Allen coach Steve Martinson delivered as promised to add physicality to the roster with the announcement yesterday that the Americans have signed forward Jacob Doty. Depending on which website or story you read about the 25 year old Doty he is 6'3" or 6"4" and weighs between 220 and 235 pounds. In the press release issued by the Allen Americans (https://allenamericans.com/americans-add-big-body-and-toughness-to-the-lineup/ ) coach Martinson had this to say, "Everyone knows Jacob Doty is one of the toughest players in pro hockey. Last year his career high 16 goals, which was third on his team, reflects his ability to help his team win games."
- Prior to spending the last two seasons playing in Great Britain, Doty played 71 games in the AHL and 106 in the ECHL. Allen fans will remember him from the 2016-17 season when he played for the Missouri Mavericks. He had 14 fights that season with six of them against Allen, all in the month of March. Here is Jacob Doty's fight card against Allen in March of 2017 from the website dropyourgloves.com. He fought four different players and didn't lose once.
March 3 - Mike Gunn (Win)
March 3 - Josh Brittain (Draw)
March 4 - Derek Mathers (Win)
March 4 - Dyson Stevenson (Win)
March 10 - Derek Mathers (Win)
March 30 - Derek Mathers (Draw)
- Here is Doty's highlight video from last season when he played for the Braehead Clan in Glasgow, Scotland:
- Here is another side of Jacob Doty as he is interviewed in a one minute speed round by a couple of young Braehead fans in a segment called "Headbuzz" and remember it is Scotland so the Scottish brogue is a challenge:
- Jacob Doty played his junior hockey in the Western Hockey League (WHL) spending time with the Seattle Thunderbirds and Medicine Hat Tigers. He should feel right at home in Allen where there are 11 former WHL players on the roster. Doty was born in Denver, Colorado. Jacob (aka Jake) and his wife Jessica (aka Jess) were married last summer and are expecting their first child in February. They live in Montana in the off season.
- Doty wasn't the only roster move for the Americans yesterday. C.J. Motte, just off a 42 save shutout in Tulsa, was recalled by the Iowa Wild. Motte is under contract with the Wild organization so as the fifth goalie on the Wild depth chart every time there is an injury in Minnesota or Iowa he will get recalled. Coach Martinson told me Motte isn't expected to be gone long but he will know more later today.
- With the signing of Jacob Doty the Americans released forward Christophe Lalancette yesterday. Lalancette played eight games in Allen and had one assist.
- The Americans will have a practice today and it will be important with so many new players on the roster. It will be the first practice for Doty, Greg Chase and Mitch Maloney. It will also be an opportunity to see if Josh Thrower and Zach Pochiro will be available for the road trip to Utah. The team flies to Salt Lake City on Tuesday.
- With the addition of Jacob Doty and a goalie to replace C.J. Motte, the Americans have already had 32 players on their roster this season. I am sure it comes as no surprise that only one other ECHL team has used more players than Allen. The Atlanta Gladiators have used 34 players in the first five weeks of the season. At the opposite end of the spectrum are two Mountain Division teams, Kansas City and Utah who have only used 23 players thus far.
- Allen's next four games are on the road, three in Utah and one in Tulsa. However, that may be a good thing since the Americans home record is 0-6-0-0 while their road record is 4-4-0-2.
- Allen fans will have the opportunity to watch the best player in the ECHL when the Americans play three games in Utah this week. Caleb Herbert has averaged a goal a game so far and is leading the league in points. Herbert has 23 points (13G 10A) in 13 games.
- Here is a Jacob Doty fight from back in juniors when he took on former Allen forward Jessey Astles. It was a toe to toe slugfest by two heavyweights. It was the longest fight (1:45) in the WHL that season and also one of the most entertaining.
DID YOU KNOW: There will be a lot of talk this week about Spencer Asuchak who will become the Allen Americans all time leader in regular season games played, passing Tyler Ludwig who leads with 247 games played. Spencer will tie the record on Wednesday in Utah and pass it on Friday. You rarely hear anyone talk about total games played (regular season and playoffs) which to me is a better reflection of a player's impact on the organization. In that category Spencer has been #1 for quite a while. Here are the top ten players in Allen Americans history in overall games played (regular season and playoffs). This is a who's who list of the franchise. The number in parentheses is the number of championships each player won in Allen.
329 - Spencer Asuchak (3)
308 - Tyler Ludwig (3)
295 - Jarret Lukin (2)
277 - Mike Berube (2)
276 - Chad Costello (2)
264 - Gary Steffes (2)
260 - Jamie Schaafsma (3)
256 - Brian McMillin (3)
239 - Bruce Graham (1)
Credit where it's due, Jesse can take a punch. Or 10.
ReplyDelete