Steve Martinson's Q&A Recap, Seven Attending Belleville Training Camp, Allen Americans Documentary, ECHL Critical Dates and More

 

 It has been a while since my last blog post, as there wasn't much new information to report. That all changed last night when Coach Martinson had another Q&A session with season ticket holders (aka Patriot Club Members). He covered a great deal of ground and shared a wealth of new information. Here is a recap;

 

- Belleville Senators training camp: Allen has seven players attending. On ice sessions began yesterday.  

• Andre Anania -  defenseman
• Marco Costantini - goalie 
• Mark Duarte - forward
• Braidan Simmon-Fischer - defenseman/forward
• Danny Katic - forward
• Sam Sedley - defenseman
• Carter Savoie - forward

 

-  Danny Katic is on the list above even though he is already under contract with Belleville. He is one of the players Martinson identified to Belleville that they signed as a depth player. Anything can happen during training camp, but the expectation is that Katic will start the season in Allen.  

   

- Here is the press release issued by Belleville yesterday with all of the details on its training camp, including the 27 players currently in camp. In addition to the Allen-signed players on this list, Martinson mentioned Allen could see as many as seven players under contract with Belleville assigned to the Americans at some point during the season. He thinks it is realistic that Allen could start the season with a goalie (most likely Parsons), at least one forward (Katic), and a defenseman. Nothing is certain until the season begins, but this is the thinking at this point. If you are an avid fan, tracking the names in this press release will give you an idea of the players you might see in Allen this season: https://bellevillesens.com/belleville-sens-announce-27-player-roster-to-open-2025-26-training-camp/     

 

- Martinson also made three player announcements last night. All three players played for Martinson last season in Athens:

• Kayson Gallant: Played for Martinson in Athens last season and led the Rock Lobsters in goals. He scored 40 goals in 56 games, which also led the league (FPHL) in goals. Gallant is a 25-year-old, 5'11", 170 lbs, right-shot forward who has played 61 professional games, but is considered a rookie in the ECHL.
• Danil Glukarev: Another player who played for Martinson in Athens last season. He is 25 years old, 6'1", 190 lbs, a left-shot forward from Moskva, Russia. He totaled 41 points (21G, 20A) in 48 games for the Rock Lobsters. It was his first season playing in North America. He will also be a rookie in the ECHL despite having several years of professional experience. He won't report for about three weeks.
• Avery Smith: A local product (Flower Mound), Smith also played for Martinson last season. He is a 26 year old, 6'3", 220 lbs., right-shot forward. Since turning pro at the end of the 2023-24 season, he has played 58 games (all in the FPHL) and tallied 34 points (19G, 15A) to go along with 149 penalty minutes. He will also be a rookie in the ECHL, despite having pro experience.

 

- Martinson is still trying to make a couple of trades this week to improve the roster. Hopefully, he can get something done before the start of training camp.

 

- Martinson recently took Spencer Asuchak, Colton Hargrove, Brayden Watts, and their wives out to dinner. His exact quote was, "I didn't have a budget to buy breakfast when I was here before. It was great to meet their wives, as I don't normally do that. It was nice to spend some time with them. These three players will play a big role this season in leading the ship in the right direction."    

 

- Martinson spent some time talking about what he expects will be a potent power play this season. How important is a good power play? Check out this stat:

A good power play percentage is 20% or more. Last season (2024-25), 11 ECHL teams met that standard, and eight of them made the playoffs. The top two in power play percentage were the Kelly Cup finalists. 

 

25.1% - Toledo**

24.5% - Trois Rivières**

23.2% - South Carolina*

22.3% - Tulsa*

22.3% - Idaho

21.8% - Wichita*

21.5% - Wheeling*

20.9% - Kansas City*

20.4% - Indy*

20.1% - Bloomington

20.0% - Maine

 

**Kelly Cup finalists

* Playoff teams    

 

OTHER COMMENTS  

- Martinson shared with the group last night that owner Myles Jack has hired a group to do a documentary (Hard Knocks Type) about the Americans. They will have a film crew in Allen for 30 days during the season. It is the type of thing that could get picked up by Netflix or a similar on-demand streaming service. This group is also going to help the Americans with their social media platforms and expand their use of YouTube. 

 

- Martinson talked at length last night about training camp. Here is a repeat of what I included in a previous blog about training camp:  

• The guys who are going to Belleville's camp will be missing the start of Allen's camp.
• There will be at least a dozen players coming to Allen's training camp (via sleeper bus) from the new FPHL franchise in Topeka, KS. Martinson has been working with the coach in Topeka (they worked together in Elmira), so Allen has players to call on when they are short during the season. There are no formal agreements between these leagues, just a good working relationship with the Topeka Scarecrows. 
• When Martinson was in Allen before, it was sometimes difficult to get players because some teams would make it difficult to call guys up, and he ended up playing short. It was also a strain on the budget because most SPHL teams are far away, and it was costly to get players to Allen. With Topeka, he has a team in close proximity to a lot of places Allen plays on the road, and Martinson will have seen many of the players on the Topeka roster. 
• Some of the guys that don't make Allen's roster out of training camp will end up in Topeka.   
• Because Allen plays only one game opening weekend (October 18), Martinson can take his time getting the team up to speed.
• Allen has two preseason games, both against Tulsa. At NYTEX Sports Centre (October 9, 7:30 pm CDT) and in Tulsa (October 11, 7:00 pm CDT).
• Martinson's plan is to have a practice with only his players on the first day (Friday, October 3). The next two days (Saturday and Sunday) will be "skill scrimmages" so Martinson can watch all of the players and make assessments. He emphasized that when he was playing in the NHL, these types of scrimmages were common to start training camp. The difference is that they were all out with big checks, fights, and guys would get hurt. He doesn't want any of that with his scrimmages. He has no interest in seeing who is the toughest guy, and he doesn't need to be entertained. These scrimmages/intrasquad games will give Martinson a chance to see who will be the best depth guys. The scrimmages will be fun and also help the guys get in shape. 
• The scrimmage on Saturday night (10/4) will not be open to the public because of other events going on at CUTX Event Center. The scrimmage Sunday morning (10/5), which starts at 11:00 am, is open to the public. If you are interested in attending, you need to contact your ticket rep to make arrangements. 

 

- The new franchise in New Mexico has announced its name. The New Mexico Goatheads will begin playing in the 2026-27 season. Here is the press release with the details: https://echl.com/news/2025/09/introducing-the-new-mexico-goatheads  

 

- This topic was discussed at the Q&A session last night, as it related to points per game average for the eight players returning from last season. This is the points per game average only for games played with Allen in 2024-25. Number of games played is in parentheses:

• 1.17 - Brad Morrison (12)
• .78 - Brayden Watts (68)
• .68 - Spencer Asuchak (57)
• .58 - Mark Duarte (67)
• .31 - Quinn Warmuth (55)
• .21 - Michael Gildon (14)
• .20 - Harrison Blaisdell (50)
• .17 - Hudson Wilson (65)  

 

- I have heard it referred to as the Steve Martinson effect. Are Mountain Division teams gearing up for a more physical season in 2025-26? There is no doubt Martinson will have his typical physical team, with plenty of toughness and players who are hard to play against. The Mountain Division, once known for its toughness, has lost that reputation recently. In 2024-25, the Mountain Division didn't have a single team ranked in the top 10 in penalty minutes. The division was ranked #12, #13, #14, #21, #24, #27, #28, and #29.  

Tulsa is a good example. Last season, the Oilers leader in penalty minutes had 87 minutes, and that was a 10-year veteran who had one fight. Tulsa recently signed rookie Matthew Henry, who played 94 games in the rugged WHL. He had three points (2G, 1A) in those 94 games, but led the league in penalty minutes in 2022-23 and in penalty minutes per game in 2023-24.  

Martinson talked about how he wants division teams to add more physical guys because it will make the games more entertaining.  

 

- The ECHL has issued its critical dates press release for the 2025-26 season. Some highlights:

• October 15 - season-opening rosters due
• October 17 - season begins 
• November 16 - rosters reduced from 21 to 20
• January 18 & 19 - All-Star game (in Allen)
• January 23 - jersey reversal date
• March 2 - overseas deadline (for player returning to the ECHL)
• April 12 - last day of regular season

Here is the press release with all of the dates: https://echl.com/news/2025/09/critical-dates-2025-26-season 

 

DID YOU KNOW: ECHL Stats post for today. Chad Costello's records never cease to amaze:

This is a very small club. Here are the ECHL players with 60 or more assists in a single season since 2014-15:

 

89: Chad Costello, Allen, (2016-17)

84: Chad Costello, Allen (2014-15)

79: Chad Costello, Allen (2015-16)

68: Shane Berschbach, Toledo (2015-16)

64: Casey Pierro-Zabotel, Allen, (2015-16)

64: Zach O’Brien, Newfoundland, (2022-23)

60: Jack Dugan, Fort Wayne, (2023-24)

60: Alex Ierullo, Greenville, (2022-23)

 

Chad Costello’s 89 assists in 2016-17 are #4 on the ECHL all-time list. The three ahead of him all played in the 1990s.