- Allen mostly flew under the radar when the discussion of which teams improved the most as the trade deadline approached. I think most would now agree the addition of Wade MacLeod, Tyler Barnes and Alex Krushelnyski to the roster put the Americans toward the top of the most improved list. They have all been very successful when playing in the ECHL. MacLeod has averaged 1.04 points per game, Barnes .97 and Krushelnyski .91.
- You may ask why coach Martinson wants to add this type of firepower to what is already the second highest goal scoring team in the league. Allen has the opportunity to do something that is very special in winning five straight championships and three straight Kelly Cups. It is certainly not lost on Martinson the historical significance of such a feat. When I asked Martinson about the new additions he had this to say, "You can never be too deep going into the playoffs. Just look at some of the key players we lost the last few years before and during the playoffs including Chris Crane, Trevor Ludwig, Ian Schultz, Rylan Schwartz, David Makowski, Dyson Stevenson and Aaron Gens. Spencer Asuchak played several games last year with a fractured shoulder and Costello played the last six weeks with a pulled hip flexor. I say again you just can't be too deep going into the playoffs."
ALEX KRUSHELNYSKI
- Steve Martinson first noticed Alex in 2014-15 when Martinson was one of the coaches for the ECHL all-star game that took place in Orlando. Alex was playing for the Utah Grizzlies at the time and was on the all-star team. He won the skills competition for the fastest skater and his time was the third fastest in all-star history. He also had a goal in the game. Martinson had this to say about Alex, "I remember his skating abilty and speed from the all-star game and when we played against him. He is a hard worker, always moves his feet and knows how to shoot the puck," Alex was Utah's second leading scorer last season with 60 points (25 goals 35 assists) in 68 games. Here is a highlight video from the all-star game that shows Alex's skill competition win and his goal.
Here are his stats courtesy of hockeydb
Alexander Krushelnyski
Forward -- shoots LBorn Nov 14 1990 -- Los Angeles, CA
[26 yrs. ago]
Height 6.00 -- Weight 180
| Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 2008-09 | Chicago Steel | USHL | 38 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 24 | -4 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2009-10 | Chicago Steel | USHL | 37 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 12 | 7 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2009-10 | Sioux City Musketeers | USHL | 21 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 11 | 7 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2010-11 | Colorado College | WCHA | 44 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 25 | ||||||
| 2011-12 | Colorado College | WCHA | 36 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 8 | ||||||
| 2012-13 | Colorado College | WCHA | 42 | 15 | 28 | 43 | 14 | ||||||
| 2013-14 | Colorado College | NCHC | 36 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 44 | ||||||
| 2014-15 | Utah Grizzlies | ECHL | 62 | 17 | 40 | 57 | 28 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 |
| 2014-15 | Norfolk Admirals | AHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -2 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2015-16 | Utah Grizzlies | ECHL | 68 | 25 | 35 | 60 | 64 | -4 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 |
| 2015-16 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2016-17 | Wichita Thunder* | ECHL | 6 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 5 | |||||
| 2016-17 | Binghamton Senators* | AHL | 43 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 20 | -9 | |||||
| 2016-17 | Allen Americans | ECHL | |||||||||||
TYLER BARNES
- Tyler was also on the 2014-15 ECHL all-star team when he played for the Toledo Walleye. He led Toledo in scoring in 2014-15 with 74 points (34 goals 40 assists) in 71 games. In 2015-16 he played for Missouri and led the team in scoring with 61 points (24 goals 37 assists) in 69 games. This season he has split time between Rockford (25 games) and Indy (15 games). Here is what Martinson had to say, "Tyler plays hard, competes hard, he has a lot of skill, he forechecks, wins a lot of puck battles and is hard to play against."
- Here are a couple of videos with Tyler. The first is a player profile from last season when he was with Missouri. The second video is of a goal he scored in college when he played for the University of Wisconsin.
Here are Tyler's stats courtesy of hockeydb:
Tyler Barnes
Forward -- shoots RBorn Feb 13 1990 -- Burnsville, MI
[27 yrs. ago]
Height 6.00 -- Weight 198
| Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 2007-08 | Waterloo Black Hawks | USHL | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2008-09 | Waterloo Black Hawks | USHL | 55 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 43 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2009-10 | Waterloo Black Hawks | USHL | 60 | 35 | 33 | 68 | 27 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010-11 | U. of Wisconsin | WCHA | 41 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 20 | ||||||
| 2011-12 | U. of Wisconsin | WCHA | 37 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 28 | ||||||
| 2012-13 | U. of Wisconsin | WCHA | 41 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 33 | ||||||
| 2013-14 | U. of Wisconsin | Big-10 | 33 | 14 | 14 | 28 | 26 | ||||||
| 2013-14 | San Antonio Rampage | AHL | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | -3 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2014-15 | Toledo Walleye | ECHL | 71 | 34 | 40 | 74 | 30 | 20 | 21 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 6 |
| 2014-15 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2015-16 | Missouri Mavericks | ECHL | 69 | 24 | 37 | 61 | 32 | 24 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 4 |
| 2015-16 | Bridgeport Sound Tigers | AHL | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2016-17 | Rockford IceHogs* | AHL | 25 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 4 | -6 | |||||
| 2016-17 | Indy Fuel* | ECHL | 15 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 4 | -5 | |||||
ROSTER UPDATE
- Tyler Barnes has already arrived in Allen and will be available for the games this weekend. Alex Krushelnyski is driving to Allen and got delayed by the snowstorm that hit the northeast. He is not expected to be available this weekend.
- Spencer Asuchak has been loaned to the Providence Bruins (AHL) so he will not be playing this weekend. Spencer has had a great season in Allen and certainly deserves the opportunity to play at the next level. Best of luck to him!
DID YOU KNOW: Alex Krushelnyski played with Bryan Moore in Utah and I heard they were linemates for some of that time. Another fun fact about Alex is his dad, Mike played in 897 NHL games with Boston, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Toronto and Detroit. He has three Stanley Cups (Edmonton) as a player and one has an assistant coach (Detroit). Mike's best NHL season was 1984-85, in which he scored 43 goals and had 88 points while often playing on a line with Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri. For you long time Central Hockey League fans you may remember Mike as the last coach of the Fort Worth Fire from 1997-99.
Love the new players. Most surely will help lineup!
ReplyDeleteGreat Job Coach! Gary Blaha