It is the last day of the regular season and in the normal course of things the Allen Americans would be preparing to take on the Tulsa Oilers at home in the regular season finale. In my imagination the Americans would have already clinched the division title and the top seed in the Western Conference. Tulsa on the other hand needs a win to to edge out Rapid City for the final playoff spot. Allen wins my imaginary regular season final game 4-2 but it is a close game that is not decided until Tyler Sheehy scores an empty net goal with 24 seconds remaining in the game. The goal is Tyler's 30th of the season combined with an assist which gives him 84 points on the season and the ECHL scoring championship.
- Tomorrow (April 6) the playoff rosters would have been due and Allen's first playoff game would have been at home, probably this Friday. Most exciting is the AHL regular season would have concluded on Saturday (April 11) and Zach Sawchenko, Gabe Gagne, Jake Doty would be back in Allen with the hope Les Lancaster, Matt Register, Turner Ottenbreit or Mitch McLain could also join the team at some point. So much for woulda, coulda, shoulda. It reminds me of the saying that says, since most of us live in the past a description of the present sounds like the future to us. It's time for me to move on.
- If there is an advantage to the ECHL shortened season it is more time to recruit. Players can't be signed for the 2020-21 season until June 16 but recruiting is already in full swing. Coach Martinson is well on his way to executing his recruitment plan.
What is Steve Martinson's secret to recruiting? Have as many tools in your recruiting tool kit as possible. With the salary cap, competing based on salary is not the key to success as a player can always find a team willing to pay $50 or $100 more per week. The key to getting the best players is having other reasons to have them want to play for your team.
- In his eight seasons in Allen, Martinson has won four championships. In his 24 years as a coach he has won 10 championships. If a player signs in Allen there is a good chance they will get many additional weeks of pay if Allen makes a deep playoff run. That means a couple of extra months of lodging and playoff bonuses. This can total $10,000 - $15,000 more in compensation for a player over a team that does not make the playoffs.
- Here are some of the many tools Steve Martinson uses when making a pitch to players.
- You will play an upbeat, aggressive offensive system in Allen that is also dedicated to defensive hockey. Points you score in the ECHL won't keep you in the American Hockey League (AHL) but points will get you noticed. You have to be able to play without the puck and you have to understand the game and that is what we will help you with in Allen. With our system you will have plenty of opportunity to get points. We won't handcuff you in the third period with a lead. We will take less risks but we will keep our foot on the gas. If you want to play in a system where you can score a lot of points come to Allen.
- You will play in a great facility in the Allen Event Center which is surrounded by shopping and restaurants.
- You will play for a team that has a history of moving players to the AHL. In 2019-20, Allen had 15 players play games in Allen and the AHL. Our goal is to see you progress in your hockey career.
- While playing in the Dallas Metroplex you have access to whatever interests you may have including the Stars, Cowboys, Mavericks and Rangers. Playing where you have a major international airport makes it easier for you and your friends and family to travel in and out of DFW and for players to get to AHL cities quickly if called up.
- You will live in a place where you can play golf year around. Average high temperature during the hockey season is 79 in October, 66 in November, 57 in December, 55 in January, 61 in February, 69 in March, 77 in April and 84 in May. It is a great place to live whether your are single or married.
- If you like to fish there are plenty of opportunities within 30 minutes of your apartment. Fishing is great.
- You will be helped with whatever your post hockey career interests are through our intern program and you will be able to develop business contacts while you are still playing that will be useful after you retire. The DFW metroplex is a great place to build a post career network.
- There is a great fan base that supports the team and the players.
- Because Steve Martinson has been around minor pro hockey for so long he has a real advantage when it comes to recruiting. But even with the contacts he has developed over the years he spends many hours going over data to determine who to recruit. He has a couple of techniques that he uses to find those diamonds in the rough, players who have underperformed but will thrive in his system and players that have not been used in the right way on their current teams. It is no coincidence that each year there are players that come in and have a career year in Allen. Whether it is young guys or experienced players, they thrive in the Martinson system.
- Another issue the coach needs to be aware of is the veteran status of each player as the number of veterans on the team is limited to just four. A veteran is defined as a player with more than 260 regular season professional games. These are coveted spots that need to be used wisely.
Here is my opinion of how Martinson will approach recruitment for next season.
- Coach Martinson will have a base of corp players returning. The exodus to Europe may be impacted by the issues around COVID 19. Will that dampen the desire of players that want to go to Europe?Could some players that have been in Europe want to return to North America. You can bet Martinson will be checking.
- Players that are ready to sign immediately will be the top priority. Those that wait run the risk of other players being signed and a slot not being available or money not being available when they are ready to sign.
- Coach Martinson will strive to get as many players signed as quickly as possible. A good goal would be to have two lines, four defensemen and a goalie signed by June 30. That may be a bit ambitious but it is a good goal. A maximum of eight qualifying offers for players from last season must be given by June 30.
- With the average salary being about $680 per week ($13,300 divided by 20 players) finding good rookie players that make less than the average is critical as is getting as many contracted players as possible assigned by Iowa because they only cost $525 against the salary cap. By doing this you have money available to sign top end guys.
- If Martinson finds a good player at the right price they will get signed right away.
- With just four veteran slots available the decision on veterans will be a difficult one. As a reminder Alex Guptill and Olivier Archambault will be veterans for the first time next season.
- In my opinion Steve Martinson will once again recruit a team that will compete hard, be physical and be difficult to play against. The team will be tough but also skillful. He recruits guys that understand you must work hard, be in great shape, follow the system, be a team guy and finish checks. He builds his teams to have depth rather than a few super stars. You could argue the 2019-20 team was not as tough as past teams but remember he recruited Jake Doty, Turner Ottenbreit and Josh Atkinson who played a total of 20 games in Allen this season. They would have added skill and toughness to the mix. Based on their average penalty minutes per game these three would have added over 500 penalty minutes and a ton of toughness. When you consider the Americans finished with 745 penalty minutes in this shortened season you can see the difference.
- UPDATE: Here is an interview that Tommy Daniels just posted where he gets Coach Martinson's take on recruiting:
OTHER COMMENTS
- It was a big week for awards as Tyler Sheehy was selected to the ECHL All Rookie Team and the All-ECHL First Team. Joining Sheehy on the All-ECHL First Team is teammate Alex Breton. Here are interviews Tommy Daniels did with both players about their awards and the shortened season.
- Hopefully this is just the beginning of the awards for the Americans. Tyler Sheehy (Rookie of the Year), Alex Breton (Defenseman of the Year) and Steve Martinson (Coach of the Year) are all in contention with a good chance of winning based on their accomplishments. Sheehy led all rookies in scoring by 15 points (70 vs 55), Breton led all defensemen in scoring by nine points (55 vs 46) and Steve Martinson had one of the biggest turnarounds in ECHL history.
- I posted on my ECHL Stats page some info on the new seven minute overtime rule implemented in 2019-20. Here are more details comparing the seven minute overtime in 2019-20 to the five minute overtime in 2018-19:
The number of overtime games were about the same in 2019-20 (20.3%) and 2018-19 (20.6%).
The percentage of games ending in overtime was 77.8% in 2019-20 compared to 61.0% in 2018-19.
The percentage of games going to a shootout was 22.2% in 2019-20 compared to 39% in 2018-19.
25 games ended between the five and seven minute mark of overtime.
It is very clear the addition of two minutes of overtime had the desired effect of having more games decided in 3-on-3 overtime.
- The Allen Americans were a bit of an outlier from the ECHL in their overtime stats. Here are the Allen percentages:
33.9% of Allen's games (21) went to overtime
85.7% of games were ended in overtime with a record of 12-6
14.3% of games went to a shootout with a record 1-2
- I am sure most of you have seen the news release that the Professional Hockey Players' Association (PHPA) and ECHL developed a campaign to assist ECHL players and their families suffering financial hardship following the sudden and unexpected cancellation of the 2019-20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. If you are interested in contributing to this fund here is the link; https://secure.everyaction.com/zvs3RV0RpECCgn2ZJ8G1iQ2
- Steve Martinson finished the shortened season with with 40 wins which makes his career total 1043 wins. He ranks #2 on the all-time win list. He is now 201 wins behind #1, Scotty Bowman.
DID YOU KNOW: The last time Allen played on this day (April 5th) was in 2017. The team was getting ready to head into the playoffs with arguably the strongest team ever after Steve Martinson acquired Wade MacLeod, Tyler Barnes and Alex Krushelnyski at the trade deadline. That team was #2 in goals scored (294) and #2 in goals allowed (203) in the ECHL. On April 5th the Americans were playing Wichita in the final home game of the season. Allen won 7-0 with the goals being scored by Wade MacLeod (2), Mike Brodzinski (2), Chad Costello, Greger Hanson and Tyler Barnes. Allen went on to lose to the eventual Kelly Cup champion, Colorado Eagles, in the second round and missed out on a third straight Kelly Cup.
Has ownership tried to sign Coach Martinson to a contract for next year? It's my understanding that his current contract is about to expire. It would be criminal if Gulati doesn't get this done for the Allen Americans. IMHO
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