

Maybe the most impactful to me as veteran when visit European countries is the significant role so many of them played in World War II. That was the case with Malta and Sicily. We visited the Lacaris War Rooms in Valletta, Malta which are an underground complex of tunnels and chambers that housed the War headquarters and where the invasion of Sicily was planned.  We heard Malta was the most bombed country in the war if you factor in the size of the country (roughly the size of Rhode Island). Over two years, Malta suffered 3000 bombing raids with 6700 bombs. I found this description of the role Malta and Sicily played in the war, which makes the point.

At a critical moment in the Second World War, thousands of American, British and Canadian troops dashed ashore after a massive naval bombardment of enemy positions.

Hours before, American and British airborne troops had landed by glider and parachute to seize key locations behind enemy coastal defenses.

Specially-trained units climbed cliffs to knock out artillery batteries.

For months, Allied bombers had pounded strategic targets, disrupting ports and roads.

A deception exercise had kept Hitler uncertain about when and where the Allied blow would fall.

You probably think this is about Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of northern France (Normandy) on 6 June 1944.

In fact it’s the story of the start of Operation Husky — the invasion of Sicily and the beginning of the Italian campaign – almost 12 months earlier than the Normandy invasion

D-Day in Normandy is rightly remembered as a turning point in the war. But it would have been impossible without the lessons the Allies learned in Sicily the previous summer. 

Operation Husky, which Dwight Eisenhower planned in Malta and included Generals Omar Bradley and George Patton, who are much more known for battles later in the war.

How big was Operation Husky? 

On July 10, 1943, the Allies (American, British, Canadian) launched Operation Husky before sunrise, a massive amphibious assault on the southern shores of Sicily. For the next three days it involved more than 3,000 ships landing over 150,000 troops, 7000 vehicles and 300 tanks covered by more than 4,000 aircraft. It took 38 days for the allied troops to take Sicily from the German/Italian troops. There were an estimated 23,000 allied causalities and 6000 killed. 

 

 - We had such a good time stopping at many ports as we headed north ending up in Venice. If there is one photo to represent our trip it would have to be a gondola ride on the grand canal in Venice:


 

 

 

- While I was in Italy I was able to keep up with the happenings related to the Allen Americans. I was able to communicate with all involved via text and also read all of the comments (over 200) on the blog. I want to share my thoughts on the many issues that I have seen raised since the end of the season.

 

Q: What is the financial situation of the team? 

A: The team has never been on a more solid footing than right now. Owner Myles Jack has consolidated his ownership, now has the fianl say on everything and no other outside consultants are involved. Despite the Americans having the worst record in the league (16-45-8-3) including the second worst home record in league history (7-24-4-1), average attendance this season was an all time record 4573. Yes, the team provided free tickets to some games for college students, teachers, first responders, etc., but it was nothing like in the past when 1000's of free tickets were given to local retailers to hand out to customers. 

If you don't like the attendance numbers comparison, revenue this season was also the highest in team history. The top two revenue producing games in team history happened this season. #1 was Star Wars night and #2 was Wizard night. How has this been possible? There has been much more emphasis the last couple of seasons on group sales and corporate sales where wins and losses are not the driving factor. I saw some figures during the season on group sales and Allen was way ahead of prior years.

 

Q: What are the plans going forward?

A: If you have heard Myles Jack talk about the upcoming season his singular focus is having a winning team. He will provide the resources to help make that happen. From housing to the locker room, to the front office to the season ticket holder experience, after talking to Myles at length, he will provide more resources to each component. Here is a reminder of what he said to the season ticket holders after the last game of the season:

"Allowing the fans to understand the direction this organization is going is my first priority. It has been hectic this year with all of the consultants, but at the end of the day the blame falls on me, not on the team, and not on the front office or anyone else."

"Me as an owner, learning and progressing through this experience, my job is to put the correct people in position and allow them to do their jobs to the fullest capacity. That is what I am looking forward to doing this off season."

"The people that have endured this season deserve to see the good side as well. I am a fan and enjoy coming to the games and watching the entire arena turn red. Holding up trophies and having fun is what this is all about."

"This time next year we are talking playoffs, that is the pressure I am putting on myself. If we achieve that the credit will all go to the team. I am just putting the right pieces together to make sure we get to where we need to get."

"In am little 29 years of life I understand money is a byproduct of doing good things. It you give people what they want, give them a reason to come out, you earn it. I played football where you go out there and do what you are supposed to do and you get paid. All that is to say you can't get to the "yellow brick road" until you do the work, put all of the pieces together and allow people to do what they need to do."

 "I feel around here there have been too many hands in the pot. I am cutting that out and allowing everybody to do their job. My job is to literally give people resources to be great and let them be great."

 

Q: What is the latest on hiring a new coach?   

A: If you have spoken to or listened to Myles Jack you know he is well aware of the urgency in naming a new coach as soon as possible. Here is my take on the process.

  • Myles wanted to and did meet with his finalists for the job in person which took some time.
  • As of today nobody has been signed as the coach or assistant/associate coach. Once Myles comes to a verbal agreement it takes some time to put it in writing with all of the legal details, get the contract reviewed and signed. There is always a potential for issues in this process.
  • As soon as there is a signed contract I expect there will be an announcement. A formal press conference might come later. There are no specific dates, but the announcement will be soon.
  • All the speculation on who will be the next coach is just that, speculation.

 

- Allen has a big advantage when it comes to recruiting players. Here is a partial list of the recruiting pitch:

  • You will play in a great facility which is surrounded by shopping and restaurants.  
  • You will stay in first class housing with new furnishings and televisions (last season). 
  • While playing in the DFW Metroplex you have access to whatever interests you may have including the Stars, Cowboys, Mavericks and Rangers. Playing where you have a major international airport makes it easier for you and your friends and family to travel in and out of DFW and for players to get to AHL cities quickly if called up.
  • You will live in a place where you can play golf year around. Average high temperature during the hockey season is 79 in October, 66 in November, 57 in December, 55 in January, 61 in February, 69 in March, 77 in April and 84 in May. It is a great place to live whether your are single or married. 
  • If you like to fish, there is great fishing all over the area. 
  • The winning culture the Allen Americans are noted for will be back no matter who is signed as the new coach. You add that to Myles Jack's experience as a NFL player and his upgrading equipment in the locker room to help with recovery and also upgrading some player equipment. Myles wants to make the locker room more like an NHL locker room which will give the new coach a major recruiting advantage. 

 

-  It will be an exciting time in Allen once again and fans should expect an immediate turnaround in 2025-26. The regular season points have declined in each of the last four seasons seasons reaching an all time low of 43 in 2024-25. If Allen earns 80 points next season, an increase of 37 points, it would be the highest point total since 2020-21. A stretch goal for sure, but a realistic one, given the caliber of coach that will be hired. 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- The Kelly Cup playoffs are down to the final eight (Division Finals). Once again the regular season champions (South Carolina) fell victim to the Brabham Cup curse. The Stingrays fell to Orlando 4-3 in the first round, removing what I thought was a big obstacle to a Florida "fourpeat." Florida won its opening round 4-0 vs Jacksonville and is ahead of Orlando 2-0 in the Division Finals. 


- Former Allen captain, Colton Hargrove, has scored a goal in four straight games for Florida and leads the team in goals. Hargrove has a shooting percentage of 23.5%.

 

- Florida goalie Cam Johnson, who has been the Everblade's goalie for their three championships has just tied Riley Gill for the most career playoff wins at 53. Johnson will have a chance to break Riley's record when Florida plays in Orlando tomorrow night. 

 

- Another former Allen American having a great playoff is Grant Hebert, who plays for Norfolk. Grant leads Norfolk in points with nine, averaging 1.29 points per game. Norfolk's #3 in points is yet another former Allen American, Hank Crone who has six points. Norfolk leads the playoffs in average goals allowed (1.57). They are tied 1-1 in the Division Finals against Trois Riviéres.

 

- The ECHL announced last week that a new franchise will join the ECHL in 2026-27. The franchise will be in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, a northern suburb of Albuquerque. The team will be owned and operated by REV Entertainment who had brief relationship with the Allen Americans along with Zawyer. Rio Rancho was the home of the New Mexico Scorpions from 2006-2009 and they played in the Central Hockey League.They ceased operations in 2009, one season before the Allen franchise joined the CHL in 2009-10. Here is the press release announcing the new franchise: https://echl.com/news/2025/05/expansion-membership-approved-for-new-mexico 


- The draft ECHL schedule has been sent out for teams to review. This is an opportunity for teams to try and make changes to the schedule based on what will make the schedule better from a front office perspective and also hockey travel and game related issues. Can't always fix the problems, but can try.

 

- Allen's home record was 7-29 this season, so the record by jersey was bad no matter which jersey the Americans wore. Last season Allen had the best record when wearing the "Texas" jersey and "Red" jersey  with a 7-3 record for both. No surprise the worst record last season was when the team wore a specialty jersey (2-7). This season Allen again had the best record when wearing the "Texas" jersey (1-3) and the worst record when wearing a specialty jersey (1-5). 

 

DID YOU KNOW: Here is my ECHL Stats post about the playoffs:

Some ECHL playoff teams have great offenses and some have great defenses. Some fall in the middle. Which style will win the Kelly Cup? Here are the average goals scored, average goals allowed and goal differential for the eight teams remaining in the playoffs:
 
Average goals scored
5.50 - Tahoe
4.33 - Fort Wayne
4.33 - Toledo
3.67 - Florida
3.60 - Trois Rivières
3.22 - Orlando
3.17 - Norfolk
2.83 - Kansas City
 
Average goals allowed
1.33 - Norfolk
1.40 - Trois Rivières
1.83 - Kansas City
2.00 - Florida
2.00 - Tahoe
3.22 - Fort Wayne
3.33 - Orlando
3.33 - Toledo 
 
Goal differential (Ave. goals scored minus goals allowed)
+3.50: Tahoe
+2.20: Trois Rivières
+1:84: Norfolk
+1.67: Florida
+1.11: Fort Wayne
+1.00: Kansas City
+1.00: Toledo
-0.11: Orlando

  

100 comments:

  1. Thanks for the update Barry.
    Will Brett Ferguson remain with the franchise?

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  2. Add to that pitch - DFW is a World Cup City and Frisco our neighbor is the home to FC Dallas and the National Soccer Hall of Fame. The guys overseas have no idea who the Rangers and the Cowboys are- but the word World Cup might ring a bell.

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  3. Great summary. The current President has the support of the owners as he should, as attendance was impressive this past season given the poor product on the ice. That has been addressed, and 2025-26 should be one of the best years ever for the club.

    Steve Martinson has been engaged from MJ/LJ and yes, they have met with the former head coach and his wife in Athens, GA, where they spent this past season with the Athens Rock Lobsters. The ownership of that team, Spire Hockey, also owns 3 other teams in the ECHL, and is speaking with Martinson about taking over their Greenville Swamp Rabbits club. You should also expect to see Chad Costello in a head coaching role within that organization next season, as he is highly respected following his performance this past season.

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    1. Agree. Mydra did a very good job last season despite the bad on ice stuff. I appreciate his openness with the season ticket holders. Get Marty in here and lets start winning some games.

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    2. I am hearing it will be Marty and that it's close to signed. This would be AMAZING!! It would show that Myles is serious about winning. The attendance and revenue numbers are great, but as a fan I don't really care. I want WINS - aka MARTY!!!

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    3. Mistake hiring Marty back.
      Should have fixed things with Costello.
      Rapid City will hire him though.

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    4. It won't be a mistake to hire Coach Martinson. You aren't going to find anyone else that has won 10 championships. Lest you forget 4 of those came with Allen with another to the conference finals

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    5. Chad had more losses than wins as coach of the team. Marty won 4 cups. Love Chaddie boy, but he didn’t win here in his 2 full seasons. Facts are facts. Myles will get it right and hire Marty.

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    6. You're kidding right?

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    7. Greenville - Martinson
      Rapid City - Costello
      Allen - wont get either.

      FACTS.

      Brandon Mashinter as 2nd choice.

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    8. Attention Mr. FACTS. Check your facts. Foolish Heart...you've been wrong before don't be wrong anymore

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    9. He’s not wrong buddy

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    10. Costello had 70 total wins and 74 total losses in the regular season as Head Coach / GM in Allen. In the playoffs he had 6 wins and 10 losses.

      In total he had 76 wins and 84 losses, meaning he lost 53% of the games.

      Those are the facts, but it does NOT mean he is a bad coach, he just wasn't successful in his first 2 cracks at it. He's a young guy and he'll be a successful coach somewhere down the line.

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    11. NO MARTY? NO PARTY!

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    12. How were Marty’s last 4 years in Allen ? Asking for a friend ……

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    13. Neither of Costello’s teams would have made playoffs now that this team is in an 8 team division. Fact of the matter is if you don’t include this last season Costello’s teams were the 2nd and 3rd worst Allen teams in history record wise

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    14. Costello ... Legend!

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    15. So, does anyone have Marty's results for his last 6 years in Allen?

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    16. Marty was 229 wins and 193 losses during his final 6 years in Allen. Meaning he won 54% of the games during that span.

      In his 10 seasons in Allen, Marty had 7 winning seasons (4 cups) and 3 losing seasons. More cups than losing seasons.

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    17. and in the last 6 years he took Allen to the final 4 championship series. I get that someone here is anti him and pro Chad. Chad one day may be there and he is a good coach but he is not where Martinson is as a coach. Martinson has won everywhere he has been.

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    18. So what were the results?
      Any better in the playoffs than Costy?

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    19. Yes...you don't get to the final 4 teams without winning a couple playoff series. Costy hasn't won a playoff series.

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    20. You all have such a short memory. We all love Marty and his departure shocked us, but here are the facts for the fact checkers:

      21-22: Lost 1st round
      20-21: Lost 2nd round
      19-20: Season Cancelled
      18-19: Didn't qualify for playoffs
      17-18: Lost 1st round
      16-17: Lost 2nd round

      Costello did indeed match Marty with a 2nd round and 1st round loss in his 2 years. Pretty impressive for a rookie coach who transitioned from player to coach immediately.

      Marty has a legacy, as does Costello, but Marty's last 6 seasons weren't that better than Costello's two.

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    21. Anonymous May 6, 2025 at 11:56 AM
      Costy hasn't won a playoff series

      You sure?
      I'm sure the ECHL, the Allen Americans and the Kansas City Mavericks think otherwise.

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    22. AnonymousMay 6, 2025 at 11:19 AM
      and in the last 6 years he took Allen to the final 4 championship series

      What?
      Marty took our team to 4 championship series?
      I'm sure Marty says he didn't do that.

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    23. To this reply below. Notice a theme is most years? Thant thing called “going to the playoffs?” So your argument is you’d rather NOT go to the playoffs if it means losing early?

      Again no one can win championships every year but actual championships of Martinson vs Costello, well, isn’t a comparison, since Costello has it been a head coach winning a championship.

      No one is perfect but the long term track record of Martinson far outweighs Costello’s mini-track record. Or I guess you’ll be disappointed if Martinson does come back (not saying he will but just comparing long-term track records)?

      “ 21-22: Lost 1st round
      20-21: Lost 2nd round
      19-20: Season Cancelled
      18-19: Didn't qualify for playoffs
      17-18: Lost 1st round
      16-17: Lost 2nd round”

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    24. I don’t post the above but didn’t Costello go to the playoffs both seasons?

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    25. for all the back and forth between views over Coach Martinson and Coach Costello. I will definitely take EITHER ONE of them over what we had last year. And I think that Allen can win with EITHER ONE of them. But I will say that I personally appreciate the passion that is being shown over these two. I think maybe, just maybe, that ownership has acquired some of that passion because of what fans on here have shown and voiced. The frustration of last season will lead to better days in Allen!

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    26. ^^^ they have!

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    27. Marty has 2 contracts/offers in hand.
      Greenville (via his current employer which owns the Rock Lobsters and Greenville) and Allen.
      I suspect he is doing his due diligence on both offers.
      Greenville has already fired their HC/GM.

      Costello will be announced as the new HC/GM of Rapid City in due course with talk of Burt possibly taking a role within Spire, but I have heard also that it could be a parting of ways.

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    28. Richard M, what are you saying?
      Costello went to the playoffs in his 2 years.
      Martinson 3 out of 4 (not counting cancelled season).

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    29. I’m saying look at his entire portfolio of success and not just a few seasons. That’s all.

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  4. would be great to see Coach Martinson back. He knows how to build a team that works with his system and he knows how to coach guys up.

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  5. Barry do you have any word on why the building cancelled the George Lopez show just because of low ticket sales. There are Sidekicks games all the time with less than 500 people and the game still goes on. Why would the building cancel the show? My daugher and I were excited to go. I was looking forward to our first time back since hockey season.

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    Replies
    1. Happens all the time at the event center. The contract with the artist cancels if the tickets sold are below a certain threshold.

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  6. Hey if you don’t like the blog then don’t read or post. How disrespectful to Barry you freaking as

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  7. I couldn’t agree more! Barry you do a super job and we count on you!!

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  8. We have a coach 🙌🙌🙌🙌

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  9. Didn't expect it to be Costello with a pending lawsuit

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  10. Barry can we get a non anonymous update on a possible new coach please?

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    1. As most of you know, I do not scoop the team on hockey operations issues. Wouldn't be the Allen Americans "insider" very long if I did that. I will say the announcement will be coming soon, very soon. I expect, just like every other new coach selection in the past, fans and media will be invited to a press conference at the CUTX Event Center.

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    2. That's good enough. Thank You Barry!

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  11. Talked to sources in the know. Sorry folks but no one has been hired. Just someone making stuff up again

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    Replies
    1. I talked to sources in the know and was told a contract had been signed. Wonder who has the better sources in the know?

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    2. LOL Yes they have...sorry they don't trust you enough to confirm LOL

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  12. By the 16th as I said…….

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  13. I am hearing it will be a "party" in Allen if you know what I mean :)

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  14. Steve Martinson confirmed

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  15. Martinson isn't the answer.
    Very short term sighted to right the ship.
    We will revisit this in 2 years and see what has really changed.
    Martinson wasn't offered a contract by Jack because of his results after he won the cup back in 16.
    Y'all seem to be clutching at 2016 too much.

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    Replies
    1. Martinson is the first American-born coach to win 1,000 games as a head coach, having completed the 2021-22 season with 1,123 wins. and He's not good enough for you???

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    2. I'm curious Mr. GM. Who are you hiring. Remember you can't hire Costello cause you haven't settled the law suit

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    3. Had Costy at $70k - fired him
      Hiring Marty at $200k
      You wanna do the math on bonehead decisions?

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    4. This ^^^^^^^^

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    5. Second part of that is it's not your money. Martinson is best choice. You can't give another one

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    6. Agree 100 Percent he is no the answer, but he is the coach

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    7. agree and plus the many cars that he wrecked and the team had to pay for.

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    8. Upset former employees sharing their thoughts...lovely. move on already

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    9. ^^^^^^^Truth hurts, go cry someplace else. Not past employee but thanks for playing. Are you sad bc you don’t know… bet you were one of the ones crying for BJ to have a chance and Joe was a good idea. lol

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    10. Not sad, not crying. Very happy that a real coach has been hired. Youre the one with the personal vendetta. Again you can't offer a better choice and that's the truth.

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    11. lol better choice? I know who the coach is.

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    12. It’s not Martinson

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    13. You obviously don't know or you would say

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    14. Why should insiders scoop the news? You’ve been told when it will be announced.

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    15. That should tell you what I know.

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    16. Yep.lets me know you can read the date of announcement that's been posted on the blog multiple times. Good Job! Announcement May 16th. I can see that too

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    17. I posted that date. On or before May 16. Still stands. As I am in the know I can’t post much more. My comments on this blog have been 100% accurate.

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    18. to the" it's not Marty"... you're going to be wrong

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    19. Are you sure?
      Spire raised their offer to Marty.

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    20. Ask Mr. I posted the date man. He knows everything

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    21. Respect that he’s an insider that posts on here

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  16. I cannot confirm or deny…..

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  17. I’m really in the know:
    Bob Gainey -GM
    Ken Hitchcock-Mgr.
    Costello-towel boy

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  18. Actually saw Steve in town tonight.. We did not approach them.

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    1. I hope in Athens GA.
      Steve is soon to be 66, he’s been coaching since ‘95.
      He isn’t the long term answer for the Americans.
      I hope Myles has done his due dilligence.

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    2. Martinson - regular season finish:

      2021-22: 10th
      2020-21: 1st (in points), 2nd (points percentage)
      2019-20: 3rd
      2018-19: 27th
      2017-18: 13th

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    3. That's right. Now show his other seasons as well to get the full picture...including the 10 championships.

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    4. If you think today that your belief is Marty will replicate results from over 10 years ago, you've lost your marbles.
      Not questioning his history, results or success, but it's been a while. I am not convinced he is the best coach available.
      We will find out next week.

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    5. OK literally he just took a brand new team in an established league and made the playoffs. Yes I do think he can

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    6. The established league happens to be the FPHL.

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  19. OK I get it you don't like Coach Martinson. Tell me another coach out there that even has a couple championships and is available. You won't list anyone because there isn't one

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    1. Marty, this you?

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    2. Can't name anyone can you?

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    3. Thinking having Marty back will win a championship this season shows you are delusional. It will take years to rebuild what was destroyed. He follows the money and will not be in Allen long.

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    4. no where in my comments did I say he would win a championship this season. Your reading your Martinson hate into your own comments. What I said is you can't even give me one coach that has even won a couple championships that you would hire instead. Martinson has won 4 championships in Allen...4!

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    5. Marty is a short sighted approach if proven to be true.
      That would be a decision from a hockey owner (novice) that has played a partially popular hand.
      Had Costello and made a massive mistake.
      Regardless, Allen will not play for a championship in the next 5 years.

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    6. once again Mr. GM WHO are you hiring then. You keep dogging the coach that holds the record for wins and you only refer to Costello who you know is not coming back. But you offer nothing else. I get that you don't like Martinson. What else are you bringing then?

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    7. I didn't post the above but there is so much anger and frustration on this blog. Marty and Costy have history with the team over the last 10 years, hence the passion for them.

      I have passion for them both, but there are truly a lot of coaches out there across the game of hockey that must be considered if we are doing the team and fans justice. I'm no expert so I have no idea who that could be, but if you're an owner or CEO or President, I sure would want to look across the country, not just rely on nostalgic memories for our next raising of the cup.

      Right now, no one knows or they would post it, with more than just a "trust me". We should trust the process and vent afterwards if it's justified.

      Go Red!

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    8. I agree...Go Red!

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  20. Is it Marty Monday?

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    Replies
    1. it is not .....

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    2. lol wrong , guess you’re not in the know 🤣

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