Tonight is the night Allen Americans fans have been looking forward to since May 12, when it was announced Steve Martinson would be returning as coach and general manager. It is hard to know where to start when recapping Martinson's career. Here is a sample of his accomplishments:
- Martinson spent 10 seasons in Allen from 2012 to 2022, including winning four straight championships (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016). He has won a total of 10 championships in his coaching career in four different leagues (WCHL, UHL, CHL, ECHL). Martinson won championships in his first year of coaching (San Diego), his first year in Allen, and the first year the Americans joined the ECHL
- Martinson has 1123 wins as an AA professional coach. Scotty Bowman is the only North American coach with more wins (1244) than Martinson. If you add his 43 wins in the FPHL (A) last season, his total is now 1166 wins as a pro coach.
- More Martinson Stats:
- Martinson finished in the top five in the ECHL in points in seven of his 10 seasons..
- In addition to winning four championships in Allen, Martinson lost to the eventual Kelly Cup winner in 2016-17 (Colorado) and 2020-21 (Fort Wayne).
- Martinson's playoff record in Allen is 70-45 (.607).
- Martinson has coached 20 playoff series as the coach in Allen and won 16 of them.
- Having a team capable of winning the Kelly Cup and winning one are two different things. There is a reason in the 37-year history of the ECHL, which has had close to 200 coaches, only eight, including Steve Martinson, have won more than one championship. What team owner Myles Jack has tasked Steve Martinson to do is "get back to winning."
- Because
Steve Martinson has been around minor pro hockey for so long, he has a
real advantage when it comes to recruiting. Even with the contacts he
has developed over the years, he spends
many hours going over stats to determine who to recruit. He has a couple of techniques that he uses
to find those diamonds in the rough, players who have underperformed,
but will thrive in his system, and players who have not been used in the
right way on their current teams. It is no coincidence that each year,
several players come in and have career years in Allen.
-
One thing is certain: Steve Martinson will have the same type of team
as
he has always had. They will compete hard, be physical, and be
difficult to
play against. The team will be tough but also skillful. He recruits guys
who understand you must work hard, be in great shape, follow the
system, be a team guy, and finish checks.
I am sure you have heard him say many times that his team is the same
every year; the only thing that changes is the names on the back of the
jerseys.
Martinson has said many times over the last few months, "We are fortunate to have an owner in Myles Jack, who is now in control of the team and understands from his NFL experience what it takes to win. He wants to do everything he can to do things right. He wants the players to have a good experience and have a good place to play. He understands the importance of having the right culture. He will provide the resources needed to win."
- One thing is certain: the 2025-26 Allen Americans team will be exciting and entertaining. A combination of a high-powered offensive team that will be hard to play against. Just making the playoffs will not be considered a success. Myles Jack will provide the resources to have a winning team, and it will be up to Steve Martinson to make it happen.
- It is clear there is a lot of excitement about the 2025-26 season as I talk to the players, the staff, the front office, and the fans, but this home opener weekend against Kansas City will be a big test for the Americans. The Mavericks have been the best team in the ECHL for the last two seasons with a total of 217 points (114 & 103). They are the only ECHL team that has reached 100 points in each of the last two seasons.
- Kansas City's road record the last two seasons has been off the charts. It was 26-8-0-2 last season and an all-time record of 29-4-2-1 in 2023-24. The combined record of 55-12-4-1 is a point percentage of .800 on the road. And it is hard to forget Allen's opening weekend at home last season. Kansas City spanked the Americans twice, shutting out Allen 4-0 on Friday night and 9-0 on Saturday, when the big crowd specialty jersey curse struck once again.
- Stats are just stats, and as the old saying goes, "past performance is not indicative of future results", especially with the team Steve Martinson has put together. Allen has played three games (two preseason and one regular season) and won all of them. The Americans scored 11 goals, allowed two goals, and had two shutouts.
- Except for Malik Johnson (14-day IR), everyone else will be available tonight. With no new CBA in place, the salary cap remains an issue for coach Martinson. While Martinson is an expert in capology, and he has several options available, Allen will be playing short until a new CBA is in place. Some games, like this weekend, the Americans will play one man short, but they will play two men short in the future.
- Here is Allen's roster as of this morning: two goalies, nine defensemen, and 10 forwards are available. Troy Murray and Braidan Simmons-Fischer can play up front as well as on defense. I will post the lineup on Facebook and X later today.
UPDATE:
ROSTER
Goalies
- #31 - Jackson Parsons
- #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
Forwards
- #26 - Spencer Asuchak
- #18 - Harrison Blaisdell
- #11 - Thomas Caron
- #67 - Hank Crone
- #27 - Mark Duarte
- #91 - Michael Gildon
- #7 - Colton Hargrove
- #76 - Malik Johnson (14-day IR)
- #19 - Chase Maxwell
- #77 - Brad Morrison
- #29 - Brayden Watts
- Look for Lily Martinson to be on the bench tonight in a new coaching role with the team. Lily played four seasons of Division I college hockey at Providence College (2021-2025), graduating as a Finance and Marketing major. Last season Lily, who has always played defense, didn't miss a game. She played in all 35 games for the Friars for the second straight year. She had 18 points (7G, 11A), was a +9, and blocked 23 shots. Lily will be on the bench tonight with an iPad in hand, a first for Coach Martinson. Here is what Martinson had to say about using an iPad on the bench. "Players nowadays like to see a lot of video. In my day, coaches just told you things. Lily will mostly be working with the defense to reinforce good things that are working, and also addressing positioning and decision-making using the IPad. I am too busy to do it, but that is what you see in the NHL. Jason Deitsch will also be on the bench, running the defenseman."
OTHER COMMENTS
- The on-ice leadership group for the season will be Asuchak and Hargrove, wearing the "C" and they will switch off each month. Wearing the "A" will be Watts and Duarte.
- The ECHL will once again use a two-referee system for 50% of all home games (18 games) in 2025-26. The game tonight will have one referee, Jamie Pavia (#26). The linesmen will be Trent Williams (#48) and Aaron Schaat (#51). Pavia is new to the ECHL and professional hockey. The 26-year-old has been working in the BCHL, a junior league in British Columbia, for the last five years.
- There are 12 games on the ECHL schedule tonight, and all are inter-divisional. It is still very early, as many teams have played only one game, but eight teams haven’t lost (Atlanta, Fort Wayne, Jacksonville, Toledo, Adirondack, Wheeling, Trois Riviéres, Allen), and four teams haven’t earned a point (Kalamazoo, Cincinnati, Worcester, Indy). It all changes tonight as these numbers will definitely dwindle. Here is the ECHL Today with the previews: https://echl.com/news/2025/10/echl-today-oct-24
DID YOU KNOW: Here is an updated list of NHL/AHL contracted players assigned to each ECHL team. Allen is in a familiar spot at the bottom of the list:
LFG!!
ReplyDeleteWe've been waiting for tonight for a long time.
GO RED!
Tonight’s the first game oh crap I better wash the jersey and get all of last years stink off it.
ReplyDeleteThat’s a shit ton of stank.
DeleteI had to wash my gear twice to get last years stank out….
Deletecan not wait!! let the marty party begin
ReplyDeleteCan’t wait to watch tonight! Also super excited to have Lily on the bench!
ReplyDeletearen't we all? :-)
DeleteVery disappointed that Red Kingdom isn’t back.
ReplyDeleteit was the video song for one season years ago. get over it dude ha ha.
DeleteMaurice is clear and articulate. Mush mouth is not. Surprised owner doesn’t notice. Very annoying.
ReplyDeleteHis commentary is so distracting and takes away from enjoying the game.
DeleteAgreed. Especially the constant shout-outs to random people watching the game (?) as well as interviews that run over into the actual hockey game.
DeleteCan we just have Maurice?
Folks, grow up, seriously.
DeleteThey aren't wrong though...
DeleteNo they aren’t wrong. More need to speak up
DeleteMore time together will be helpful. Have to get the opponent shot totals down and ours up.
ReplyDelete