- It has been a week since ECHL players could be signed and undoubtedly many have been inked to a contract but announcements have been few and far between around the league. Just five or six ECHL teams have issued press releases on players that have signed for the 2020-21 season. You can expect the pace will quicken this week.
- The Allen Americans will make their first player announcement tomorrow (Tuesday). They were teasing the annoucment over the weekend and you can expect more teases today. The first player announced each season is always well received and that will certainly be the case tomorrow.
- It is still unknown when the 2020-21 ECHL schedule will be released as decisions will have to be made by the Board of Governors (BOG) on how to proceed. They will be meeting this week (virtual meeting) so it will be interesting to see what is made public after the meeting.
- As part of the BOG meeting the ECHL will announce the winners of 13 individual and team awards given to front office personnel. This will be live on Facebook on June 24th (Wednesday) at 3:00 pm CDT. Best of luck to Allen's two nominees, Ali Addikson for Sales Rookie of the Year and Tommy Daniels for Broadcaster of the Year.
- With the uncertainty about the start of the ECHL season many teams have not released their home schedules. Allen will obviously visit the other six Mountain Division teams (Idaho, Kansas City, Rapid City, Tulsa, Utah, Wichita). I did a quick search around the league to find teams that had released their home schedule and Allen was included. I was able to find 11 of the 36 road games:
Idaho - December 2, 4, 5 and January 6 & 8
Rapid City - November 11, 13, 14 and January 22 & 23
Cincinnati - January 17
Toledo - January 30 & 31
- The ECHL will have a new provider for televised streaming services when the season does begin. One can only hope with Neulion out, the cost and quality that the AHL and NHL enjoy will be available to ECHL fans. Stay tuned.
- For the many Allen Americans fans that are always wishing for the return of Chad Costello you probably noticed that the Costello's returned to the US from Germany this past week. From what I have read the league Chad played in (DEL) has been delayed until the end of October at the earliest, they typically start in August. It doesn't mean Chad won't return to Europe as other countries/leagues are planning to play as scheduled. I am sure coach Martinson is saving some money in case Costello decides he wants to stay in the US for the upcoming season. Unfortunately the situation in the ECHL is also very much unsettled.
- Tommy Daniels latest interview is with the Allen Americans Fan Club. This group does a lot to support the team. Take a look at the video for the details on what they do and how you can get involved:
DID YOU KNOW: I came across this stat recently and it is one of the most impressive in the record book. It is a page that shows the Kelly Cup playoff overtime records of all current ECHL teams. Allen is by far the best with a OT playoff record of 7-0 which includes 3-0 at home and 4-0 on the road. Here is the playoff overtime record of all current ECHL teams with a minimum of seven OT games.
7-0 - Allen
6-4 - Greenville
4-3 - Manchester
20-17 - Toledo
19-16 - Idaho
18-16 - Florida
18-16 - Cincinnati
15-13 -Wheeling
12-14 - Reading
9-11 - Fort Wayne
25-33 - South Carolina
6-13 - Atlanta
2-5 - Kalamazoo
3-13 - Utah
The news that the ECHL is changing streaming broadcasters is the best news...so far. Their customer service was non-existent and the quality of the broadcasts was mediocre at best. Having streamed the away package the last two seasons (and playoff away games the season before that), I can tell you how bad it was. I am one happy Americans fan just with seeing that news.
ReplyDeleteNow I am just waiting to see what is going to happen with the upcoming season...with so much still undecided, I am trying not to get my hopes up. I am concerned that if one of the pro sports leagues doesn't start playing soon, my worries about the ECHL having a season grows. NHL hockey, baseball, or football better start soon or we are going to end up without an ECHL season or an extremely shortened season...
Gilley - I too am waiting to see the what this season will look like. At this point, I am not getting a reassuring feeling from the organizations (Allen Americans or the ECHL)about the season coming off in a fashion that is safe for the fans. If we are to continue to social distance how in the world is that going to happen and what will it look like?
ReplyDeleteI received an email about renewing our season tickets. In the same email it was mentioned that the Board of Governors were to meet remotely due to the virus. Now, if they are concerned about having a few dozen people together what makes them think that you can fill an arena? Just sayin'.