It has been awhile since I have written an update on the Allen Americans. I want to start by going back to the Q & A session Steve Martinson conducted at the Allen Event Center 10 days ago and then cover a few assorted topics.
I have said many times in the past, Allen Americans fans should never pass up the opportunity to attend a question and answer session with Allen coach and general manager Steve Martinson. Whether it is a post game Q & A, a personal appearance or his annual recruiting update as it was a week ago Saturday; the unvarnished, off the record, tell it like it is Steve Martinson is always entertaining and informative. Fans got their money's worth hearing about everything from emergency surgery Martinson had in August where six inches of his small intestine had to be removed to some surprise player announcements to insights on Allen players that will be attending various hockey camps (Minnesota Wild, Iowa Wild, San Antonio Rampage, Toronto Marlies).
- The highlight of the Q & A session was intended to be the planned announcement that three time ECHL Defenseman of the Year and three time Kelly Cup champion, Matt Register is returning to Allen for the 2019-20 season. It will be Register's third stint with the Americans. Matt spent part of the 2011-12 season with Allen (22 games) and was part of the Americans 2015-16 Kelly Cup championship (13 regular season and 23 playoff games).
- There are a lot of stats you can cite to show Register's impact but the one that best says what he brings to the ice is the fact he has been in the Kelly Cup finals the last four seasons with three different teams and won three of the four. If you look at ECHL playoff games over the last five seasons Matt is #1 in games (110), assists (65) and points (89). Here is the press release with the details about Register: https://allenamericans.com/matt-register-returns-americans-add-4-key-parts-to-roster-today/
- The Register announcement turned out to be just the beginning as by the end of the session, to everyone's surprise, coach Martinson had shared three additional player signings including returning defenseman Josh Atkinson, veteran forward Shawn O'Donnell and defenseman Turner Ottenbreit.
Josh Atkinson - Last season Atkinson was #2 among Allen's regular defensemen in points per game, #1 in penalty minutes, #3 in assists and #1 in plus/minus. At the end of the season Josh was loaned to Chicago (AHL) and spent the Calder Cup playoffs with the Wolves. Chicago lost in the Calder Cup finals to the Charlotte Checkers.
Turner Ottenbriet - Turner is a hard-nosed defenseman starting his second pro season. He played for the Utah Grizzlies last season and had 23 points (11G, 12A) in 58 games. His dad, Grant, also played pro hockey and Martinson shared they had fought each other back in the day. Here is the press release issued by the Americans on Turner Ottenbreit: https://allenamericans.com/americans-add-offensive-punch-on-the-blue-line-with-the-addition-of-turner-ottenbreit/
Shawn O'Donnell - Shawn adds veteran experience at forward to the Americans with almost 300 professional games, most (188) at the AHL level. Here is the press release issued by the Americans on O'Donnell: https://allenamericans.com/americans-add-experience-up-front-with-addition-of-shawn-odonnell/
- Here is how coach Martinson described the three new players he has signed for the 2019-20 season:
"The best thing about signing Matt Register is I won't have to watch him score game winning goals against us this season like he did those years in Colorado. He just makes the big play for his team when you need it. He knows how to get it done in the playoffs and I am excited to have him back."
"Ottenbreit is a big, physical defenseman who had 11 goals in Utah last season. He was under contract with Colorado. He is going to the Traverse City tournament.
"O'Donnell is a point a game guy in the ECHL with a lot of AHL experience. I expect Shawn will be a key player for us. He is a greasy, skilled. right shot center.
- The Americans official roster now stands at 14 players. Martinson shared at the Q & A he has signed 10 forwards, six defensemen and two goalies and this doesn't include any players that will be assigned by the Wild. Here are the 14 players that have been officially announced by the Allen Americans:
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)
*Shawn O'Donnell - seventh pro season, 188 AHL games
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
Josh Atkinson - fourth pro season, 3 AHL games
Turner Ottenbreit - second pro season, 4 AHL games
Ben Owen - second pro season, 0 AHL games
*Matt Register - ninth pro season, 11 AHL games
Goalies
Jake Paterson - fifth pro season, 10 AHL games
Evan Weninger - first pro season, 0 AHL games
*Veterans
- Former Allen Americans Casey Pierro-Zabotel and Miles Liberati signed with new teams this past week. Casey will play for Adirondack and Miles will play for Tulsa.
- The Minnesota Wild prospects have dropped their first two games at the prospect tournament in Traverse City losing to the Dallas Stars prospects 2-1 on Friday and 3-2 in overtime to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. The Wild play the New York Ranger prospects today (Monday 1:30 pm CDT). The games are live streamed for free at Fox Sports Go. Here are the game recaps: https://www.iowawild.com/news/detail/the-wild-wire-2019-nhl-prospects-tournament-blog
- I had a chance to talk to Steve Martinson yesterday. Martinson and assistant coach Jason Deitsch are in Traverse City watching the prospect tournament and meeting with Wild management and staff. Current Allen players (Turner Ottenbriet & Jordan Topping plus one player that hasn't been announced by Allen) have acquitted themselves quite well. Alex Breton, who signed with Iowa in the off season, has had a lot of ice time in both games and was on the #1 power play unit.
- There are several Allen players in the hunt to be signed by Iowa depending on how they perform at the Wild training camps over the next couple of weeks.
DID YOU KNOW: Here are the top 10 players in ECHL career points (regular season) that have played at least one game for the Allen Americans. The number of ECHL games each player played for Allen is in parentheses. Over the last 10 seasons, Casey's career points (504) is ranked #1 in the ECHL and Chad's career points (489) is ranked #2:
504 points - Casey Pierro Zabotel (138)
489 points - Chad Costello (216)
487 points - Mathieu Aubin (48)
319 points - Matt Register (35)
273 points - Tyler Barnes (11)
269 points - Adam Miller (62)
263 points - Jack Combs (32)
258 points - Tristan King (61)
246 points - Judd Blackwater (49)
235 points - Justin Bowers (49)
Hopefully it's Tyler Sheehy. Could use a non vet center. With all the blue line Iowa is going to send down it'd be silly to sign the 2 unsigned defense guys (or the unsigned goalie).
ReplyDeleteI forgot to ask at the Q&A, but what's the deal with Kayle Doetzel? I remember seeing that he was transferred to Allen in the Dalton Thrower trade, but nothing since.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update on the Prospects Tournament. Little to no information on the NHL website or AHL sites.
ReplyDeleteLooks like the Wild prospects got whitewashed.
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