Allen Americans Update, ECHL Overseas Exodus in Full Swing, Jamie Schaafsma Moves On, John Snowden Hometown Hero and More

- We are off to Europe today for a river cruise (Seine) and visit to Normandy so wanted to provide an update on a variety of topics. Here goes:


- Steve Martinson had a Q & A with fans at the Team Store yesterday and brought everyone up to date on his recruiting efforts for next season. He is hard at work identifying players from a variety of sources including those that could come from the Wild, re-signing players from last season, players that are free agents around the ECHL and players coming off NHL/AHL deals. As usual fans that attended the Q & A in person got some off the record tidbits.


- The Allen Americans released their 2019-20 schedule this week. Here is a link that shows the schedule in calendar format. https://allenamericans.com/schedule/


- I will do a deep dive on the schedule as the season gets closer but it is noteworthy the Americans will play only eight different teams at home and 32 of 36 homes games are against division opponents. Norfolk, who finished sixth in the South Division last season will visit Allen on November 8 & 9. Kalamazoo, who finished fourth in the Central Division last season will visit Allen on January 10 &11. Here are the number of home games the Americans will play against Mountain Division teams:

7 - Wichita
6 - Tulsa
6 - Rapid City
6 - Idaho
4 - Utah
3 - Kansas City


- Allen will play 11 different teams on the road. In addition to the six Mountain Division foes the Americans will visit Cincinnati on November 12 & 14. From December 13-18 Allen will play two games in Adirondack and one each in Brampton and Worcester.


- Yesterday (June 15th) all ECHL teams had to submit their season ending roster of no more than 20 players. It should reveal more players that will not return to Allen next season. Since Allen had only 20 players on their protected list (submitted earlier) you will know any player on the protected list not on the season ending list will not be back in Allen. As a reminder, here is Allen's protected list which totals 20 players. The season ending rosters should be released in the next day or two.

Goalie
Lukas Hafner

Defensemen
Alex Breton
Ben Owen
David Makowski
Joel Chouinard
Duggie Lagrone
Josh Atkinson
Dalton Thrower
Mike Gunn
Curt Gogol

Forwards
Zach Pochiro
Braylon Shmyr
Riley Bourbonnais
Casey Pierro-Zabotel
Thomas Frazee
Spencer Asuchak
Jacob Doty
Gary Steffes
Chad Butcher
Alex Guptill



- Today is the first day to sign players for the 2019-20 season. You might look for an announcement of a player signing this week but my guess is the process might be a bit slower this season than in the past.


- If you track AHL transactions you have noticed teams have started to announce player signings for next season. Many teams wait until after the NHL draft (June 21-22) to sign players for their AHL teams. I haven't seen any announcements from the Iowa Wild but my understanding is they have signed several players that will likely spend time in Allen next season. Remember, coach Martinson expects a lot more contracted players from the Wild organization next season and he has been involved in the process.


- The recruiting process for players coming off AHL/NHL deals that are free agents is now in full swing. There a many familiar names out there who are free agents. Vincent Arseneau is not one of them as he re-signed with Utica (AHL) last week.


- The annual exodus of players from the ECHL to Europe is going strong.  Utah's leading scorer, Caleb Herbert, is heading to Austria. Fort Wayne's leading scorer, Justin Hodgeman, will be a teammate of Chad Costello in Germany. Idaho's leading scorer, Steve McParland will play in Italy.  Fort Wayne's long time defenseman/tough guy Cody Sol will play in Slovakia. Ben Duffy, who was in training camp with Allen and was Norfolk's leading scorer, signed in Germany. Former Allen defenseman Travis Brown will play in Denmark next season. Christophe Lalancette, who played briefly in Allen last season has signed to play in Slovakia. There will be many more players signing overseas in the next month.


- Johnny McInnis, who played 23 games in Allen last season, has announced his retirement from pro hockey.


- I am sure most of you have seen the statement Jamie Schaafsma put out this week announcing he will not be returning to Fort Wayne next season (see below). The 36 year old has played in Fort Wayne the last four seasons and was captain of the team from day one. He has been a player/coach the last three seasons and this season was named MVP of the team. Fort Wayne recently named a new coach and the team is going in the proverbial "different direction." Jamie was noncommittal when asked if he will play again next season but did say he has been contacted by several teams since he announced he was not returning to Fort Wayne. Here is a story written by Justin Cohn with the details:  http://www.journalgazette.net/blog/ice-chips/20190612/delving-deeper-into-ks-schaafsma-breakup 

- Jamie Schaafsma is a great leader on and off the ice and also a great family man. When he was the captain in Allen he help start the intern program with the Allen fire department that still exists today. He has all of the certifications to become a fireman. Whether he plays again next season, takes a coaching job, becomes a fireman or pursues something else outside of hockey he will be successful. Best of luck to Jamie, Nicole and their four children.

Fireman Interns left to right, Ian Schultz, Kevin Young, Chad Costello & Jamie Schaafsma

- You know you have made it big when your hometown newspaper writes a feature story about your accomplishment. Such is the case with John Snowden coaching the Newfoundland Growlers to the Kelly Cup. John's hometown of Snohomish, Washington is a mere 4284 miles from St. John's, Newfoundland. A great read: https://www.heraldnet.com/sports/how-a-snohomish-product-won-a-pro-hockey-title-in-newfoundland/ 



DID YOU KNOW: Jamie Schaafsma made the championship finals in seven straight seasons playing for four different teams. He won a championship in Italy but will always be remembered for winning three straight championships with the Allen Americans. Jamie was the playoff MVP when Allen won their second CHL championship in 2014.  

Allen Americans Update - Protected List, Steve Martinson's Roster Comments, Kelly Cup Update, The Missing Kelly Cup, Patrick J. Kelly and More

After a drive of 1358 miles (one way) for a week of fishing in Ontario on an isolated lake off the famous Red Lake Road and the long trek back to Allen it is time for an Allen Americans update. The fishing trip was great as any time you can spend all day in a pristine environment with the sites and sounds of nature it is good for the soul. For the record our group of five caught 355 walleyes over the week along with some small-mouth bass, northern pike, muskie, perch and crappie. While each fisherman can only take four walleyes home we managed to eat around 120 walleyes using four different recipes. I hope I don't get to go on this fishing trip next year as it would mean a deep playoff run for the Allen Americans.


- You may have seen the Allen Americans protected list that was released yesterday. As a reminder there are three roster related lists that will be issued in June.

June 1st - Protected List (unlimited number of players)
June 15 - Season-Ending Roster (max 20 players)
June 30 - Qualifying Offers (max eight players)

Allen's protected list is more telling by who was not included. Since there is no down side to putting players on the list as there in no limit on the number of players that are included those that were omitted were given a clear message they will not be back in Allen. Here is Allen's protected list which totals 20 players.

Goalie
Lukas Hafner

Defensemen
Alex Breton
Ben Owen
David Makowski
Joel Chouinard
Duggie Lagrone
Josh Atkinson
Dalton Thrower
Mike Gunn
Curt Gogol

Forwards
Zach Pochiro
Braylon Shmyr
Riley Bourbonnais
Casey Pierro-Zabotel
Thomas Frazee
Spencer Asuchak
Jacob Doty
Gary Steffes
Chad Butcher
Alex Guptill


- Here are the protected lists for all ECHL teams:  https://www.echl.com/en/news/2019/6/echl-announces-2019-protected-lists


- Players on AHL/NHL deals cannot be protected (Josh Thrower, Chase Lang, Dante Salituro). The players that could have been protected by coach Martinson but were not are now free agents. Those players include:

Adam Miller
Alex Ranger
Mitch Maloney
Malcolm Gould
Kevin Sundher
Etienne Boutet


- Of the 20 players on the protected list the next step is making the season ending list which will come out on June 15. While all of the players on the protected list could be on the season ending list because it can have a max of 20 players I expect there will be less than 20 players on the season ending list when it is released. The bottom line is many of the players on the protected list will not return next season.


- I had a chance to sit down with coach Martinson yesterday and he shared the following about the recruiting process for the 2019-20 season.

The discussion with the Wild about the players that will be assigned to Allen have gone very well. There will be significantly more players under contract with the Wild assigned to the Americans than last season. While Martinson did not mention a number I could see as many as 10 AHL contracted players in Allen next season.

Coach Martinson has been working with the Wild identifying players that could be recruited as depth players for Iowa and top players for Allen. The Wild will then offer two way contracts to these players.

Martinson has not started talking to the Allen veterans from last season and won't start this process until he has a better idea of who will get assigned to the Americans by the Wild. He will then fill in the gaps using the four veteran slots he has available for the final roster.

 It is too early to talk to players coming of AHL deals but that will be another source of recruitment later in the summer.

With Manchester folding all of their non AHL/NHL contracted players became free agents and can sign with any ECHL team when signing begins on June 16th. Manchester has some good young players that will be highly recruited by coaches across the ECHL. Another potential recruiting source for coach Martinson.


- If you haven't been following Allen defenseman Josh Atkinson since the end of the Americans season he has been on quite a ride. Josh was loaned to the Chicago Wolves and played in their last regular season game. He is on Chicago's playoff roster and played in the first playoff game against Grand Rapids. He is still with the team as they are now in the finals of the Calder Cup. While it is unlikely Josh will get in another game unless there are injuries he could become a Calder Cup champion. Chicago is facing Charlotte in the finals and the series is tied 1-1with the next three games in Chicago. Hopefully Atkinson will get an AHL deal for next season.


- Other players from last season that could get AHL deals include Alex Breton, Riley Bourbonnais, Braylon Shmyr and Dante Salituro. Hopefully Iowa would be interested in some of these players and they could be assigned to Allen. Last season Breton spent time with Belleville and Springfield, Bourbonnais was with Iowa and Shmyr spent time with Springfield and San Antonio. Salituro is coming off a three year NHL deal with the Minnesota Wild. All of these players are free agents as it pertains to the AHL and can sign with any team.


- Another unknown is which players from the 2018-19 roster are pursuing deals in Europe. There is little doubt that some of them will head overseas. Etienne Boutet, Alex Ranger and C.J. Motte have already signed to play in Europe next season. More will follow.


- Newfoundland has a chance tonight to win the Kelly Cup. After taking a 3-1 series lead before losing game five in Toledo the Growlers have two chances to get the fourth win at home. The Newfoundland Growlers are the story of the playoffs. A first year team affiliated with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Marlies, the Growlers had their head coach (Ryane Clowe) step down in January for medical reasons. Assistant coach John Snowden, who played in Allen, was named the new head coach. Newfoundland won the North Division easily but struggled at the end of the regular season losing nine of their last 14 games. The Growlers won the first round of the playoffs against Brampton 4-2 but three of the wins came in overtime. Newfoundland improved each round and by the time they took on the favored Florida Everblades in the Eastern Conference Finals they were playing their best hockey. Newfoundland went to Florida to start the series and beat the Everblades twice and the series was essentially decided. It ended up going five games but the Growlers were dominate. Now in the finals, Newfoundland has a 3-2 series lead over Toledo and the odds of the Growlers winning the Kelly Cup are about 80% depending on the data you use. In NHL history, according to the website whowins.com, in the finals the team with a 3-2 lead wins game six about 60% of the time and wins the series 80% of the time.


- I know this is old news at this point but I couldn't help but notice all of the information on social media pertaining to the Colorado Eagles refusal to return the Kelly Cup to the ECHL. Apparently there is some dispute over the exit fees charged to the Eagles for leaving the ECHL for the AHL. The league was forced to create a new Kelly Cup that will be presented to Newfoundland or Toldeo. Since the Cup is presented to the ECHL champion by Mr Kelly who was the first commissioner of the ECHL and is going strong at 83 years of age it is disrespectful to Patrick Kelly and poor form by Colorado to not give up the trophy over some financial squabbles. C'MON MAN!



DID YOU KNOW:  From the start of the ECHL in 1988-89 to 1995-96 the playoff champion was awarded the Riley Cup. Beginning in the 1996-97 season the Patrick J. Kelly Cup is awarded to the ECHL champion. Named in recognition of Patrick J. Kelly, one of the founding fathers of the league and the ECHL Commissioner for the first eight seasons before being named Commissioner Emeritus in 1996. Kelly just celebrated his 66th season in hockey. It is interesting that it is the Colorado Eagles that are refusing to return the Kelly Cup as Kelly was the coach of the Colorado Rockies (NHL) in 1977-78 and is the only coach to lead the Rockies to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The franchise was moved to Colorado from Kansas City (Scouts) after being in Kansas City from 1974-76. The Rockies were in Colorado from 1976-82 and were then moved to New Jersey where they became the New Jersey Devils.