Allen Acquires Two Forwards - What Does it Mean, Opening Day Roster, Selecting Penalty Killers, Discounted Glass Seats Available, Chad Costello Past and Present

The Allen Americans are a day away from having to submit their opening day roster and three days from opening night so I am sure many were caught by surprise when the ECHL transactions yesterday showed Steve Martinson made a trade with the Florida Everblades that added two forwards to the Americans roster. Allen acquired rookie forwards Philippe Hudon and Josh Lammon for future considerations.


- I have had a lot of questions about this trade so here is my take. Remember that future considerations can mean anything from sending players at a later date to I'll send you a box of chocolates. Given the number of players on the Allen roster and the possibility of getting more from the AHL, I would expect since Allen didn't trade players upfront the future considerations will not be players.


- With the addition of the two forwards from Florida the Americans now have 24 contracted players in camp (14 forwards, 7 defensemen, 3 goalies). When the opening day roster is submitted to the ECHL league office no later than 3:00 pm (EDT) tomorrow it can have 21 players on the active roster (must fit under the $13,780 salary cap) plus two players on reserve. One way a team can keep the maximum number of players is by putting higher cost players on reserve which would allow for the maximum number of players (21) to fit under the cap. A move such as this could buy a couple of days but the high end players on reserve would have to be moved back to the active roster by opening day (Friday).


- The bottom line is you can expect general manager Steve Martinson to make a trade in the next few days that would reduce the size of the roster while improving the team.


- Another decision Martinson will have to make in the next few days is whether to keep three goalies to start the season. Wild contracted goalie Dereck Baribeau and Allen contracted Jake Paterson will be the primary goalies. The question is whether rookie goalie Evan Weninger will be retained.

- After practice yesterday I was talking to the Allen coaches about how they go about deciding who will be on the penalty kill units. It starts by surveying the roster to see who has killed penalties in the past and who indicates they like to kill penalties. Typically you don't have the best offensive players kill penalties because you want them fresh when the team goes back to even strength. Chad Costello is a good example of a player that did not kill penalties so he could jump on the ice as soon as the penalty was over. The next step is to see how the potential penalty killers do in drills and game situations. Penalty killers have to be quick (not necessarily fast), have an active stick, good at recognizing passing lanes and have great hockey intelligence. Players that can anticipate and make fast decisions and are willing to block shots make the best penalty killers. With the style the Americans play it is a given penalty killing is a key to success. In their two ECHL championship seasons the Americans penalty kill was ranked #3 (86.3% & 86.4%). Last season the penalty kill was ranked #18 at 81.7%. Look for improvement in this key area this season.


- DISCOUNTED GLASS SEATS

Sitting on the glass at a hockey game is one of the most unique and exciting experiences in all of sports, literally inches from the action. Because of some special circumstances I have Allen Americans glass seats available for a number of games that I can offer for less than season ticket prices. The single game price for glass seats can be as high as $60 but this special Barry The Blogger price is just $25. I have at least two seats for all of the dates below and for many of the dates I have four or six seats together. A great gift for children or grandchildren, a great giveaway for customers if you own a business or a great way for those of you that already attend the games to see the action from a different perspective. Here are the available dates:

October - 11, 18, 19, 27
November - 1, 2, 8, 9, 17, 22, 23
December - 10, 20, 21, 31
January - 3, 4, 10, 11, 20
February - 1, 22, 29
March - 7, 19, 26, 27, 28
April - 5

If you have any questions or wish to purchase any of these seats send me an email at janssenfamily@msn.com. I will sell the tickets on a first come first serve basis.



DID YOU KNOW:  Congrats to Chad Costello who was just voted the Player of the Month for September in the top German league (DEL). Chad leads the league in scoring. Did you know early in his career Chad was a penalty killer? Back in 2012 when Chad played for Colorado he had the very rare shorthanded hat trick. Here is the video:

A Deep Dive On the Allen Americans 2019-20 Schedule

As the Allen Americans 2019-20 is season about to get underway I thought it would be a good time to do the annual "deep dive" on the Americans schedule. It is probably more information than you would ever want to know about the schedule but it will give you many different views of what coach Martinson and the team will be dealing with.


- From a travel standpoint the Americans will make one trip to Rapid City, two trips to Idaho and two trips to Utah. Allen will have two road trips outside the Mountain Division. In November the Americans will travel to Cincinnati for two games. In December, Allen will make a swing that will take them to  Adirondack (2 games), then single games in Brampton and Worcester. 


- One of the goals of the ECHL when preparing the schedule is to balance cost along with having a schedule that avoids teams playing each other too many times. Allen will be playing 12 different teams this season compared to 11 last season.  However, four of the 12 teams (Cincinnati, Adirondack, Brampton, Worcester) Allen will only play on the road. 

- Below is a complete list of Allen's 72 games by opponent. Teams with an asterisk are Mountain Division foes.
                                                   
13 games - Tulsa (6 home 7 away)*                
12 games - Wichita (7 home 5 away)*            
11 games - Idaho (6 home 5 away)*                                     
9 games   - Rapid City (6 home 3 away)*                      
9 games - Utah (4 home 5 away)*
8 games - Kansas City (3 home 5 away)*
2 games - Cincinnati (0 home, 2 away)                      
2 games - Adirondack (0 home 2 away)
2 games - Norfolk (2 home, 0 away)           
2 games - Kalamazoo (2 home 0 away)                                    
1 game  - Brampton (0 home 1 away)                       
1 game  - Worcester (0 home 1 away)


Note the emphasis on divisional play. Allen will play 86% of their games (62 of 72) against Mountain Division foes.


- Here is a breakdown of the schedule by day of the week. The biggest change is on Wednesday and Thursday. Last season Allen had five Wednesday home games, this season they have none. Last season Allen didn't play a home game on Thursday, this season they play four. The Americans have three fewer home games (10) on Friday night but gain two Saturday night home games (13). Saturday is the best night for home games based on average attendance.

              2019-20                                                    2018-19
Sunday - 8 (3 home, 5 away)                        8 - (4 home, 4 away)
Monday - 2 (2 home, 0 away)                       1 - (1 home)
Tuesday -  9 (4 home, 5 away)                      6 - (4 home, 2 away)
Wednesday - 5 (0 home, 5 away)                  9 - (5 home, 4 away)
Thursday - 5 (4 home 1 away)                      1 - (1 away)
Friday - 19 (10 home, 9 away)                      24 - (13 home, 11 away)
Saturday - 24 (13 home, 11 away)                23 - (11 home, 12 away)



 Allen has typically tried to get more road games early in the season to avoid conflicts with football plus early season road trips help bring the team together. That is not the case this season. The following lists the games by month.

                          2019-20                                             2018-19
October - 6 games (5 home 1 away)                 8 games (1 home 7 away)
November - 13 games (7 home 6 away)           13 games (6 home, 7 away)
December - 15 games (4 home 11 away)          15 games (7 home, 8 away)
January - 14 games (9 home 5 away)                11 games (3 home, 8 away)
February - 11 games (5 home 6 away)              11 games (8 home, 3 away)
March - 10 games (5 home 5 away)                  12 games (11 home, 1 away)
April - 3 games (1 home 2 away)                       2 games (0 home, 2 away)

Last season the Americans had seven home games in October and November, this season they have 12. Historically Allen has played a lot of home games late in the season. Last season in February and March the Americans played 19 home games and just four away games. This season they will play 10 home games and 11 away games.

  

- One of the many things the team looks at when the schedule comes out is how many times they have to play three games back to back to back. Three games in three days is stressful especially if there is travel involved. Players are more prone to injuries in these situations. In 2018-19 that happened eight times. In 2019-20 Allen will play three games in three days seven times and five of them involve travel.

November 22, 23, 24 - Wichita (H), Wichita (H), Wichita (A)
December 13, 14, 15 - Adirondack (A), Adirondack (A), Brampton (A)
December 20, 21, 22 - Rapid City (H), Rapid City (H), Wichita (A)
January 2, 3, 4 - Kansas City (H), Kansas City (H), Wichita (H)
Jan. 30, 31, Feb 1 - Tulsa (H), Wichita (A), Wichita (A)
February 21, 22, 23 - Tulsa (H), Wichita (H), Tulsa (A)
March 26, 27, 28 - Idaho (H), Idaho (H), Tulsa (H)


-  Four games in five days is really brutal and that happened three times last season. This season the Americans will play four games in five days just two times.

December 18, 20, 21, 22 - Worcester (A), Rapid City (H), Rapid City (H), Wichita (A)
January 10, 11, 13, 14 -  Kalamazoo (H), Kalamazoo (H), Utah (H), Utah (H) 


- Eight of the 12 teams on Allen's schedule this season made the playoffs last season. Of Allen's 72 regular season games (67%) will be against the eight teams that made the playoffs.


- Allen had the worst winning percentage in the ECHL last season so every team they play this season had a better winning percentage than the Americans last season. Here is a complete list of the 12 teams the Americans play this season in winning percentage order from last season. The number of games Allen will play each team this season is in parentheses:

.764 - Cincinnati (2)
.625 - Tulsa (13)
.611 - Idaho (11)
.576 - Utah (9)  
.576 - Adirondack (2)
.549 - Brampton (1)
.542 - Kansas City (8)
.535 - Kalamazoo (2)
.521 - Worcester (1)
.486 - Wichita (12)
.479 - Rapid City (9)
.438 - Norfolk (2)
.389 - ALLEN



- The easiest part of the schedule for Allen will be the month of March. They play only 10 games all month (5 home, 5 away).


- The toughest part of the schedule will be in December. The Americans will play 15 games and 11 of them are on the road. Allen will make two trips to Idaho and also have a road trip that takes them to Adirondack, Brampton and Worcester. The Americans will be on the road before and after the Christmas break (December 23-25). 


- Allen plays Tulsa at home six times this season but Allen fans won't see the Oilers at the Allen Event Center (AEC) until January 30.


- If fans are looking to travel to Tulsa, Wichita or Kansas City when Allen plays back to back road games in one of these cites there is only one choice. Of the 14 away games against these three teams, all are stand alone games with the exception of Saturday November 30 and Sunday December 1 in Tulsa. 


- Here is the complete 2019-20 Allen Americans schedule if you don't already have it: http://allenamericans.com/schedule/



DID YOU KNOW: During the 2015-16 season the Allen Americans were scheduled to travel 30,000 miles to their 36 road games with 22,000 miles being on the bus. They flew on the 8,000 mile round trip to Alaska.

Allen Wins Preseason Game, Game Recap, Register, Atkinson and Doty Sign PTO's, Best Allen Shooting Percentages and More

Preseason results are certainly not predictive of regular season success. Case in point is the Allen Americans. In their two Kelly Cup championship years (2015 & 2016) the Americans were a combined 0-2 in the preseason with four goals scored and 11 goals allowed. Last season, the worst in franchise history, the Americans were 2-0 in the preseason.


- When you only have one preseason game it is nice to get a win and that is exactly what the Americans did last night beating the Kansas City Mavericks on the road 3-2 in overtime. Gabe Gagne scored the game winner just 39 seconds into overtime.


- Goal scorers for Allen:
Alex Breton assisted by Brett Pollock and Gabe Gagne
Jordan Topping assisted by Braylon Shmyr and Alex Breton
Gabe Gagne assisted by Brett Pollock


- Coach Martinson's comments to me after the game centered around the team missing a lot of opportunities in the first period and the Americans needing a bit more "jump" going forward.


- Here is the game recap from the Allen Americans:  https://allenamericans.com/americans-beat-kc-3-2-in-overtime/ 


- Two stats that plagued Allen last season related to shot differential and minor penalties. Allen was ranked #19 in shots taken per game (30.88) and #26 in shots allowed per game (36.11). The Americans led the ECHL in minor penalties averaging 5.87 per game.


- Last night Allen was out shot 33-15 including 14-4 in the first period and 12-3 in the third period. Certainly nothing to be concerned about when you consider the fire power that was not in the lineup. Spencer Asuchak, Olivier Archambault, Mike Heddon and Shawn O'Donnell did not play. In their ECHL careers these four players have averaged a combined 11 shots per game.


- The Americans took seven minor penalties in the game last night. They killed six of the seven but it is hard to win games when your penalty killers spend so much time on the ice. Last season Allen scored 50 power play goals but allowed 67 power play goals. In 2018-19 ECHL teams averaged 348 minor penalties ranging from 266 (Reading) to 423 (Allen). The Americans style of play will always suggest they will take a lot of penalties but more discipline in taking minor penalties, especially stick penalties (slashing, hooking, tripping) will be a key to success.


- The goalie play for Allen last night was outstanding. Jake Paterson and Evan Weninger split the goalie duties with Paterson playing the first 33:28 before Weninger took over. The two combined for a .939 save percentage. Paterson saved 18/19 for a save percentage of .947. Weninger saved 13/14 for a save percentage of .929 and was credited with the win.


- The team headed back to Allen after the game which concluded at 9:32 pm. The 475 mile trip had them back in Allen very early this morning. Hope they got some sleep on the bus as they will be at the Community Rink this afternoon for the Red vs White scrimmage.


- Three Allen players (Matt Register, Josh Atkinson, Jake Doty) have signed PTO contracts with AHL teams. Register and Atkinson with Iowa and Doty with Ontario. A PTO is a professional tryout contract, this type of contract is limited to 25 games.


- Atkinson was in the lineup for Iowa last night as the Wild kicked off the season at home with a 3-2 win over Rockford.

DID YOU KNOW:  Best single season shooting percentages since the Allen Americans joined the ECHL (minimum 100 shots):

19.0% - Gary Steffes,   2014-15

17.6% - Ian Schultz,     2014-15

17.5% - Chad Costello, 2014-15

17.5% - Bryan Moore,  2016-17

17.1% - Gary Steffes,   2016-17

17.1% - Chris Crane,    2015-16

16.7% - Chad Costello, 2016-17

16.5% - Alex Guptill,    2017-18

Preseason Road Trip, Allen's New Ride, Gameday Roster, Free AHL-TV, Rush Owners Find $500,000 Missing and When Was Allen's Most Wins in a Season

The Allen Americans play their lone preseason game tonight against the Kansas City Mavericks. The team left yesterday afternoon after practice for the 475 mile trip to Kansas City. It is a long way to travel for a single preseason game. The Americans are using a a different transportation company this season. Kincaid Coach is a family owned motor coach, charter bus company founded in 1977 who has terminals in Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Amarillo, Dallas-Fort Worth, and NW Arkansas.

Allen Americans Ride for 2019-20

- The roster for the preseason game tonight will be missing some key players. The three veterans (Spencer Asuchak, Mike Heddon, Shawn O'Donnell) are not with the team. Other players not on the trip are Olivier Archambault, Stepan Falkovsky and Dereck Baribeau. With so many "regulars" not playing it provides opportunity for others. Four of the five tryout players (Eddie Matsushima, J.M. Piotrowski, Josh Victor, R.T. Rice) will play tonight.


- The game tonight is very important because it is coach Martinson's only opportunity to compare players in a game situation before the start of the season. Decisions on lines, defensive pairings, special teams, trades and cuts could be impacted on how players perform in this preseason game.


- A reminder the game tonight will not be broadcast. You can follow along on the ECHL website in the Game Center.


- As of today Allen has three of their players (Matt Register, Josh Atkinson, Jake Doty) with AHL teams but on the flip side they have had seven NHL/AHL contracted players assigned to Allen by the Wild. 


- AHLTV is free this weekend so take advantage to watch current and former Allen players who have made opening night AHL rosters. Not sure if they will be in the lineup but great to see these players in the AHL. Here is a partial list.

 Iowa Wild - Josh Atkinson, Matt Register
Ontario - Jake Doty
Utica - Vincent Arseneau, Dyson Stevenson 


- There is a criminal investigation in Rapid City concerning the possibility of a $500.000 theft over several years from the Rapid City Rush. This came to light when new owners took over the team. Here are the details: https://www.kotatv.com/content/news/Rush-owners-raise-the-alarm-about-missing-cash-562104791.html



DID YOU KNOW: I am sure most everyone remembers the fewest regular seasons wins for the Americans since joining the ECHL was 25 last year. Did you know the most wins (49) did not come in either of Allen's championship seasons. Their 49 win season came in 2016-17 when the Americans lost in the division finals to Colorado who went on to win the Kelly Cup.   

Day Three Training Camp Update, Preseason Game, Meet Video Coach Chris Meriney, Riley Gill Owns All the Records and More

Day three of training camp for the Allen Americans was a combination of system drills which coach Martinson has used for years along with some new drills run by the other coaches on the ice. There was some power play work and it is abundantly clear Martinson will have a lot of options as he sets up his power play units.


- The team practices today and then leaves for Kansas City this afternoon. The training camp schedule shows practice from 11:00 - 1:00 but with a game tomorrow you can expect practice will not go for two hours.


- There are a couple of different rules for preseason games. Teams are permitted to dress 18 skaters (it is 16 in the regular season) and two goalies. Teams are also permitted a one minute warmup for a substitute goalie. Players also need to take in mind that any incidents that result in supplemental discipline (i.e. suspension) from this preseason game will carry over into the regular season.


- Coach Martinson did confirm after practice some of the experienced players will not go to Kansas City for various reasons and some of the tryout players will be on the road trip.


- The preseason game against the Mavericks on Friday (7:05 pm) will not be broadcast by either team. I talked to Mavericks long time writer/insider, Joe Rozycki and he will be live tweeting the game. If you are on Twitter and want game updates, Joe's Twitter handle is @MavsInsiderJoe.


- If you have attended training camp practice this week or are coming to the Red vs White Scrimmage on Saturday (3:15 - 5:00) in the Community Rink you may notice a new coach with Allen. Chris Meriney will be the video coach for the Americans this season but in talking to Steve Martinson you will also see Chris as a second assistant coach. He has been on the ice for each practice thus far. Assistant coach Jason Deitsch is a full time McKinney fireman so his schedule means he can't be at all practices/games.

Chris comes to Allen from Colgate University where he was the Director of Hockey Operations. A native of Pittsburgh, Meriney has a degree in Human Performance/Exercise Physiology from the University of Tampa. While in college Chris interned with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Chris has some coaching experience in youth hockey and is also a scout for an USHL team. He has experience planning practices, game day management, video analytics and statistics. Meriney will be a big help to coach Martinson who has always spent a lot of time breaking down video. Chris will get his baptism behind the bench in the preseason game in Kansas City on Friday. Coach Deitsch will be fighting fires so Meriney will be making the road trip.

Allen Americans video coach Chris Meriney

- The Allen Americans Fan Club has been working overtime this week. This group does everything from picking up players from the airport to providing breakfast at the rink for the team each morning to setting up all of the apartments for the players so they are move in ready complete with dishes, linens, towels etc. The fan club even helped out at the annual golf outing yesterday. A very busy week for a dedicated group of Allen fans.


- I saw the Americans posted pictures of the 1st & 2nd place teams at their golf tournament on social media. Assistant Coach Jason Deitsch was on the winning team and Alex Breton was on the runner up team.



DID YOU KNOW: Riley Gill owns all single season ECHL goalie records for the Allen Americans that are listed in the ECHL record book. Here are the numbers:

50 - Most appearances (2014-15)
2868 - Most minutes (2014-15)
33 - Most wins (2014-15)
1435 - Most shots (2014-15)
1311 - Most saves (2014-15)
7 - Most shutouts (2016-17)
2.22 - Lowest GAA (2016-17)
.935 - Best save percentage (2016-17)

       

Practice Update Day Two, Jersey Numbers, Preseason Game, ECHL-TV Prices and Comparing ECHL Coaches with 700+ Games Coached

Day two of the Allen Americans training camp is in the books and from what I observed coach Martinson is starting to put some lines and defense pairings together in preparation for the lone preseason game on Friday in Kansas City.


Here are the assigned numbers for the 26 players in training camp:

2 - Kayle Doetzel
3 - Stepan Falkovsky
4 - Turner Ottenbreit
5 - Jack Sadek
7 - Alex Breton
8 - Tyler Sheehy
9 - Alex Guptill
10 - Olivier Archambault
11 - Jordan Topping
15 - Eddie Matsushima
17 - Mike Hedden
18 - Jason Salvaggio
19 - Braylon Shmyr
20 - Ben Owen
21 - J.M. Piotrowski
23 - Josh Victor
25 - Gabe Gagne
26 - Spencer Asuchak
27 - R.T. Rice
28 - Regan Nagy
30 - Dereck Baribeau
35 - Jake Paterson
39 - Evan Weninger
41 - Ricky Regala
44 - Brett Pollock
92 - Shawn O'Donnell


- The Iowa Wild are assigning another player to Allen, however, nothing has been officially announced as of this morning. Defensemen Matt Register, Josh Atkinson and Les Lancaster are still in Iowa. On Sunday the Minnesota Wild sent a defenseman to Iowa (Louie Belpedio) so you can expect the player coming to Allen is a defenseman.


- Coach Martinson will be have to decide which players travel to Kansas City for the preseason game. I wouldn't be surprised if one or two of the tryout players make the trip and a couple of regulars stay home.


- If things go as they have in the past there will not be any cuts made from the training camp roster until after the Red vs White Scrimmage on Saturday (3:15 - 5:00) at the Community Rink.


- If you were hoping to listen to a broadcast of the preseason game in Kansas City on Friday you are out of luck. There will be no broadcast of the game. I will try and get a list put together of anyone planning to live tweet or post on Facebook real time and include it in the blog tomorrow.


- ECHL TV prices for the upcoming season are out and you can now sign up. Here are the prices:

$199.99 - All access, regular season
$49.99 - All access, regular season, monthly
$149.99 - Single team, all games
$99.99 -  Single team, away games
$8.99 - Single game

Compare the ECHL prices to what the AHL charges. For 2019-20 the AHL will charge just $99.99 to watch all teams, all games (including the playoffs). For just the regular season the all access cost is $79.99.  For one team, all games, the cost is $59.99 and just away games is $39.99. The all access cost by the month is $19.99 and the per game cost is $7.99. It is early in the season for this but it is appropriate for ECHL-TV, C'MON MAN!



DID YOU KNOW:  In ECHL history only eight coaches have coached 700 or more regular season games. Here is how the eight rank by winning percentage. For the active coaches their current ECHL team is in parenthesis:

.608 - Matt Thomas (Cincinnati Cyclones)
.607 - Steve Martinson (Allen Americans)
.589 - John Brophy
.582 - Jason Christie (Jacksonville Icemen)
.580 - Malcolm Cameron
.573 - Nick Bootland (Kalamazoo Wings)
.562 - Jeff Pyle (Atlanta Gladiators)
.488 - John Marks

Training Camp and Roster Update, Four Allen Players Still Vying for AHL Spots, Palm Springs Awarded AHL Franchise, Costello DEL Player of Month Nominee

The first day of Allen training camp is in the books and as a group they remind you of the successful teams from past that were big, fast, skilled and tough. Here is an updated list of the players in camp broken down by Allen contracted players, Wild assigned players and tryout players:

- Allen Contracted Players
Forwards
*Spencer Asuchak - seventh pro season, 60 AHL games
Gabriel Gagne - fourth pro season, 154 AHL games
Alex Guptill - sixth pro season, 89 AHL games
*Mike Hedden - 11th pro season, 210 AHL games, 155 DEL games (top German league)
Regan Nagy - first pro season, 0 AHL games
*Shawn O'Donnell - seventh pro season, 188 AHL games
Brett Pollock - fourth pro season, 102 AHL games 
Jason Salvaggio - second pro season, 4 AHL games
Braylon Shmyr - second pro season, 3 AHL games
Jordan Topping - second pro season, 0 AHL games

Defensemen
Kayle Doetzel - third pro season, 68 AHL games
Turner Ottenbreit - second pro season, 4 AHL games
Ben Owen - second pro season, 0 AHL games

Goalies
Jake Paterson - fifth pro season, 10 AHL games
Evan Weninger - first pro season, 0 AHL games

*Veterans


- Wild Assigned Players (under NHL/AHL contract)
Forwards
Olivier Archambault - sixth pro season, 88 AHL games
Tyler Sheehy - first full pro season, played five AHL games last year after college season

Defensemen
Alex Breton - second pro season, 11 AHL games
Stepan Falkovsky - fourth pro season, 49 AHL games
Jack Sadek - first full pro season, 0 AHL games

Goalie
Dereck Baribeau - first pro season, 0 AHL games


- Tryout Players
Defensemen
Josh Victor - from Round Rock and finished collegiate career last year (Fitchburg State)
Ricky Regala  - from Dallas, played 10 pro games last season in Sweden (Division 2)

Forwards
R.T. Rice - played 16 games with the Utah Grizzlies last season
Eddie Matsushima - played 14 games in SPHL last season after collegiate career (Wisc. - River Falls)
J.M. Piotrowski - played 21 pro games last season in Australia after graduating from Yale


OTHER COMMENTARY

- Four Allen players are still at AHL camps with a good shot of making opening day rosters. I listed five players in the blog yesterday but I was mistaken as rookie Regan Nagy was released from his tryout with the Toronto Marlies and was at practice yesterday.


- Jake Doty has a chance to make the Ontario Reign roster. Doty is as tough as they come. The Pacific Division teams play each other a lot of times and if Ontario needs someone in a tough guy role Jake should be the guy.


- Defensemen Matt Register, Josh Atkinson and Les Lancaster are still in Iowa. Yesterday the Minnestoa Wild sent a defenseman to Iowa (Louie Belpedio) so I would expect that would push one of the Americans defensemen down to Allen. Iowa opens their season on Friday at home against the Rockford IceHogs.


- If you plan on attending a training camp practice session at the Community Rink the schedule times vary the next three days:

Tuesday: 11:00 - 1:00
Wednesday: 9:15 - 10:15 (annual golf outing with fans at Watters Creek in afternoon)
Thursday: 11:00 - 1:00 (team leaves after practice for Kansas City)


- The AHL announced yesterday they have awarded an expansion franchise to have their 32nd team play in Palm Springs, CA. The team will be the AHL affiliate of the new NHL franchise in Seattle. Both teams will start play in the 2021-22 season. Here are the details with some possible names for this new franchise: https://thehockeynews.com/news/article/seattle-gets-its-ahl-affiliate-as-palm-springs-announced-as-leagues-32nd-team


- The defending ECHL champions Newfoundland Growlers are starting out just as they  left off last season, loaded with NHL/AHL contracted players from their affiliate (Toronto). Yesterday, Toronto assigned 15 players to Newfoundland for the start of training camp.


- Dyson Stevenson is still in training camp with the Utica Comets (AHL) according to their website. Utica reduced their preseason roster by nine players on Sunday and Dyson survived that cut. The Comets website still shows 15 forwards on the roster so there may be more cuts to come but Stevenson has a good chance of being on the opening day roster. Utica opens their season on Saturday.



DID YOU KNOW: Chad Costello continues to lead the top German league (DEL) in scoring with 12 points (4G, 8A) in six games. For his great start Chad has been nominated for the DEL Player of the Month for September. There are five nominees and the winner is selected by a fan vote. Got a chuckle when I saw on the team's (Krefeld Pinguine) Facebook page there was a translation from German to English that didn't go so well.

German: Chad Costello ist als Spieler des Monats September nominiert. Stimmt kräftig ab!

Translation: Chad Cooper is nominated as the player of the month of September. Vote hard!


Here is the website where you can vote for Chad. Not sure of all the rules as it is in German but it is easy to vote and you can vote on different devices. Chad is currently in third place with 20% of the vote. Knowing Allen fans when the news gets out that will change:  https://www.eishockeynews.de/artikel/2019/09/30/wer-wird-del-spieler-des-monats-september/2ac9f275-6ba1-45e6-b24b-ff52871b6b8c.html