A Deep Dive On the Allen Americans 2016-17 Schedule

The Allen Americans schedule for the 2016-17 season has been out for some time (April 28th) and congratulations to the ECHL for having the schedule out so early. Now that the focus has turned from the Kelly Cup championship to next season, 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. Two trips to the mountains in the west and a first time trip to Florida in the east will make for a challenging year for the oldest tenured Allen American, Big Red. A quick calculation shows if the Americans do not fly to any away games, Big Red will travel another 25,000 miles next season. The exact mileage to all of the arenas totals to 22,871 miles and if you add in miscellaneous miles while on the road, traveling to and from the rink, to meals, to hotels, etc., Big Red will be pushing 25,000 miles. Will this be the year Big Red passes on? There are more than a few fans and players hoping for Big Red's demise!


- 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. The good news is Allen will be playing 14 different teams next season compared to just 11 last season. The bad news is four of the 14 teams (Fort Wayne, Kalamazoo, Orlando, Florida) Allen will only play on the road. There are two teams (Atlanta & Alaska) Allen will only play at home.


- Allen will play 14 different ECHL teams next season.  Below is a complete list of the 72 games by team:
14 games - Tulsa (7 home 7 away)
14 games - Wichita (7 home 7 away)
13 games - Missouri (7 home 6 away)
6 games   - Rapid City (3 home 3 away)
6 games   - Indy (4 home 2 away)
4 games - Utah (1 home 3 away)
4 games - Idaho (2 home 2 away)
2 games - Alaska (2 home 0 away)
2 games - Atlanta (2 home 0 away)
2 games - Colorado (1 home 1 away)
2 games - Orlando (0 home 2 away)
1 game - Florida (0 home 1 away)
1 game - Fort Wayne (0 home 1 away)
1 game -  Kalamazoo (0 home 1 away)


- Here is a breakdown of the schedule by day of the week:

Sunday - 10 (5 home, 5 away)
Monday - 1 (1 home, 0 away) - This is the MLK Kid's Day (January 16) with a 1:05 pm start
Tuesday -  4 (0 home, 4 away)
Wednesday - 14 (6 home, 8 away)
Thursday - 3 (3 home 0 away)
Friday - 21 (10 home, 11 away)
Saturday - 19 (11 home, 8 away)


The big changes from last season are: five Sunday home games compared to 10 last season, an increase in Friday home games from seven to 10, three Thursday home games compared to none last season and a big increase in Wednesday games (6 home 8 away).


The following lists the games by month. Allen was successful in getting more road games early in the season to avoid conflicts with football. Between October 22nd and December 1st, Allen plays 14 road games and just three home games.

October - 8 games (4 home 4 away)
November - 13 games (3 home 10 away)
December - 14 games (8 home 6 away)
January - 11 games (7 home 4 away)
February - 11 games (6 home 5 away)
March - 12 games (6 home 6 away)
April- 3 games (2 home 1 away)
  

- 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. This past season the Americans played three games in three days seven times. In 2016-2017 that will happen only three times. Here are back to back to back games for the Allen Americans:

October 28, 29, 30 - Fort Wayne (A), Indy (A), Kalamazoo (A)
January 20, 21, 22 - Wichita (H), Wichita (H), Wichita (A)
February 2, 3, 4 - Tulsa (H), Tulsa (H), Tulsa (A)
February 17, 18, 19,  - Indy (H), Rapid City (H), Rapid City (H)


-  Four games in five days is really brutal but that only happens once next season and no travel is involved.
February 15, 17, 18, 19,  -  Indy (H), Indy (H), Rapid City (H), Rapid City (H)


- Seven of the 14 teams on Allen's schedule next year didn't make the playoffs this year. Of Allen's 72 regular season games 46 (64%) will be against the seven teams that did not make the playoffs.

- Allen will play only three teams with a winning percentage above .600 during the just completed regular season. Missouri led the ECHL in winning percentage (.757) and the Americans will play them 13 times. The other two are Florida (.660) and Fort Wayne (.618). Allen plays these two teams just one time each.  Below is a complete list in winning percentage order with the number of games Allen will play each team this season in parentheses:

.757 - Missouri (13)
.660 - Florida (1)
.618 - Fort Wayne (1)
.597 - Colorado (2)
.597 - Idaho (4)
.583 - Utah (4)
.569 - Kalamazoo (1)
.556 - Tulsa (14)
.521 - Atlanta (2)
.521 - Orlando (2)
.472 - Indy (6)
.465 - Rapid City (6)
.424 - Alaska (2)
.340 - Wichita (14)


- After opening the season at home with two games each against Missouri (October 15 & 16) and Atlanta (October 19 & 21),  the Americans will spend much of the early part of the season on the road. During the last week of October and the month of November, Allen will play 14 of 17 games on the road. They go to Tulsa, Fort Wayne, Indy, Kalamazoo and then come home for two games against Alaska. They then go to Colorado, Utah and Missouri before returning home for one game against Rapid City. Then it is back on the road to Tulsa, Utah, Idaho, back to Tulsa and then Missouri.  Almost half of their bus miles for the year (just over 10,000) will take place in this five week period between October 25 and November 30.


- The easiest part of the schedule for Allen will be a one month period between December 22nd and January 21st. During this month the Americans will play 10 of 12 games at home and the two road games are both in Wichita (December 28 & 30).


- From March 17th to the end of the season on April 7th, Allen will have 10 of 12 games at home. The Americans finish the season with six straight home games against Missouri (2), Tulsa (3) and Wichita (1) followed by the last game of the season on the road in Tulsa on April 7th. If the Central Division standings are close at the end of the season, Allen will have a big advantage with all of the home games to finish the season.


- If you have ever wanted to go on a road trip to cheer on the Americans, mark your calendars for January 25, 27 & 28. The Americans will make their first ever trip to Florida that week. They will be in Estero, Florida (near Fort Myers) to play the Florida Everblades on January 25 and in Orlando to play the Solar Bears on January 27 & 28.


- Another alternative for a road trip is November 20. This game is on a Sunday afternoon in Tulsa. You can combine the shortest distance to drive (230 miles) and a 4:05 p.m. puck drop so you can watch the game and still drive back to Allen at a reasonable hour. 


- Allen plays at home on December 22nd and 23rd and travels to Wichita on the 28th. The Christmas break is normally from the 23rd-25th so the team will probably get an extra day after Christmas. After missing out on the New Years Eve game last season Allen will be at home this season playing Utah on December 31st. The team does not play on Halloween but will be traveling back from Kalamazoo where they play on October 30th. As is the case almost every season (seven times in eight years), the team will be on the road for Thanksgiving which is November 24th. The Americans play Utah on the 23rd and Idaho on the 25th.


- Allen will play Wichita 14 times this season but just like last season the games will be concentrated. In their first 25 games from October 15 to December 8 the Americans do not play the Thunder. They play for the first time on December 9 and then play 10 times in the next 19 games in a six week period.


- The Americans play three games against Rapid City on the road but take just one trip to Rapid City. The games are February 8, 10, & 11.


- Allen makes two trips out west this season and both trips take place in a two week period. They have a trip to Colorado and Utah with games on November 9 (Colorado), November 11 (Utah) and November 12 (Utah). They then return to Utah and Idaho for games on November 23 (Utah), November 25 (Idaho) and November 26 (Idaho).


- The longest home stand of the season for the Americans is eight games from December 31 to January 21.


- The longest stretch of road games for Allen takes place between November 9 and November 30. There are 10 road games during this period with a lone home game against Rapid City on November 19.


-  One game that would be cringe worthy for most Allen hockey players and will definitely get them out of their game day routine takes place in Missouri on Tuesday, November 15. It will be a 10:30 am CST puck drop. This is a "School Day Game" which is always a lot of fun with a lot of noise.


- Here is the complete 2016-17 Allen Americans schedule:

	Date:	Time:	Visiting Team:			Home Team:
	Sat, Oct 15, 2016	7:05 pm CDT	Missouri		at	Allen		7:05 pm CDT
	Sun, Oct 16, 2016	4:05 pm CDT	Missouri		at	Allen		4:05 pm CDT
	Wed, Oct 19, 2016	7:05 pm CDT	Atlanta		at	Allen		7:05 pm CDT
	Fri, Oct 21, 2016	7:05 pm CDT	Atlanta		at	Allen		7:05 pm CDT
	Tue, Oct 25, 2016	7:05 pm CDT	Allen		at	Tulsa		7:05 pm CDT
	Fri, Oct 28, 2016	8:00 pm EDT	Allen		at	Fort Wayne		8:00 pm EDT
	Sat, Oct 29, 2016	7:35 pm EDT	Allen		at	Indy		7:35 pm EDT
	Sun, Oct 30, 2016	3:00 pm EDT	Allen		at	Kalamazoo		3:00 pm EDT
	Sat, Nov 5, 2016	7:05 pm CDT	Alaska		at	Allen		7:05 pm CDT
	Sun, Nov 6, 2016	4:05 pm CST	Alaska		at	Allen		4:05 pm CST
	Wed, Nov 9, 2016	7:05 pm MST	Allen		at	Colorado		7:05 pm MST
	Fri, Nov 11, 2016	7:00 pm MST	Allen		at	Utah		7:00 pm MST
	Sat, Nov 12, 2016	7:00 pm MST	Allen		at	Utah		7:00 pm MST
	Tue, Nov 15, 2016	10:30 am CST	Allen		at	Missouri		10:30 am CST
	Sat, Nov 19, 2016	7:05 pm CST	Rapid City		at	Allen		7:05 pm CST
	Sun, Nov 20, 2016	4:05 pm CST	Allen		at	Tulsa		4:05 pm CST
	Wed, Nov 23, 2016	7:00 pm MST	Allen		at	Utah		7:00 pm MST
	Fri, Nov 25, 2016	7:10 pm MST	Allen		at	Idaho		7:10 pm MST
	Sat, Nov 26, 2016	7:10 pm MST	Allen		at	Idaho		7:10 pm MST
	Tue, Nov 29, 2016	7:05 pm CST	Allen		at	Tulsa		7:05 pm CST
	Wed, Nov 30, 2016	7:05 pm CST	Allen		at	Missouri		7:05 pm CST
	Fri, Dec 2, 2016	7:05 pm CST	Tulsa		at	Allen		7:05 pm CST
	Sat, Dec 3, 2016	7:05 pm CST	Tulsa		at	Allen		7:05 pm CST
	Wed, Dec 7, 2016	7:05 pm CST	Missouri		at	Allen		7:05 pm CST
	Fri, Dec 9, 2016	7:05 pm CST	Allen		at	Wichita		7:05 pm CST
	Sat, Dec 10, 2016	7:05 pm CST	Allen		at	Wichita		7:05 pm CST
	Wed, Dec 14, 2016	7:05 pm CST	Colorado		at	Allen		7:05 pm CST
	Fri, Dec 16, 2016	7:05 pm CST	Wichita		at	Allen		7:05 pm CST
	Sun, Dec 18, 2016	4:05 pm CST	Allen		at	Wichita		4:05 pm CST
	Tue, Dec 20, 2016	7:05 pm CST	Allen		at	Tulsa		7:05 pm CST
	Thu, Dec 22, 2016	7:05 pm CST	Idaho		at	Allen		7:05 pm CST
	Fri, Dec 23, 2016	7:05 pm CST	Idaho		at	Allen		7:05 pm CST
	Wed, Dec 28, 2016	7:05 pm CST	Allen		at	Wichita		7:05 pm CST
	Fri, Dec 30, 2016	7:05 pm CST	Allen		at	Wichita		7:05 pm CST
	Sat, Dec 31, 2016	6:05 pm CST	Utah		at	Allen		6:05 pm CST
	Sat, Jan 7, 2017	7:05 pm CST	Indy		at	Allen		7:05 pm CST
	Sun, Jan 8, 2017	4:05 pm CST	Indy		at	Allen		4:05 pm CST
	Fri, Jan 13, 2017	7:05 pm CST	Wichita		at	Allen		7:05 pm CST
	Sun, Jan 15, 2017	4:05 pm CST	Missouri		at	Allen		4:05 pm CST
	Mon, Jan 16, 2017	1:05 pm CST	Missouri		at	Allen		1:05 pm CST
	Fri, Jan 20, 2017	7:05 pm CST	Wichita		at	Allen		7:05 pm CST
	Sat, Jan 21, 2017	7:05 pm CST	Wichita		at	Allen		7:05 pm CST
	Sun, Jan 22, 2017	4:05 pm CST	Allen		at	Wichita		4:05 pm CST
	Wed, Jan 25, 2017	7:30 pm EST	Allen		at	Florida		7:30 pm EST
	Fri, Jan 27, 2017	7:00 pm EST	Allen		at	Orlando		7:00 pm EST
	Sat, Jan 28, 2017	7:00 pm EST	Allen		at	Orlando		7:00 pm EST
	Thu, Feb 2, 2017	7:05 pm CST	Tulsa		at	Allen		7:05 pm CST
	Fri, Feb 3, 2017	7:05 pm CST	Tulsa		at	Allen		7:05 pm CST
	Sat, Feb 4, 2017	7:05 pm CST	Allen		at	Tulsa		7:05 pm CST
	Wed, Feb 8, 2017	6:35 pm MST	Allen		at	Rapid City		6:35 pm MST
	Fri, Feb 10, 2017	7:05 pm MST	Allen		at	Rapid City		7:05 pm MST
	Sat, Feb 11, 2017	7:05 pm MST	Allen		at	Rapid City		7:05 pm MST
	Wed, Feb 15, 2017	7:05 pm CST	Indy		at	Allen		7:05 pm CST
	Fri, Feb 17, 2017	7:05 pm CST	Indy		at	Allen		7:05 pm CST
	Sat, Feb 18, 2017	7:05 pm CST	Rapid City		at	Allen		7:05 pm CST
	Sun, Feb 19, 2017	4:05 pm CST	Rapid City		at	Allen		4:05 pm CST
	Fri, Feb 24, 2017	7:05 pm CST	Allen		at	Tulsa		7:05 pm CST
	Fri, Mar 3, 2017	7:05 pm CST	Allen		at	Missouri		7:05 pm CST
	Sat, Mar 4, 2017	7:05 pm CST	Allen		at	Missouri		7:05 pm CST
	Wed, Mar 8, 2017	7:05 pm CST	Allen		at	Wichita		7:05 pm CST
	Fri, Mar 10, 2017	7:05 pm CST	Allen		at	Missouri		7:05 pm CST
	Sun, Mar 12, 2017	3:05 pm EDT	Allen		at	Indy		3:05 pm EDT
	Fri, Mar 17, 2017	7:05 pm CDT	Wichita		at	Allen		7:05 pm CDT
	Sat, Mar 18, 2017	7:05 pm CDT	Wichita		at	Allen		7:05 pm CDT
	Wed, Mar 22, 2017	7:05 pm CDT	Allen		at	Missouri		7:05 pm CDT
	Fri, Mar 24, 2017	7:05 pm CDT	Tulsa		at	Allen		7:05 pm CDT
	Sat, Mar 25, 2017	7:05 pm CDT	Tulsa		at	Allen		7:05 pm CDT
	Wed, Mar 29, 2017	7:05 pm CDT	Missouri		at	Allen		7:05 pm CDT
	Thu, Mar 30, 2017	7:05 pm CDT	Missouri		at	Allen		7:05 pm CDT
	Sat, Apr 1, 2017	7:05 pm CDT	Tulsa		at	Allen		7:05 pm CDT
	Wed, Apr 5, 2017	7:05 pm CDT	Wichita		at	Allen		7:05 pm CDT
	Fri, Apr 7, 2017	7:05 pm CDT	Allen		at	Tulsa		7:05 pm CDT

DID YOU KNOW: Allen plays Missouri at home on October 15 to kick of the 2016-17 season. Opening night has not been kind to the Allen Americans since joining the ECHL. Their first year in the ECHL (2013-14) they opened at home against Tulsa and got beat 9-6 despite a hat trick from Greger Hanson. Last season they opened at home against Quad City and lost 2-1. It was definitely an auspicious  opening game as Allen's only goal was scored by Garrett Clarke and assisted by Justin Courtnall and Joel Rumpel.

Silly Season ECHL Style - Including Will the Allen Americans Be Sold

While the ECHL staffs (at least many of them) are enjoying themselves in the 110+ degree heat of Las Vegas getting all educated and stuff, I thought today would be a good day to talk ECHL "silly season." You have to figure between the "Welcome Cocktail Reception" last night followed by a night on the town in Las Vegas it is safe to talk "silly season" without anyone noticing. Throw in the distraction of  the NHL Awards which were handed out in Las Vegas last night and the official announcement yesterday that Las Vegas has been granted an NHL franchise, nobody is paying any attention back home. They are hungover and have to sit through the exciting first topic of the morning (9:00 am start) "Revenue: The Key To The Front Office Career" which is a perfect topic because in AA hockey every employee is a salesperson. On a more serious note the group will be hearing from ECHL Commissioner Brian McKenna this morning and the ECHL awards presentation takes place just before lunch (1:40 pm Allen time). Fingers crossed the Allen group gets rewarded for a great season on and off the ice, under some difficult circumstances. UPDATE: Tommy Daniels was the winner of the ECHL Broadcaster of the Year Award.

- When you are an Allen Americans fan you can't talk silly season without harking back to the Central Hockey League (CHL) days when silly season was on steroids. The days of "my sources are better than your sources." Silly season rumors and discussions about which teams were bolting to the ECHL, going dark, folding, moving, changing ownership, and the survival of the league itself. Those were the days. Here is an old meme from the CHL silly season days.

- While the ECHL thankfully can't match the drama of the CHL, there are certainly some off season issues that can hold fan interest and create plenty of discussion. Here are just a few of them.

- Change of ownership of the Allen Americans has been a topic of conversation most of the past season and from what I have heard there is more than one group interested in buying the team. More importantly, the current owners are interested in selling the team. When you have willing buyers and a willing seller usually a deal gets done. My theory is this time of year creates a lot of pressure on the selling team to strike a deal. That is because it is a time of year where there are a lot of expenses and very little revenue. The majority of season ticket renewal revenue has already been booked. If season ticket holders haven't already renewed after another championship they will most likely not renew or wait until September. There is no longer the cost of housing or salaries for players unless they are hurt and there are always a lot of them. The team must provide worker's compensation until the injured players are cleared by the doctor. Some injured players stay in Texas for their rehabilitation and they are provided housing. Throw in all of the costs to get out of the apartments that are vacant, cost to send players home, cost to wind down the season along with the start up costs for next season, payments to vendors and the ECHL and it is a prefect storm to get the team sold. So I will go out on a limb and say the team gets sold and it will happen soon. When this happens everyone will be happy about new ownership but the next question will be what do the new owners bring to the table. It should be an interesting silly season.

- Another ownership issue that fits the silly season moniker popped up last week from Portland, Maine. Portland lost their AHL franchise in May (moving to Springfield, MA) and is trying to bring in an ECHL franchise for the 2017-18 season. What is interesting about the story is they talk about bringing an existing ECHL franchise to Portland and the prospective team has already been contacted and a price has been worked out. There was speculation the team was Evansville/Owensboro but the owner denied the team is being sold. Why an existing team rather than an expansion franchise? According to the story an expansion franchise would cost $750,000 and they can buy an existing franchise for less. The following is the story from the Portland Press Herald: http://www.pressherald.com/2016/06/17/talks-progressing-on-bringing-new-hockey-team-to-cia/


- It has certainly been an active off season when it comes to coaching changes in the ECHL. With the announcement this week that South Carolina coach, Spencer Carbery, is moving on to become coach of the Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League that makes a total of seven coaching changes this silly season (Elmira, Florida, Missouri, Norfolk, South Carolina, Toledo, & Wichita). This list doesn't include Wheeling where the coach (David Gove) took a leave of absence and missed the last three rounds of the playoffs. The Norfolk (Rod Aldoff) and Wichita (Malcolm Cameron) jobs have been filled but the others are still looking for coaches and it is in the middle of recruitment season. Should be a lot of new coaches hired in the next couple of weeks.


- The ECHL sure does a good job of identifying coaches on the move with their Coach of the Year selections. The last three ECHL Coach of the Year winners have new jobs this month. Richard Matvichuk (Missouri Mavricks) won the award this year and was selected as coach of the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League. Derek Lalonde (Toledo Walleye) was coach of the Year in the ECHL in 2015 and was just selected as coach of the Iowa Wild (AHL). Spencer Carbery (South Carolina Stingrays) was Coach of the Year in 2014 and is headed to Saginaw.


- The silly season always sees an exodus of players heading overseas and this off season is no exception. There have already been close to 50 players signed to play overseas and there are plenty more to come. The league is losing some top notch players including the leading scorer for Cincinnati (Jack Downing), leading goal scorer for Utah (Barry Almeida), the top goalie in the league and MVP runner-up (Josh Robinson). Robinson was 28-2 for the Missouri Mavericks with a GAA of 1.88. Jesse Root of the Mavericks, who finished third in the MVP balloting is also headed overseas. Others include Maxim Kitsyn who was the leading scorer for the Manchester Monarchs and Colorado Eagle all-star defenseman Collin Bowman. For the Allen Americans, only Jordan Rowley has been announced as heading to Europe to play in Sweden but several other players have offers they are considering so in all likelihood the Allen list will grow.



- Still haven't heard anything about the ECHL Board of Governors (BOG) meeting that took place earlier this week. I did see at indypuck.com that there is a proposal to expand the reserve list from two to three players and allow teams to sign a third goaltender to a two way contract, presumably sharing that goaltender with a SPHL team. Would expect the ECHL will issue a press release to announce any decisions made at the BOG meeting.


DID YOU KNOW: Richard Matvihuk won the ECHL Coach of the Year (John Brophy Award) this season, Spencer Carbery finished second and Derek Lalonde finished third. That is a lot of coaching talent moving onwards and upwards.

Allen Americans & ECHL Weekly Update - News You Can Use

As the off season gets into full swing for the Allen Americans there are a few happenings around the team and the ECHL worth sharing so here goes.

- Coach Martinson and family have made it home to Rockford, Illinois for the summer. It will be another short summer for the Martinson's who will be back in Allen around mid-August. A lot of work for Martinson over the next 10 days trying to get players on the protected list signed before qualifying offers are due June 30.

- Dyson Stevenson is back in Saskatchewan and in the midst of a big charity softball tournament he helped organize. Joel Rumpel is in Madison WI and had a charity golf and hockey game this week, Aaron Gens is in Minnesota to work a hockey camp and Riley Gill is headed to the Professional Hockey Players Association (PHPA) annual meeting in Orlando. Just a few examples of what the guys are up to already, just 10 days after winning the Kelly Cup.

- The ECHL is having their annual meeting this week (June 20-24) in Las Vegas. The Board of Governors (BOG) meet early in the week and then the team staffs meet later in the week. Typically, the BOG will consider issues related to franchises, rules changes and policy changes and if anything is approved it will be reported after the meeting. Later in the week, a myriad of topics will be covered. Here is the press release issued by the ECHL on the annual meeting. http://echl.com/echl-annual-meetings-presented-by-essensa-set-for-next-week-p202792
 One thing to keep an eye on is Thursday morning when several awards will be presented. With the year Allen had they should be in contention in several of the categories. The following are the awards that will be presented Thursday morning:

Ticket Department of the Year
Ticket Executive of the Year
Marketing Department of the Year
Broadcaster of the Year
Media Relations Director of the Year
Website of the Year
Team Social Media Award
Overall award of Excellence

Two of the awards I will be especially interested in are Broadcaster of the Year where the voice of the Allen Americans, Tommy Daniels, should have a good chance after calling two consecutive Kelly Cup championships for the Americans. Tommy is the best in the business and to add the ECHL Broadcaster of the Year award to the same recognition he received in the Central Hockey League would mean a lot. The other category in which Allen should get consideration is Ticket Department of the Year. The Allen group increased tickets sales close to 500 per game during the regular season over last year and playoff attendance increased an average of 1500 per game over last season. Mike Martin and the entire sales staff deserves recognition so let's hope they are rewarded in Las Vegas.

- The other group that has a meeting this week is the Professional Hockey Players Association (PHPA). They will meet in Orlando June 20-24. One player representative from each AHL and ECHL team participates in an open discussion on a variety of Collective Bargaining and other PHPA related issues. It provides the players the opportunity to review the past year and provide input and direction for the upcoming season. Riley Gill is the player representative for Allen. The AHL President and CEO, Dave Andrews, and ECHL Commissioner, Brian McKenna both participate in the meeting giving a "State of the League" address and also meet in a closed door session with the player representatives to hear questions, feedback, and ideas directly from the players. There is also a golf outing during the week and even though Riley has been doing more fishing than golfing while in Texas, the PHPA better watch out as he is an outstanding golfer (as in scratch) who was one of the best high school golfers in Minnesota. Here is the press release from the PHPA on the annual meeting which has all of the details: http://www.phpa.com/news/story/718

- Toledo Walleye coach Derek Lalonde has been hired as the new head coach of the Iowa Wild (AHL). Lalonde coached Toledo for the past two seasons to a combined record of 97-35-12. Here is the news release on his hiring. http://www.bcsn.tv/news_article/show/661762

- There have been a lot of stories written about Allen coach Steve Martinson since he won his 10th championship on June 9th. This one, written by Mark Monroe of the Toledo Blade, comes from a little different perspective as it takes Martinson all the way back to his first professional season (1981-82) as a player when he left St. Cloud State College in Minnesota and made his professional debut with the Toledo Goaldiggers. This is a good read if you haven't already seen it: http://www.bcsn.tv/news_article/show/661306


- Here is a story about bringing ECHL hockey to Portland, Maine. What is interesting is in the story they talk about bringing an existing ECHL franchise to Portland and the prospective team has already been contacted and a price has been worked out. There was speculation the team was Evansville/Owensboro but the owner denied the team is being sold. The following is the story from the Portland Press Herald: http://www.pressherald.com/2016/06/17/talks-progressing-on-bringing-new-hockey-team-to-cia/ 


DID YOU KNOW: There are a lot of ways to look at the success of the Allen Americans. Below is the combined regular season record for the seven year history of the team (overall, home and road). Another indication how spoiled the Allen fans have been over the past seven years.

295-129-48 - overall record
151-59-26 - home record
144-70-22 - road record

Allen's Season Ending Roster - What It Is, What It Means and What It Tells Us

Below is a portion of the news release issued by the Allen Americans last night that includes their  season ending roster. There are just 17 names on the list. I am sure this list is confusing when you compare it to the Americans playoff roster. Thought I would take a crack at explaining what is going on from my perspective. Hopefully this will answer some of the questions you may have about the list. Here is the press release:

Allen Americans Head Coach and GM Steve Martinson announced today the club did not protect Jordan Rowley and Thomas Carr, along with goalie Jake Hildebrand. Hildebrand signed an American Hockey League deal today with Rockford. Rowley and Carr are both pursuing deals in Europe.   

Below is the list of protected players for Allen. The official name for this list is "season ending roster" but it it often referred to as the protected list.

Forwards - Gary Steffes, Chad Costello, Greger Hanson, Tristan King, Casey Pierro-Zabotel, Dyson Stevenson, J.P. LaFontaine, Ian Schultz, Kyle Neuber, Chance Braid.

Defensemen – Eric Roy, Aaron Gens, David Makowski, Matt Register, Ayrton Nikkel.

Goalies – Riley Gill and Jamie Murray.

- As a reminder, each team's season ending roster can include up to 20 players. Any player not included on the season ending rosters submitted today is now a free agent. Until June 30, the rights for the players on the season ending roster remain with Allen but on June 30, coach Martinson has to submit to the league a list of no more than eight players he wants to protect. These eight names do not include players that have already signed. Because only eight players can be protected there is incentive to get as many players signed by June 30 as possible. The eight players will be given qualifying offers which for the most part must be 5% above their salary from this past season. The qualifying offer period is from June 30 to August 1st. Any player on the season ending roster who does not sign a new contract or receive a qualifying offer by June 30 becomes an unrestricted free agent.

The following might answer some of your questions. 

- Why weren't Rowley, Carr and Hildebrand added to the season ending roster? Many times when players are signed late in the season after they finish their collegiate eligibility (like these three) their agents negotiate into their contracts that they not be protected, which gives them maximum flexibility on where they can sign for their first full year of professional hockey next season. That is my guess as to what happened with Rowley, Carr and Hildebrand. 

- Players on AHL contracts are also not included. That is why Rumpel, Crane, Pinkston, Arseneau, Federico, Asuchak, and Jevpalovs aren't on the list. If these players don't have AHL deals for next season they can sign ECHL deals with any team. I would expect most would return to Allen if they don't have or get AHL deals.

- Jamie Murray was signed to an ECHL contract by Allen so that is why he is on the list.

- Schultz, Nikkel and Braid are on the list because Allen still has their ECHL rights. It is not likely they will be signed or given qualifying offers at the end of the month. 

- The one player not accounted for is Justin Courtnall. There can be only two reasons for him not being on the season ending list. He has either already been signed to a contract for next season or he has been traded. Since "future considerations" trades had to be completed earlier this week my guess is Courtnall has been sent to one of the teams that Allen owed future considerations. UPDATE: Justin Courtnall was traded to Brampton and is on their season ending roster.

- Coach Martinson will only be able to make eight qualifying offers to the 17 players on the list above. His next goal is to try and sign as many players as possible before qualifying offers are due June 30. 

- The submission of the season ending rosters yesterday marks the end of the 2015-16 ECHL season. The 2016-17 season officially begins today as it is the first day players can be signed to a Standard Player's Contract (SPC) for next season. You won't see any announcements from the Allen Americans today but you could see player signing announcements from other teams around the ECHL.

- The season ending rosters for all ECHL teams can be found at the ECHL website. They are scheduled to be posted at 11:00 am EDT today (Thursday). Here is a link to the ECHL website: http://www.echl.com/





DID YOU KNOW:  What a difference a year makes. Here is the season end roster for Allen from last year. Riley Gill, Aaron Gens, Justin Baker, Nolan Descoteaux, Trevor Ludwig, Kevin Young, Garrett Clarke, Tyler Ludwig, Kyle Follmer, Chad Costello, Gerger Hanson, Jamie Schaafsma, Spencer Asuchak, Patrik Valcak, Brian McMillin, Jesse Messier, Ian Schultz, Gary Steffes, Tanner Eberle, Austin Smith.  

Steve Martinson's Recruiting Process Is One Of The Best - Assembling the 2016-17 Allen Team

It is striking how quickly the Allen Americans have moved from championship, to celebration, to scattering for the summer. It has been just one week and the conversation has already turned to next season and putting together the 2016-17 version of the Allen Americans. Today (June 15) the season ending rosters are due to the league office (3:00 pm EDT) and tomorrow is the first day to sign players for next season. Each team's season ending roster can include up to 20 players. Any player not included on the season ending roster submitted today will become a free agent. Until June 30, the rights for the players on the season ending roster remain with Allen but on June 30 Martinson has to submit to the league a list of no more than eight players he wants to protect. These eight names do not include players that have already signed. Because only eight players can be protected there is incentive to get as many players signed by June 30 as possible. The eight players will be given qualifying offers which for most part must be 5% above their salary from this past season. The qualifying offer period is from June 30 to August 1st. Any player on the season ending roster who does not sign a new contract or receive a qualifying offer by June 30 becomes an unrestricted free agent.

After a week of championship celebrations, Martinson has started having conversations with players about next season. Early signings could take place in the next week but may not be announced until later. Another thing that happened this week was satisfying all "future considerations" trades. There were several of these that had to resolved by last Monday. Future consideration could mean sending a player or it could be sending money. From what I have heard, one player off this year's roster was traded as a result of a future considerations deal.


Steve Martinson just completed his twentieth year as a professional hockey coach and his results speak wonders about his ability to recruit players. He has won 10 championships and has only missed the playoffs one time in 20 years. The one time he missed the playoffs was in 2011-12 with the expansion franchise Chicago Express (ECHL). He had six players promoted to the AHL and six other players sustain season ending injuries. To make matters worse the team decided they were going to fold at the end of the season (their first year in the league) so the last part of the season was played knowing they were not returning. As coach always says, "Not an excuse, just the facts."


Recruiting is the most important aspect of the job for a general manager/head coach and Martinson does it all year long. Everyday he is in contact with players and agents. Whether it is telephone calls, texts or social media, he maintains contact with as many players as possible and this is the case both in the off season and during the season.


The starting point to putting together the 2016-17 Allen Americans team is determining a budget. While the salary cap is a given cost ($12,600 per week), housing and insurance can cost the team more than the players salary. A big cost factor is how many married players are on the team. Married players get their own apartment while the single guys share an apartment. Health insurance is much cheaper for single players and married guys without children than it is for families. If there isn't an ownership change, one of the goals for the coming year will most likely be to reduce the cost of housing.

With four straight championships you might think everything would be positive in putting the 2016-17 team together but that is not the case. Some of the players want to try playing in the AHL or Europe. Being on a championship team gives players leverage to pursue these opportunities. So you have a situation where some players want time to find other opportunities before committing to Allen. Another issue facing Martinson is after winning the Kelly Cup all of the players feel they deserve a raise in pay, however the amount available for salaries will increase by just $200 per week for the entire team. The salary cap is set by the Professional Hockey Players Association (PHPA) and ownership and is spelled out in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). This season the salary cap was $12,400 per week to be shared by all players on the active roster. Next season the salary cap will increase to $12,600. That is an average increase of just $10 per week per player.

What is Steve Martinson's secret to recruiting? Have as many tools in your recruiting tool kit as possible. With the salary cap, competing based on salary is not the key to success as a player can always find a team willing to pay $50 or $100 more per week. The key to getting the best players is having other reasons to have them want to play for your team. Here are some of the many tools Steve Martinson uses when making a pitch to players.

-  Allen has never missed the playoffs and has been to the championship final five times in seven years and won four straight championships. You can count on many additional weeks of pay as Allen makes a deep playoff run along with a couple of extra months of lodging and playoff bonuses. This can total $10,000 - $15,000 more in compensation for a player over a team that does not make the playoffs. 

- You will play an upbeat, aggressive offensive system in Allen that is also dedicated to defensive hockey. Points you score in the ECHL won't keep you in the American Hockey League (AHL) but points will get you noticed. You have to be able to play without the puck and you have to understand the game and that is what we will help you with in Allen. With our system you will have plenty of opportunity to get points. We won't handcuff you in the third period with a lead. We will take less risks but we will keep our foot on the gas. If you want to play in a system where you can score a lot of points come to Allen.

- You will play in a great facility in the seven year old Allen Event Center which is surrounded by shopping and restaurants.  

- You will play for a team that has a history of moving players to the AHL. Allen had 25 players from their roster spend time in the AHL in their two ECHL championship seasons. Our goal is to see you progress in your hockey career.

- While playing in the Dallas Metroplex you have access to whatever interests you may have including the Stars, Cowboys, Mavericks and Rangers. Playing where you have a major international airport makes it easier for you and your friends and family to travel in and out of DFW and for players to get to AHL cities quickly if called up.

- You will live in a place where you can play golf year around. Average high temperature during the hockey season is 79 in October, 66 in November, 57 in December, 55 in January, 61 in February, 69 in March, 77 in April and 84 in May. It is a great place to live whether your are single or married.

- If you like to fish there are plenty of opportunities within 30 minutes of your apartment. Fishing is great.

- We will help with whatever your post hockey career interests are through our intern program and you will be able to develop business contacts while you are still playing that will be useful after you retire. The DFW metroplex is a great place to build a post career network.

- There is a great fan base that supports the team and the players.


With four straight championships to his credit Steve Martinson will have plenty of players and agents calling him this summer. When you have a successful program in a great location a lot of players will want to play in Allen.


Because Steve Martinson has been around minor pro hockey for so long he has a real advantage when it comes to recruiting. But even with the contacts he has developed over the years he spends many hours going over data 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 that have not been used in the right way on their current teams. It is no coincidence that each year there are players that come in and have a career year in Allen. Whether it is young guys or experienced players, they thrive in the Martinson system.  

Another issue the coach needs to be aware of is the veteran status of each player as the number of veterans on the team is limited to just four. A veteran is defined as a player with more than 260 regular season professional games (for games in Europe only the top six leagues count). The Americans finished this season with three veterans (Costello, Steffes and Pierro-Zabotel) and have two players (King & Register) who will become veterans next season. A decision will have to be made as to which veterans will be re-signed. It is always good to have at least one veteran slot available for new players that might want to come to Allen.


Here is my opinion of how Martinson will approach recruitment for next season.

- Look for fewer married players on the roster next season if there is not an ownership change.

- Coach Martinson will be loyal to the players that helped bring the Kelly Cup championship to Allen. That doesn't mean everyone wishing to return will be signed but he will reach out to everyone to see what they want to do. It is likely there will more players returning than in the past.

- When you win the championship everyone feels they deserve a raise but with the salary cap increasing just $200 that is not possible.  While it is important that the players are dealt with fairly and are paid what they are worth based on ECHL salaries, everyone will not get a pay raise or they will get just the 5% raise required when qualifying the eight players.

- Because of salary cap issues Martinson played much of last season with fewer players than were allowed. He would prefer to have a full roster next season. Because players assigned to Allen by San Jose with NHL/AHL contracts cost the Americans only $525 per week against the salary cap (the rest of their salary is paid by the parent club) having 4-6 of these players will actually help.

- Players that are ready to sign immediately will be the top priority. Those that wait run the risk of other players being signed and a slot not being available or money not being available when they are ready to sign.

- Coach Martinson will strive to get as many players signed as quickly as possible. A good goal would be to have the top two lines, four defensemen and a goalie signed by June 30.

- With the average salary being about $630 per week ($12,600 divided by 20 players) finding good rookie players that make less than the average is critical so you can pay the top end guys.

- Popularity of players with the fans is not a big factor when it comes time to signing. It is strictly based on performance. You can always find another popular player.

- If Martinson finds a good player at the right price they will get signed right away.

- With just four veteran slots available the decision on veterans will be a difficult one.

- The affiliation with San Jose will continue though it has not been formalized yet. Allen will have players assigned for development from the beginning of the season.


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 that understand you must work hard, be in great shape, follow the system, be a team guy and finish checks. He builds his teams to have depth rather than a few super stars. This approach has worked for 20 years and it will work again in year 21 as he puts together the 2016-2017 team.


DID YOU KNOW: The Allen Americans won the Kelly Cup this season in large part because of the strength of their power play. In the championship final they were 7-24 (29.2%) on the power play. However, that was not the case in 2014 when they won the Central Hockey League championship. They set a record by not scoring a single power play goal in the championship finals (0-26).