Allen Americans Sign Three Wood Choppers at the Tip of the Spear - Steve Martinson Explains, Player Profiles and More

 

The Allen Americans added three more players to their 2025-26 roster yesterday, bringing the total number of announced players to 14. The players added yesterday were defensemen Braidan Simmons-Fischer and Troy Murray, and forward Malik Johnson. Here is Allen's updated roster with the assigned jersey numbers:

  

Goalies

• #33 Marco Costantini 

Defensemen

• #22 Anthony Costantini
• #28 Troy Murray 
• #43 Matt Register
• #6 Braidan Simmins-Fischer 
• #44 Kevin Spinozzi 
• #9 Hudson Wilson 

Forwards

• #26 Spencer Asuchak
• #18 Harrison Blaisdell 
• #11 Thomas Caron 
• #7 Colton Hargrove 
• #76 Malik Johnson 
• #77 Brad Morrison 
• #29 Brayden Watts 

- I had a chance to ask Steve Martinson how these three players fit into his plans, given they have a combined total of 15 ECHL games played. Here is what he has to say. 

"When I left Allen after the 2021-22 season, one of the things I had the opportunity to do was color commentary for the Rockford IceHogs. I did that for about 25 games. It had been a long time since I had seen AHL games. It was clear that the top players were very identifiable. These were the guys going up and down to the NHL. However, the bottom AHL players were about the same as the top players on ECHL teams. It was evident to me that there are a lot of guys in the ECHL who could play in the AHL, if given the opportunity. They are not given the opportunity for a variety of reasons, age being a big factor." 

"The same thing applies to players going from the SPHL and FPHL to the ECHL. There are a lot of top players at the single-A level that are just as good as the bottom players in the ECHL. They are just not given the opportunity. For most of my coaching career, I had so many high-quality players contacting me, I didn't need to find diamonds in the rough in the SPHL. What I have learned by coaching in Athens is that these players can play at the ECHL level. Even better is the fact that games played in the SPHL and FPHL don't count toward rookie status in the ECHL Johnson and Murray are experienced pro players who are considered rookies."     

"When I started putting the roster together, before I knew if we would have an affiliation, I wanted to make sure we had depth guys that could play, but were physical players that bring a lot of energy and understood their role. As it turns out, some of our top forwards are going to be very physical players. Plus, the players we will get from our affiliate will be top players in the ECHL, but also physical guys."

"It is safe to say our team this season will be the most physical team I have had in Allen. The three guys announced today not only finish their checks, but when they hit, they go right through the players. 

 

PLAYER PROFILES

Braiden-Simmons-Fischer

 

- Braidan Simmons-Fischer is a 23-year-old, 6'8", 234-pound, right-shot defenseman who signed with his hometown team after he left school last February. He comes from a hockey family. His dad, Juri Fischer, played eight seasons (305 games) with Detroit Red Wings and has been part of the Red Wings player development staff since 2007. Braidan's younger brother (18), Lukas, was the 2nd round draft choice of the St. Louis Blues in the 2024 NHL draft. 

Martinson on Braidan, "Sometimes it takes a while for real tall guys to become their best player because there is a lot to adjust to and it takes time to develop. Zdeno Chara, the 6'9" defenseman who played in 1680 NHL games talks about being cut from teams when he was 16 years old after being told he was too tall to play hockey." 

Braidan skates well, he handles the puck well, and he is tough. He has a lot of upside, and in my opinion, the sky is the limit. That is why he will be attending our affiliates' prospect tournament, to ensure they won't get pushed around by anyone. 

 

 

 

Malik Johnson

- Malik Johnson is a 30 year old, 6'1'', 192 pound, left-shot forward who played for Martinson in Athens last season, where he played 48 games and had 44 points (15G, 29A) and 122 penalty minutes. Johnson was called up to South Carolina, the top team in the ECHL last season, for six games at the end of December. South Carolina coach, Jared Nightingale, who was recently selected as the head coach in Rockford (AHL), had this to say about Johnson, "He has been outstanding. I talked to his coach, Steve Martinson; everyone in the hockey world knows Steve and all of his success, and he has a great eye for talent. Steve talked highly of Malik. Johnson skates well, but he is also smart. He stays above the play, he gets to the net, and he has given us an emotional boost."

Johnson has played in 110 SPHL games in his four-year pro career. 

Martinson on Malik. "He is a good skater, he gets to the net and finishes every check. He is a good penalty killer, and he will be a fan favorite in Allen. 

 

 

 

 

Troy Murray

 - Troy Murray is a 27-year-old, 6'2, 220 pound left-shot defenseman who played for Martinson in Athens last season. He had 11 points (3G, 8A) in 32 games. He was also called up to the South Carolina Stingrays for nine games, had no points but 50 penalty minutes. He has also played 116 games in the SPHL over his five-year pro career. 

Martinson's comments on Murray, "He is a defenseman who can play forward, because he is a good skater. He is a defensive defenseman. He is the kind of player who is going to hit people hard, given the opportunity. His ability to go through people when he checks is a trait that is hard to teach. He is big and strong, he moves well, and is a fluid skater. I watched all of his shifts when he was loaned to South Carolina. You would have never known he wasn't there all year."

 

OTHER MARTINSON COMMENTS

"I talked about this before, that my housing budget allows me to have a team that is more like an NHL team. We are not going to get a lot of players from the affiliate, but the ones we do get will be very good. The housing budget allows me to sign more players who are playing for Allen, so I have more control of the roster and the ability to have the type of team I want to have. By signing more married guys who want to stay and play and win in Allen it allows me to have a team where my depth guys are energy guys that are very difficult to play against. We are going to have physical guys who can score on every line."

 

"I once had an AHL general manager tell me you can win with intimidation in the ECHL, but it is harder to do in the AHL. My response to him was I am not in the AHL."

I will tell you right now, we are going to have an intimidating team. We will not be a team that one tough guy on the opposition can do something about. We are going to have top players who like to hit, and our depth guys even more so. You have heard me say in the past that you need guys who carry the water and guys who chop the wood. We are going to have our top guys who carry the water and chop the wood. Our depth guys, like the three we announced yesterday, will be wood choppers extraordinaire. I know they can play, and I know they will be physical."

 

"Tip of the spear defined, we will have a big spear with guys like Asuchak, Hargrove, and Caron being goal scorers that play physical. Every "rookie" I have will play the heavy style that our fans know and love." 

 

"Every year, the pool of physical players gets a little smaller. When you have to deal with the salary cap, you often look to first-year players to be the guys who bring the physical energy. With rookies, you are never quite sure if they can be effective pro players. With the three guys we announced, who are all ECHL rookies, I know they can play and will finish every hitting opportunity. Even better, there are more of those types of players yet to be announced." 

 

"We have other players to announce, and I will repeat myself. "We will have a lot of players in training camp, and it will be very competitive. Training camp is not the place to get in shape. The players who make the opening day roster will have to show they are ready to play, buy into the style we are going to play, and are good teammates."

 

"This will be the first time I have ever coached a team with four lines, since the number of skaters was increased to 18 last season. That will allow for a lot of different strategies."   

 

In closing, you can expect to see more blog posts like this one, where I will be interviewing Coach Martinson, the players, and team owner Myles Jack about the challenges of creating the right culture with a roster that has been almost completely overhauled. 

 

DID YOU KNOW: Hockey season is less than 60 days away. Help from NHL/AHL affiliates plays a big role in the ECHL, both during the regular season and the Kelly Cup playoffs. Here are the regular season dates for each league:

ECHL: October 17 - April 12 (30 teams play 1080 games)

AHL: October 10 - April 19 (32 teams play 1152 games)

NHL: October 7 - April 16 (32 teams play 1312 games)

 

 

Teams in USA vs Canada

 

NHL: 25 USA vs 7 Canada

AHL: 26 USA vs 6 Canada

ECHL: 29 USA vs 1 Canada