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| Nino Musitelli |
Today we catch up with one of the original Allen Americans, Nino Musitelli. To tell Nino's story you have to go back to the beginning of the Allen Americans franchise, their head coach, Dwight Mullins and associate coach, Bill McDonald. The DNA of the Americans can be traced to Mullins and McDonald who won a championship together in 1996-97 with the Fort Worth Fire. McDonald was the coach of that team and Mullins was the captain. The Fire were a team that had a lot of skill but were also a very physical team. They had 80 fights that season led by Mullins with 19 fights and 301 penalty minutes. The Fire's second leading scorer, Stephane Larocque, had 41 goals, 80 points and 354 penalty minutes. Compare that to Allen's all-time single season penalty record of 274 minutes.
Fast forward to 2009-10 and Dwight Mullins has been selected as the first head coach of the Allen Americans and he hires his old coach, Bill McDonald, as his associate coach. McDonald had been the head coach of the Dayton Bombers (ECHL) in 2008-09 but the team had ceased operations after that season. There is no doubt the kind of team this duo would build. Allen would be a skilled but physical team that would be hard to play against. The nucleus of that first Allen team came from McDonald's defunct Dayton Bombers team. He was able to convince six players from his 2008-09 ECHL roster to to join him in the Central Hockey League with the upstart Allen Americans. Those six players included the Bombers leading scorer, Nino Musitelli, second leading scorer, Jarret Lukin and their top points per game player, Justin Bowers, who spent part of the season in the AHL. Forward Christian Gaudet, defenseman Tyler Wooddisse and enforcer Britt Dougherty were the other players from Dayton on the 2009-10 Americans roster.
That is a long winded way of telling how Nino Musitelli, the 5'8" 180 pound forward from Macomb, Michigan arrived in Allen. Nino didn't stray far from home to attend college. He played his college hockey at Miami University (Ohio) where his teammate for two years was another Allen great, Gary Steffes. After graduating from college Nino turned pro, signing with Bill McDonald and the Dayton Bombers in 2008-09.
The 2009-10 Allen season was memorable for so many reasons. For a rookie team in the Central Hockey League, which was seen as inferior to the ECHL by many, the roster Mullins and McDonald assembled was top notch. In addition to the six players McDonald recruited from Dayton, that team included Bruce Graham, a second round NHL draft choice, and Jordie Benn who would go on to a long NHL career. Colton Yellow Horn joined the team in December.
Because the Allen Event Center (AEC) was still under construction the Americans played the first seven games of the season on the road going 5-2. The team went on to a fantastic first season finishing second in their conference including a home record of 23-5-4. The team also had 64 fights that season. Nino played on a line with Bruce Graham and Justin Bowers most of the time and they finished as the top three scorers on the team. Nino had a point in 20 of his first 23 games including a streak of 17 games. He played in 62 regular season games and had 63 points (23G 40A).
Allen had a great run in the playoffs in that inaugural season beating the #1 seed (Odessa) in the semi finals by winning game seven in Odessa. Musitelli had the game winner in that game. Allen lost in the finals to Rapid City in six games but had put themselves on the map. Nino finished the playoffs with 26 points (13G, 13A) in 20 games. He had a point in 15 of Allen's 20 playoff games including 10 of their last 11 games.
When that first season was complete, Allen had set a standard of excellence and style of play that has been in place ever since. Nino Musitelli was a big part of setting that standard.
Nino returned to Allen for the 2010-11 season and was part of what many feel was the best team in Allen history. The Americans won their conference by 20 points, finishing with 97 points in 66 games. They had a league leading 271 goals averaging over four goals per game. In Allen's 10 year history 30+ goals have been scored just eight times and three of those were in 2010-11. Nino and Bruce Graham tied for the team lead with 34 goals and Colton Yellow Horn tallied 33 goals. Three other players (Jarret Lukin, Dave Bonk, Judd Blackwater) had 20+ goals. The great regular season was overshadowed when the Americans lost in the third round (Conference Finals) in the playoffs, 4-1 to the eventual champion (Bossier-Shreveport).
Nino Musitelli's total for those first two seasons was 133 points (57G, 76A) in 121 regular season games and 37 points (18G, 19A) in 33 playoff games. Nino was a big part of laying the foundation for the franchise that has been synonymous with excellence.
Since I was a fan and not a blogger in those early years I asked Tommy Daniels to share his thoughts about Nino Musitelli on and off the ice. Here is how Tommy described Nino.
"Nino Musitelli was a fast skater who was good at delivering the puck to his teammates but was also a great finisher.
"Nino was the type of player that every single night showed up on the scoresheet. He didn't get the publicity that his linemates Bruce Graham and Justin Bowers got but they would tell you one of the keys to the success of their line was Nino Musitelli."
"Everyone loved Nino in the locker room. He was a prankster and a lot of fun. I can remember a prank Nino played on Bruce Graham which will go unmentioned but was one of the best pranks ever. Graham threatened Nino with bodily harms for that prank and remember Graham is 6'6"and Nino is 5'8"."
"Of all the teams over the years, I think that first year team was the most close knit group of guys I have ever seen. Definitely the closest room ever. Those guys were inseparable."
Here is an update from Nino in his own words:
Can you give us an update on you and your family?
I currently reside in my hometown of Macomb, Michigan. I an using my competitive mentality as an account manager. I have been with my company for five years now. I am happily married to Joyce Musitelli and we have three daughters. Layla Anne who is two years old and twins Rosie Marie and Lilianna Isabella who are six months old. We have two dogs who I actually adopted from the SPCA of Texas after my first year in Allen. Their names are Zetty and Romeo.
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| The Musitelli Clan |
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| The Musitelli pets were adopted in Allen |
What involvement do you have in hockey?
I coached for a few years after I retired, but have not been involved much with hockey since 2013 when I retired.
What are your hobbies/interests now that you no longer play professional hockey?
I am pretty busy raising my girls but I love playing golf every chance I get. My siblings are all having kids now so it is nice to be around family as much as we can.
Can you share something about your experience playing in Allen?
Allen was a very close knit community that loved the Americans. I met a lot of people that I still talk to today. I loved my time in Allen and would love to come back in the near future.
What is your fondest memory of your time in Allen?
I did not get a chance to win a championship in Allen, but I would say just the experience itself was great. We were treated very well during my time there and I am sure it has only gotten better. Great city to play in.
Who was your favorite/closest teammate in Allen?
I cannot just pick one teammate. We had a very close group of guys that would go to battle for each other every time we stepped on that ice. From the locker room to the road trips, it was like hanging out with your brothers. There are a lot of stories that can be shared, but I think it is better to keep them between the boys.
Do you plan on attending the alumni game in February?
I am working on it and would love to but it just depends on the situation with the kids. We cannot just pack up and go like we used to. It would be very nice to get back to Allen and see a lot of fans and friends again.
Here is an interview with Nino after Allen defeated the Missouri Mavericks on St. Patrick's Day in 2010.
DID YOU KNOW: In January of 2013 Allen's new coach, Steve Martinson, traded Nino Musitelli to the Rapid City Rush for Alex Penner.
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