Allen Americans Update, Current Roster, Steve Martinson Q&A on Saturday and More

It is down to one month and counting until ECHL training camps open. The number of players announced around the league has surpassed 300 ranging from three by Kalamazoo to 19 by Fort Wayne.

 
- 20 of the 26 ECHL teams have announced 10 or more players. As a reminder, there will be a total 575-600 players on opening day rosters.


- It is important to remember two factors that impact the number of player announcements. Some teams/coaches don't like to make these announcements while they are in the middle of recruiting. There are many good reasons not to show your hand to other teams and players who you have signed. The flip side is player announcements are seen as a way to build enthusiasm in the off season and it helps the sales and marketing staffs.


- The second factor impacting the number of player announcements is the trend of more NHL/AHL contracted players being assigned to ECHL teams. You can expect to see 10+ contracted players on some ECHL rosters this season. Teams with fewer than 10 players announced thus far (Allen, Jacksonville, Kalamazoo, Newfoundland, Tulsa, Wheeling) may be teams expecting a lot of help from their AHL/NHL affiliates.


- The Americans official roster now stands at eight players. There are still as many as 10 more players signed by coach Martinson but not yet announced. Just a guess but I wouldn't be surprised to hear some "off the record" names at the Martinson Q&A on Saturday (see below). Here is the current roster with the number of professional seasons and number of AHL games played. 

Forwards
Spencer Asuchak - seventh pro season, 60 AHL games
Jacob Doty - sixth pro season, 71 AHL games
Gabriel Gagne - fourth pro season, 154 AHL games
Mike Hedden - 11th pro season, 210 AHL games, 155 DEL games (top German league)
Jason Salvaggio - second pro season, 4 AHL games
Braylon Shmyr - second pro season, 3 AHL games
Jordan Topping - second pro season, 0 AHL games

Defensemen
Ben Owen - second pro season, 0 AHL games



- The Minnesota Wild have announced the roster that will take part in the NHL Prospect Tournament in Traverse City, Michigan from September 6-9. The only player from the Allen Americans announced roster that will be participating is Jordan Topping. Iowa signed players who spent time in Allen last season that will be at the prospects tournament are Alex Breton, Nick Boka and Jack Sadek. Here is a link to the press release issued by the Minnesota Wild with the complete roster and the schedule. The first game of the tournament pits Minnesota against the Dallas Stars prospects. Steve Martinson will attend the tournament to watch the prospects, many of which will be assigned to Allen this season. He also plans to spend some time at the Minnesota Wild's main training camp:  https://www.nhl.com/wild/news/traverse-city-prospect-tournament-082719/c-308688104
 


-  The Allen Americans are having an open house on Saturday (August 31) from 11:00 - 2:00. You don't want to miss the Q&A with Steve Martinson which will be at 11:00. I talked to coach Martinson this morning and he is very excited about the team he has put together for the upcoming season and the affiliation relationship that has evolved with the Wild organization. It is perfect timing for an update on the 2019-20 season from the coach. Come armed with your questions as this will be a must attend Q&A session. Martinson also shared with me they will be announcing a marquee player at the event on Saturday.


- While Martinson is pretty much done with recruiting for the upcoming season he is still working on what players will be attending the Minnesota Wild main training camp. In addition Allen players will be attending AHL camps with the Iowa Wild, San Antonio Rampage and Toronto Marlies. Another good question for the coach on Saturday is which players will be going to all of these camps.


-  The Americans announced last week they will play just one preseason game. On October 4th, Allen will be in Kansas City to play the Mavericks. I would assume there will be some opportunity for fans to see the team at home in some manner like an inter-squad game but nothing has been announced thus far. Here is the press release issued by the Americans about the preseason game in Kansas City:  https://allenamericans.com/americans-announce-preseason-game-in-kansas-city/


-  It was announced yesterday that Dante Salituro, who led Allen in points (61) and assists (39) last season has signed with the Indy Fuel. My reporting is Salituro felt he would be better positioned for loans to AHL teams by playing in Indy. Dante is a free agent when it comes to AHL teams.


- Former Allen goalie Joel Rumpel has returned to North America for the 2019-20 season after playing in Scotland last season. Joel, who was recently married, has signed with the Norfolk Admirals (ECHL).


- Nothing new to report on the sale of the team other than there is interest and things are progressing. Might be a good question for someone to ask on Saturday. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.



DID YOU KNOW: Getting off to a good start will be so important for the Americans this season. Last season Allen lost 25 of their first 31 games and were out of the playoff picture by Thanksgiving.     

Player Announcements, Allen Roster, Dream List of Returnees Fading, ECHL Commissioner Interview, Allen's Undisciplined Penalties and More

It is now just 44 days before ECHL teams can take the ice for the start of training camp (September 27). The Allen Americans have fallen behind the rest of the ECHL in player announcements. Allen has officially announced just five players. Only three teams (Kalamazoo, Jacksonville, Tulsa) have announced fewer.


- 15 of the 27 ECHL teams have announced 10 or more players led by Maine (17) and Fort Wayne (15). The total players announced this far is now at 250 which is less than half the 575-600 players that will be on opening day rosters.


- It is important to remember two factors that impact the number of player announcements. Some teams/coaches don't like to make these announcements while they are in the middle of recruiting. There are many good reasons not to show your hand to other teams and players who you have signed. The flip side is player announcements are seen as a way to build enthusiasm in the off season and it helps the sales and marketing staffs.


- The second factor impacting the number of player annoucements is the trend of more NHL/AHL contracted players being assigned to ECHL teams. This impacts how many players ECHL teams will sign. You can expect to see 10+ contracted players on many ECHL rosters this season. Some of this can be attributed to the new rule adopted by the ECHL Board of Governors (BOG) about the number of games contracted players must play in the AHL to qualify for the ECHL playoffs. For players that are not veterans who are on AHL deals there is no longer a minimum number of AHL games they need to play to be eligible for the ECHL playoffs. The old rules required five games in the AHL. This rule change should mean more depth players signed to AHL deals that may not play in any AHL games but will still be eligible for ECHL playoffs. The trendsetter last season was Toronto who had 15 contracted players assigned to ECHL Kelly Cup champion, Newfoundland Growlers.


- The Americans official roster still stands at five players. Allen recently traded defenseman Dalton Thrower has to Jacksonville for defenseman Kayle Doetzel. While I am sure coach Martinson would not make this trade without knowing Doetzel would sign, there has been no official announcement he has signed. Here is the current roster:

Forwards
Spencer Asuchak
Mike Hedden
Jacob Doty
Braylon Shmyr

Defensemen
Ben Owen


-  While only five players have been officially announced coach Martinson is very busy on several fronts. While he has more players already signed he is close on several others that will be impact players for the Americans. He is also working with Iowa to sign depth players that will split time between Iowa and Allen. In addition he is lining up slots for AHL training camps (more than one team) where Martinson can give players he has signed an opportunity to show what they can do at the next level. He is also identifying who he will send to the NHL Prospects Tournament in Traverse City to play with the Minnesota Wild team.


- Nothing new to report on the sale of the Allen Americans other then the effort is progressing and there is interest in buying the team. If a deal is to get done it should happen in the next month or so.


- A few former Allen Americans signed with new teams this past week:

Chris Crane - Chris finished last season with the Toledo Walleye and just signed with the Wichita Thunder.
Jaynen Rissling - Jaynen played in England last season and just signed with the South Carolina Stingrays.
Kyle Neuber - Kyle most recently played in Australia and just signed with the Florida Everblades.


- A while back I included the list below of names I hear from fans they would like to see return to Allen. Here is my take on all of these players as of today:

Chad Costello - signed with Krefeld (Germany)
Jamie Schaafsma - nothing official but it appears Jamie will not play in 2019-20
Matt Register - still unsigned, supposedly talking to several teams including Allen
Dyson Stevenson - signed with Utica (AHL)
Colby MacAuley- unofficial, signed with Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL)
Greger Hanson - retired
Gary Steffes - nothing official but appears he will once again play a fill in role as needed for Allen
Bryan Moore - signed with Cleveland (AHL)
Olivier Archambault - officially unsigned but have heard he has signed a deal with an AHL team
Riley Gill - nothing official but Riley is still trying to get healthy and will not play
Casey Pierro-Zabotel - unsigned, still a chance he could return to Allen
Dante Salituro - nothing official but have heard he is signing with another ECHL team


- Wild.com's Dan Meyer finished his series of interviews with the Wild affiliated coaches last week with an interview with Minnesota Wild coach Bruce Boudreau. There is a link in this story to Dan's interviews with Allen coach Steve Martinson and Iowa coach Tim Army if you missed them:  https://www.nhl.com/wild/news/coach-catchup-bruce-boudreau-080819/c-308474138


-  Here is an interview written by Andrew Zadarnowski with ECHL Commissioner Ryan Crelin that covers ECHL expansion and getting to a three tiered system (NHL/AHL/ECHL) but read Crelin's answer to the question asked about whether the fact Toronto had 15 contracted players in Newfoundland last season created a competitive imbalance. https://www.habseyesontheprize.com/2019/8/11/20798589/echl-commissioner-ryan-crelin-interview-expansion-trois-rivieres-montreal-canadiens-leafs-growlers



DID YOU KNOW: Of the many issues Allen had last season, the number of undisciplined penalties certainly stands out and needs to change in 2019-20. Here are a few examples:

Minor Penalties - Allen led the league with 423 minor penalties. In contrast, the Kelly Cup champion, Newfoundland Growlers, took 298 minor penalties.

10 Minute Misconduct Penalties - Allen led the ECHL with 23, Newfoundland had four and the Reading Royals had one.

Game Misconduct Penalties - Allen led the league with 30. Rapid City had 20, Idaho 13 and Orlando 12. No other ECHL team reached double digits in game misconduct penalties.

Match Penalties - Allen led the league with seven match penalties. No other team had more than four. 12 teams had zero match penalties and another nine had just one.  
      

Allen Americans Weekly Update

A couple of big picture items are top of mind this week while Allen Americans fans are awaiting  more player announcements.

- Minnesota Wild:  The Wild fired general manager Paul Fenton this week and that is always unsettling when your affiliate goes through a change especially at this point in preparing for next season. Fenton was only on the job for 14 months. Assistant General Manager, Tom Kurvers has been named as interim GM while a search is underway for Fenton's replacement. Coach Martinson deals with Kurvers a lot because as assistant GM one of his duties is to be the GM for the Iowa Wild. It remains to be seen what, if any, impact the changes will have on the Americans. Iowa is in the process of recruiting/signing depth players for their team who will be assigned to the Americans. Here is a story from the Minneapolis Star and Tribune about the situation with the Wild.  http://www.startribune.com/wild-general-manager-paul-fenton-fired-by-owner-craig-leipold/513393392/


- Allen Americans Sale: Nothing specific to report on the sale of the team other than my reporting is several groups are interested in buying the team and are in the process of doing their due diligence. Remember, owner Jack Gulati has said if the team isn't sold prior to the start of the season he will remove the franchise from sale to focus on competing in the 2019-20 season.


- The Americans official roster now stands at six players with the announcement last week that defenseman Dalton Thrower has been traded to Jacksonville for defenseman Kayle Doetzel. Here is the press release on the trade: https://allenamericans.com/americans-and-jacksonville-swap-defensemen/


1. Spencer Asuchak
2. Ben Owen
3. Mike Hedden
4. Jacob Doty
5. Braylon Shmyr
6. Kayle Doetzel


- There have been rumors all summer that former Allen Americans defenseman and three time ECHL Defenseman of the Year, Matt Register, would not return to Toledo. That was confirmed yesterday in a story written by Mark Monroe of the Toledo Blade where Toledo coach, Dan Watson, said Register would not be returning to Toledo. It also says in the story Register is "reportedly in talks with ECHL teams Idaho and Allen." Here is a link to Monroe's story: https://www.toledoblade.com/sports/walleye/2019/08/02/decorated-defenseman-matt-register-will-not-return-to-the-toledo-walleye/stories/20190802188


- I had a chance to talk to coach Martinson this morning and there are a lot of moving pieces going on right now. He is signing players himself, helping in signing depth guys for Iowa, identifying rookies to attend the Traverse City tournament, and identifying players that will attend Iowa's training camp. While there is a lot accomplished there is still work to be done. If all goes as planned, the Americans should have some exciting announcements next week.


- The number of player announcements around the ECHL continues to accelerate with an average of 8-10 players being announced each day. The total is now over 200 ranging from 16 by Maine to zero by Kalamazoo. The majority of teams have announced between six and ten players. At the start of the season there will be somewhere between 575-600 players on ECHL rosters so there is still a long way to go. It should be noted there are a lot of players signed but not announced by all ECHL teams.


- Dan Myers, Digital Content Coordinator for the Minnesota Wild is doing a series of interviews with the three head coaches in the Wild organization. He started with Allen coach Steve Martinson and it is a great interview. You will learn some new things about the Americans coach. Then Myers interviewed Iowa coach Tim Army. Yet to come is the interview with Minnesota Wild coach Bruce Boudreau. Here are the links to the stories.

Steve Martinson: https://www.nhl.com/wild/news/coach-catchup-steve-martinson-072919/c-308385666

Tim Army: https://www.nhl.com/wild/news/coach-catchup-tim-army-080119/c-308413108


- I ran into Thomas Frazee this week and had a chance to talk to him briefly. He is thrilled that the Atlanta Gladiators reached out to him and signed him to a contract for next season. The veteran's rehab from season ending knee surgery last season is going well and he is looking forward to playing for Atlanta, where he makes his off season home. Frazee went out of his way to say how much he enjoyed his time in Allen and mentioned the team, front office and fans. He is a real class act.


- You may have heard of stick handling expert Pavel Barber, who posts many videos. Here is one that is a shootout challenge between the pros vs the YouTube guys. The pros are Cam Atkinson who scored 41 goals for the Columbus Blue Jackets last season and former Allen Americans forward J.C. Campagna who had 35 goals for Fort Wayne. It is 18 minutes long but the chirping and the shootout moves are enjoyable. Campagna acquits himself very well.

- My ECHL Stats page had its one year anniversary this week but is still not known by most ECHL fans. Do me a favor and if you are on Twitter give me a follow (@EchlStats). If you are on Facebook go to the ECHL Stats & Information page and give it a like. Thanks!



DID YOU KNOW: This was my ECHL Stats post for today:
Scoring more than 110 points in a season has happened 26 times in ECHL history but 23 of the 26 took place prior to the turn of the century. Here are the three exceptions:

125 - Chad Costello, 2014-15, Allen Americans
122 - Chad Costello, 2016-17, Allen Americans
114 - Tyler Donati, 2009-10, Elmira Jackals

What the post today didn't include was Steve Martinson was the coach for all three of these achievements. Also, Chad Costello is one of only 12 players who have scored 120+ points in one ECHL season. Chad's 125 points in 2014-15 is #9 all-time and his 122 points in 2016-17 is #10 all-time. The eight players ahead of Costello on the single season point list all set their marks between 1989 -1996 during the high scoring years of pro hockey.