Allen Adds Three Skill Players to Roster, Corey Mackin Player Profile and Allen's Assistant Coaches

 

Today is the day the remaining five ECHL teams (Cincinnati, Fort Wayne, Idaho, Kalamazoo, Toledo) that have not officially declared their plans for the 2020-21 season have to make a decision if they will start play on January 5. I have heard there has been a request to extend the November 30 deadline to give the teams more time so that is a possibility. I read some of the North Division teams asked for an extension of time beyond November 30 before they decided to opt out and were denied so you would think the Board of Governors would be consistent. However, there are some powerful franchises in these final five so you never know what will be decided and many are betting an extension of time will be granted.

 Should hear something by the end of the day.

 

- The Allen Americans are moving full speed ahead with three more players added to the roster yesterday. Matt Register and Tyler Sheehy were assigned to Allen by the Iowa Wild. Having Register, the three time ECHL Defenseman of the Year back in Allen for the beginning of the season along with Sheehy, the ECHL Rookie of the Year and MVP runner-up last season will be huge for the Americans. The third roster change yesterday was the addition of forward Corey Mackin, a free agent who had signed with the Reading Royals before they opted out for the season. Here is the Allen press release announcing the changes:  https://allenamericans.com/news/press-release/americans-add-to-training-camp-roster/

 

COREY MACKIN 

- Corey Mackin has played in 70 ECHL games, all for the Reading Royals and has 52 points (21G, 31A). The 25 year old 168 pound 5'8" forward played college hockey at Ferris State University where he was teammates with Allen co-captain Jared VanWormer. When researching Mackin you can see many similarities with VanWormer. Mackin is a tireless worker that plays hard every shift at both ends of the ice. He is a natural leader who was captain of his college team as a junior and senior. 

Corey played two years of junior hockey in Canada (BCHL) before heading the Ferris State.. His second year in the BCHL tells you the type of player Allen is getting in Mackin. He had 104 points (50G, 54A) in 58 games with just eight penalty minutes. He had 12 power play goals, nine shorthanded goals and five game winning goals. He was a BCHL First Team All-Star, BCHL Player of the Year, and the league's top scorer. He was a finalist for the BCHL Most Sportsmanlike Player honor.

Mackin has made great strides since turning pro as evidenced by the fact he has 21 goals in 70 games but 19 of those 21 goals came in his last 49 games. Coach Martinson has set high expectations for Corey saying he is capable of being a 30 goals scorer over a full ECHL season.

Mackin's brother, Fran, is the Assistant Director of a sports complex in Massachusetts with three sheets of ice. Corey spent this summer working at the complex. He coached, helped out with clinics and had all the ice time he needed. 

I saw this quote from Mackin about his expectations going into the 2020-21 season, "There is definitely more improvement to be made. I've got to be more consistent. I've got to be ready right away. It can't be too slow of a start. I have to worry about the details of what I picked up last year." 

Here is a video interview from Corey's days in college which gives you a good idea of were he is from and what he is all about:

 

 

THE ROSTER

Here is the updated roster which now totals two goalies, six defensemen and 14 forwards. Still more changes to come this week. More AHL contracted players will be assigned and two or three tryout players will be announced.

Goalies

#31 C.J. Motte

#39 Chris Nell

 

Defensemen

#4 Turner Ottenbreit

#14 Les Lancaster

#20 Ben Carroll

#23 Cole Fraser

#25 Nolan Kneen

#43 Matt Register

 

Forwards

#9 Braylon Shmyr

#10 Corey Durocher

#15 Corey Mackin

#17 Jared Van Wormer

#18 Colton Heffley

#19 Alex Lavoie

#21 Jared Bethune

#22 Tyler Sheehy

#26 Spencer Asuchak

#27 Zane Franklin

#40 Josh Lammon

#44 Olivier Archambault 

#47 Patrick Watling

#71 Dyson Stevenson 

OTHER COMMENTS

- There will have to be some changes in the role Allen's assistant coach, Jason Deitsch, plays in the 2020-21 season given the fact his full time job is a first responder as a McKinney fireman. With the ECHL COVID-19 protocols, these two jobs don't mix. Coach Martinson will have some additional help coaching from Aaron Johnson who played in 291 NHL games over eight seasons. He also has 429 AHL games played on his resume. I will share more info on the role of the coaches in a future blog. 

-  Here is a good article that lays out many of the issues the AHL is dealing with as they plan their return to play for the 2020-21 season. Needless to say, the AHL fate is closely tied to what the NHL decides to do: https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/ahl-leaning-nhl-ahead-uncertain-season-questions-aplenty/

   

 

DID YOU KNOW: Facts about three players on the 2020-21 Allen roster concerning all time stats. Some very skilled players that will be big contributors this season when they are in the Americans lineup. If any of these three spend most of the season in Allen they could crack the top 10 all time in points. 

Olivier Archambault - is #48 all time in games played (66) but #24 all time in points (85) and has averaged 1.288 points per game.

Alex Lavoie - is #61 all time in games played (60) but #26 all time in points (76) and has averaged 1.267 points per game. 

Tyler Sheehy - is #95 all time in games played (47) but #28 all time in points (70) and has averaged 1.489 points per game.