Thursday, September 11, 2025

Allen Signs Defenseman Sam Sedley - Player Profile, Martinson Q&A Recap, Roster Update, Links to Recent Stories, DASH Auctions and More

 

Steve Martinson added another top defenseman to the roster this morning, announcing the signing of Sam Sedley. He is another player who will be attending the Belleville Senators training camp. Here is his player profile:

 

SAM SEDLEY - PLAYER PROFILE

Sam Sedley


Sam Sedley is a 22-year-old,  6''0", 195-pound, right-shot defenseman from Stratford, Ontario. He played his junior hockey in the OHL with the Owen Sound Attack. In 236 games in Owen Sound, Sam had 168 points (21G, 147A) and 116 penalty minutes. In his final season in the OHL (2023-24), he notched a career-high 63 points (9G, 54A) in 64 games, ranking him third on the team in points and second in assists. Anytime a defenseman averages .98 points per game over an entire season, you know they are an offensive threat. Over his entire junior career, Sedley averaged .71 points per game. As a frame of reference, Alex Breton averaged .44 points per game in juniors (QMJHL) before becoming the ECHL Defenseman of the Year with Allen in 2020, and Les Lancaster averaged .62 points per game over his college career before becoming the ECHL Defenseman of the Year with Allen in 2021. It is unfair to compare Sedley with Breton and Lancaster at this point in his career, but he should thrive in Steve Martinson's offensive style of play, where defensemen are expected to jump into the play. 

 

- Sedley is the all-time Owen Sound leader in career points by a defenseman, and the team has been around for over 35 years. 

 

- After completing his junior career, Sedley signed his first professional contract for the 2024-25 season with the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms (Philadelphia Flyers affiliate). He spent most of the season on loan to the Reading Royals, where he recorded 37 points (7G, 30A) in 62 games. He had five more assists than any other player on the team. His .60 points per game average led all Reading defensemen.   

 

- When you read scouting reports and quotes about Sedley, you see the same traits repeated over and over again:

  • Smart
  • Offensive-minded
  • Dynamic rush ability 
  • Strong hockey IQ
  • Adapted quickly to pro hockey

 

- Here is an interview with Sam from the end of last season in Reading. Always good to hear players talk about themselves, the season, and offseason plans:

  



 - Here is an updated Allen roster, which now numbers 21 players, one goalie, 10 defensemen, and 10 forwards:  
 

Goalies

  • #33 Marco Costantini 

Defensemen

  • #86 Andre Anania 
  • #22 Anthony Costantini
  • #21 Jackson Decker 
  • #28 Troy Murray 
  • #43 Matt Register
  • #23 Sam Sedley
  • #6 Braidan Simmons-Fischer 
  • #44 Kevin Spinozzi 
  • #2 Quinn Warmuth 
  • #9 Hudson Wilson

Forwards

  • #26 Spencer Asuchak
  • #18 Harrison Blaisdell 
  • #11 Thomas Caron
  • #91 Michael Gildon
  • #7 Colton Hargrove
  • #76 Malik Johnson 
  • #77 Brad Morrison
  • #8 Carter Savoie
  • #29 Brayden Watts
  • #88 Orca Wiesblatt
 
 
OTHER COMMENTS 
 
- I get asked all the time about players from last season that were signed very early in July who have subsequently been traded or released. As Steve Martinson put together his roster and the affiliation with Ottawa became a reality, it necessitated trading or releasing some of these players. The final number of players from last season who were originally signed and subsequently traded or released is five. There will be no more signed and not announced players traded or released. The five players who were signed, never announced, and then traded or released were Kenny Johnson, Artem Kulakov, Trevor LeDonne, Reid Perepeluk, and Mike Van Unen. Two of the five players have already signed with other ECHL teams, Artem Kulakov (Reading) and Mike Van Unen (Rapid City). 
 
There are now eight players on the Allen roster from last season, and I assume the number will go to nine if Duarte re-signs. Will all nine players make the opening day roster? As Steve Martinson has said many times, training camp will be very competitive, so that question won't be answered until training camp.. 
 
 
- Most of what Steve Martinson shared at his Q&A session on Monday has been covered in the blog before. The reason to come to these types of events is to get the unvarnished, unedited, and humorous version of the issues, with very few filters. As Jonny Mydra has said before, fans will have numerous opportunities to interact with Coach Martinson, and they will be scheduled at different times so all will have a chance to attend. Here are a few of the items Martinson talked about that I haven't covered in the blog before:
  •  Hank Crone has returned to Dallas from Europe. Norfolk holds his ECHL rights, so any team interested in signing Crone has to trade for rights, and Norfolk will be looking for a top player in a trade. Martinson can't talk to Crone, since Norfolk holds his rights. Fans will have to wait and see how it all works out. 
  • Topeka is a new team in the FPHL. Martinson wants to work with them because the Americans play so many games in that area, so it will be easier to get players if the Americans need them.
  • You can't have high-scoring forwards if you don't have high-scoring offensive defensemen. There is nothing wrong with scoring a bunch of points, as long as it is done the right way. 
  • We will have a skills scrimmage on October 4 at 7:00 pm in the community rink, where fans can come in and see our training camp players. This will be a fun scrimmage, as I don't want to get anyone hurt on the second day of training camp. We will send out more details as training camp gets closer.
 
- If you don't keep up with all that is happening daily, here are some links to recent stories and information:
  • Here is the Ottawa Senators roster for the upcoming Montreal Prospects Showdown. Two Allen players (Carter Savoie & Braidan Simmons-Fischer) will be participating. Ottawa plays Toronto at 1:00 pm EDT on Saturday and Winnipeg at 7:00 pm EDT on Sunday. All of the games will be broadcast on FloHockey, The individual teams may live stream their games as well; go to their website on the day of the game to find out. Winnipeg is the only team that has already said their games will be live-streamed. https://ottawacitizen.com/ottawa-senators/rookies-hit-ice-thursday-sep-11-2025 
  • If you are looking for Allen gear at good prices, check out some of the auction bundles on DASH. One of them is a signed Asuchak jersey and hat. It is the popular Texas jersey that the team has trouble keeping in stock. There are also many other bundle auctions with autographed hats, cowbells, pucks, and ministicks. The auction ends at midnight tomorrow (Friday): https://fans.winwithdash.com/team/allenamericans/event/689cb973180ec70007bd8753 
 
 
 - Here is my ECHL Stats post from a few days ago. Allen is lucky to have two of the top veterans in the league who have won a combined seven pro championships and five Kelly Cups. When you know there will not be a lot of help from the affiliate, having seasoned veteran leadership is critical.
 
Talk about outstanding ECHL veterans, seven players on 2025-26 rosters have over 450 games played. Each player’s rank on the all-time games played list is in parentheses:
 
*867- Justin Taylor, ADK (#2)
683 - Matt Register, ALN (#9)
608 - Anthony Collins, TAH (#15)
576 - Logan Nelson, GSO (#26)
505 - Spencer Asuchak, ALN (#49)
487 - Mike McKee, TUL (#56)
454 - Anthony Petruzzelli, FW (#88)
 
*Justin Taylor needs just 18 more games played to pass Michael Pelech for #1 all-time.
 
 
DID YOU KNOW: Here is my ECHL Stats post for today. It raises the question of whether any of the teams that finished with fewer than 70 points last season will make the playoffs in 2025-26. In Allen's case, I think the Americans have a good chance to crack the ECHL all-time top five single-season point increases. To do so, Allen will need to end the 2025-26 season with 92 points. 
 
- Eight ECHL teams had 90 or more points in 2024-25. Who doesn’t make 90 points in 2025-26? Who misses the playoffs?
 
109: South Carolina
106: Florida
103: Kansas City
99: Toledo
98: Trois Rivières
92: Jacksonville
91: Fort Wayne
90: Wheeling 
 
- Eight ECHL teams had fewer than 70 points in 2024-25, and all missed the playoffs. How many rebound and make the playoffs in 2025-26?
 
43: Allen
57: Adirondack
58: Utah
62: Greenville
65: Atlanta
68: Bloomington
69: Cincinnati
69: Savannah
 

20 comments:

  1. Great signing. Can't wait for the season to start.
    This is arguably (on paper), the best roster I've seen in years.
    Go Red!

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    Replies
    1. 100 percent agreed. This marty party is going to be one for the ages.

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  2. This is getting fun this team looks like a powerhouse!!!!

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  3. Myles got mad last season!!
    Amazing change.

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  4. Barry i know we dont want to be too excited preseason, but have you ever seen this much talent on an Allen roster heading into training camp? I'm piniching myself right now that we really have Marty back and that all these guys are signing here.

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  5. Is it possible for Coach to have a formal working agreement with the Topeka team?
    Maybe if some of the Athens players don’t make the roster they can go to Topeka to develop more and like the blog mentioned, be available when we play in that area….??

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  6. TOPEKA,KS - The Topeka Scarecrows are proud to announce that ahead of their inaugural season players from their roster will participate in the Allen Americans ECHL preseason camp.

    The Americans coaching staff selected several players from the Scarecrows roster to be invited to camp. The Scarecrows players will be traveling down to Allen,TX to participate in joint ice sessions Saturday October 4th and Sunday October 5th which will give our players an opportunity to be seen and scouted by the Americans new coaching staff led by head coach Steve Martinson who, last season, coached the Athens Rock Lobsters in the FPHL. Martinson is the all-time winningest coach in minor pro hockey history.

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  7. RIP - Orca Wiesblatt.
    Tragic.

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    Replies
    1. So sad. He seemed to be well liked by Coach Martinson. I feel horrible for his family.

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  8. Condolences to the Weisblatt family. God rest your soul, Orca. 🙏🏼

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  9. JC BRASSARD TO ORLANDO

    ORLANDO, Fla. – The Orlando Solar Bears, ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Tampa Bay Lightning, announced the signing of defenseman J.C. Brassard to a contract for the 2025-26 season.

    Brassard returned to the ECHL last season to play with the Allen Americans after a three-year tenure overseas. The Scituate, Massachusetts native led the Americans in points (23) and assists (18) among defensemen and finished third on the team with 135 shots on goal.

    The 29-year-old has appeared in 183 ECHL games over five seasons with South Carolina, Greenville, Utah, Tulsa and Allen, scoring 65 points (14g-51a) and recording 100 penalty minutes. Brassard also skated with the Nottingham Panthers of the Elite Ice Hockey League for two seasons, and Chamonix of Ligue Mangus (France).

    Prior to his professional career, Brassard played four seasons at Union College, recording 52 points (8g-44a) in 135 career games.

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  10. Barry its time for an update

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  11. So bossy. Barry will do things in his time. Not yours!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you but I wasn't speaking to you. I simply asked Barry for an update as I really enjoy reading his blog. Im looking forward to the next edition. But by all means attack me for being a fan wanting more

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    2. Asking for an update would look more like, Hey Barry, do you have any updates for us? What you did was more demand an update. Be better.

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  12. Nailers Acquire Trevor LeDonne from Allen

    ECHL Wheeling Nailers September 18, 2025 - WHEELING, WV - The Wheeling Nailers, proud ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins, have announced a trade, which takes effect immediately. Wheeling has received defenseman Trevor LeDonne from the Allen Americans in exchange for future considerations. LeDonne, 25, made his professional debut with the Americans in March, following the conclusion of his collegiate playing career.

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  13. Well its OK for us to disagree as well. What you did is attack me for asking for an update. I have clarified my position that I was asking for an update. So yes I can Be Better. Be better with me

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    Replies
    1. In the words of the departed Tissue Boy..."It's better to be better with the better"

      and then his dog bit him - hard!

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