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| Photo by chlphotos.com |
Brian McMillin has signed to play in the United Kingdom for the 2013-2014 season. He will play for the Coventry Blaze of the Elite Ice Hockey League. After coming off a great championship year with the Americans and being named MVP of the playoffs Brian and his wife Wendy have decided they want to experience hockey in Europe. It was a tough decision for them as they love playing for the Americans and living in North Texas.Obviously this is a big loss for the Americans as well as me personally but it is a great opportunity for Wendy and Brian to see a different part of the world while playing hockey. Our best to them both as they will be missed. A side benefit of making this decision early is Brian and Wendy will be able to spend a couple of months at home (Roseau, Minnesota) before heading to England in August. The EIHL season starts around the first of September. Here is the official news release from the Coventry Blaze. I apologize for the font color if this is hard to read:
Genting
Casino Coventry Blaze can confirm the signing of American forward Brian
McMillin for the 2013/14 Rapid Solicitors Elite League campaign.
The
25-year-old Minnesota native arrives at the Skydome fresh from being
named the Most Valuable Player in Allen Americans’ Central Hockey League
play-off triumph following a Game Seven win over Wichita Thunder.
The
Ray Miron Presidents’ Cup success was the franchise’s first
championship and they also became just the eighth CHL team to win the
regular-season and post-season title in the same campaign.
McMlliin
has spent the last three seasons with the Americans, posting 112 points
(51 goals and 61 assists) in 178 regular-season and play-off matches.
Last season, he registered 30 points (15 goals and 15 assists) in 58
regular-season appearances and 20 points (12 goals and eight assists) in
19 play-off games on his way to collecting the post-season MVP.
After
four years with Colorado College in the NCAA – being named in the
All-Academic Team twice – McMillan had 14 games for Kalamazoo Wings in
the ECHL prior to joining the Americans.
Coach Matt Soderstrom said: “Brian was named the MVP for Allen Americans which is a team stacked with talent.
"He
scored some big-clutch goals and got 30 points in the regular-season –
some of their big guns got 50 so he was somewhere in the middle of a
talented team which was the best in the league and very deep.
“We spoke to the guys at Allen Americans and to other people as well as they all had great things to say about Brian.
“He
has a big upside and will have a lot more responsibility with us and
can go to another level. He is a team player and does everything well.
Brian will compliment our other forwards and we expect 20-plus goals
from him next season.”
Director
of Hockey Operations Paul Thompson said: “We have been looking at Brian
for the last four to five weeks. We have done our research on him and
he is someone who knows what it takes to win. You don’t get to sign many
guys who are coming off being named the MVP in the play-offs!
“We
think Brian will be a perfect fit for us. All the feedback we got on
him was positive. He is a guy who is dependable and will be the glue
around our offensive talent.”
McMillin,
who scored the game-winner in matches 2 and 4 of the Americans'
play-off triumph, said: “I am very excited about making the move to
Coventry. I can't wait to get things going.
“Winning
my first pro championship in overtime of a Game 7 was definitely an
incredible feeling, one I hope to experience again soon. Winning the
play-off MVP was just the cherry on the top.
“I
take a lot of pride in being a consistent, two-way player. I'm not
flashy but I will find a way to get the job done. I hope to help improve
the team in both ends of the ice as well as on the PP and PK. My only
goal for next year is to help bring championships back to Coventry.”
McMillin
joins Steven Chalmers, Ross Venus, James Griffin, Mike Egener, Adam
Henrich, Benn Olson, Mike Schutte, Russell Cowley, Mike Zacharias, Matt
Selby, Dale White, Adam Goss, Michael Henrich, Ryan Ginand,
Sean Erickson and Ashley Tait on next season's roster.
I have tried to find out anything new that is happening with the team and the league but after being gone for three week there isn't a whole lot I can share.
- Haven't seen or heard anything official about the lawsuit that ended with the court ruling against the Americans. Not sure if anything will be said about the entire process that took place. While it is time to move on and focus on next season in the CHL I have heard from many of you that you would like some explanation as to what transpired. The Rapid City Rush made a passing comment in the letter they sent out to season ticket holders which said in part, "This spring we were accepted entry into the ECHL. However, due to
timeline constraints we are unable to make the transition feasible for
the upcoming 2013-2014 season." I guess we will have to wait and see if the Americans make any comments.
- Ownership issues continue to swirl around the league. What is known for sure is the Missouri Mavericks ownership has purchased the St. Charles Chill. The Mavs VP of Communication, Patrick Armstrong, has been named Executive Vice President of the Chill. The Wichita ownership has supposedly purchased the Tulsa Oilers put I can find nothing official on this transaction. The other ownership issue that is still not resolved from what I read on various message boards is the ownership of the CHL itself. There was plenty of talk about some of the team owners (Missouri & Wichita among others) trying to buy the CHL. I would assume if this issue had been resolved something would be publicized. Stay tuned.
- I have been asked by some of you when the official league meeting will take place. I would assume some of these other ownership issues need to be resolved before the league meeting is scheduled.
- While I have been assured there are no Americans signed at this point other teams are starting to announce signings. Missouri had a press conference yesterday for fans and the media and announced the return of four players. Here is a portion of the press conference info:
Player Signings
The Missouri Mavericks announced
the team has re-signed four players for the 2013-14 season. Forwards
Sebastien Thinel, Andrew Courtney, John-Scott Dickson and defensemen
Dave Pszenyczny will all return for the 5
th season of Mavericks hockey.
“With these signings, we add four talented players that will be
entering their 3rd full seasons with the Mavericks. They represent a
strong nucleus that encapsulates what it means to be a Maverick,” said
Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations, Scott Hillman. “They all
have great character and are committed to the success of this franchise.
We all have felt the heartbreak of the game 7 loss in each of the last
two years together and this group is committed to help get us over that
hump. We could not be more pleased than we are to have these fine men
and their families with us as we enter our fifth season and strive to
capture the CHL championship.”
Home Opener November 2 at IEC
The Mavericks will
open up the home portion of the 2013-14 season on November 2 at
Independence Events Center at 7:05 p.m. The Mavericks will also host the
traditional New Year’s Eve game with the remainder of the Central
Hockey League schedule coming mid-August.
Other Announcements: The Mavericks will unveil a
special season 5 jersey promotion. Starting July 1, all fans will be
able to vote at MissouriMavericks.com for their favorite jersey over the
past four seasons. The top 5 jerseys will be featured in jersey
giveaways throughout the season. There will be two adult jersey
giveaways, 2 youth jersey giveaways and one for all season ticket
holders. Also, as a thank you for the season ticket holders who have
been with us for all five seasons will be given a $50 gift card (per
account) to the team store.
I found it interesting that they have already been given their home opener date. Also it was announced at the press conference that they are going to give all season ticket holders that have had season tickets from the beginning (five years) a $50 gift certificate to the team store as a fifth anniversary gift. Nice touch I hope the Americans follow.
- While no players have been signed for next year you can be assured that Allen will have another strong team this season. There are so many positives to playing in North Texas and for this team that the Americans will be as strong as ever. If just a few of the names I hear talked about get signed we will all be super excited.
- While there is no official news on the return of Martinson and Matvichuk my guess it is merely a matter of timing with all of the other activity surrounding the team. Just a matter of time in my opinion.
- I took a quick look at how many players return to the team each year and found the following:
1st year to 2nd year - seven players returned
2nd year to 3rd year - six players returned
3rd year to 4th year - ten players returned (this includes Pineault, Hendrikx & McKenzie)
- Brett Skinner has been a healthy scratch during the Calder Cup finals between his Grand Rapids Griffins and the Syracuse Crunch. From what I understand a player was sent down from the NHL club that has resulted in Brett not dressing in the finals. He has played well since being called up mid season and played in the playoffs until the finals. Grand Rapids leads the series 3-0. Don't feel too sorry for Brett as he is one win away from claiming two championship rings in one season. WOW!
