It is a big day of a big week for the Allen Americans as they get ready
to play their first game since last March. I decided to break the
season preview into two parts this year, starting today with the details on who
this team is and tomorrow I will talk about what they are all about. The
starting point is the opening day roster which is due to the league
office this afternoon. The following is what I think will be the opening
day roster.
Allen will start the season with two goalies, seven defensemen and 16 forwards. Here is the list in jersey order number. In parenthesis is the type of contract the players is on, where they played last season and their age. Those marked with * are rookies and those marked with ** are veterans:
Goalies
#31 - C.J. Motte (ECHL, Coventry Blaze, USA, 28)
#34 - Zach Sawchenko (AHL, San Jose Barracuda, CAN, 22)
Defensemen
#4 - Turner Ottenbreit (ECHL, Iowa Wild, CAN, 23)
#5 - Phil Beaulieu* (AHL, Northern Michigan University, USA, 25)
#14 - Les Lancaster (ECHL, Stockton Heat, USA, 25)
#20 - Ben Carroll* (ECHL, Allen Americans, CAN, 25)
#23 - Cole Fraser (ECHL, Allen Americans, CAN, 21)
#25 - Nolan Kneen* (ECHL, Saskatoon Blades, CAN, 21)
#43 - Matt Register** (AHL, Iowa Wild, CAN, 31)
Forwards
#8 - Joe Garreffa* (AHL, Ottawa 67's, CAN, 21)
#9 - Braylon Shmyr (ECHL, Guildford Flames, CAN, 23)
#10 - Corey Durocher (ECHL, Allen Americans, CAN, 28)
#11 - Kam Kielly* (AHL, University of Prince Edward Island, 23)
#15 - Corey Mackin (ECHL, Reading Royals, USA, 25)
#17 - Jared VanWormer (ECHL, Allen Americans, USA, 28)
#18 - Jake McGrew* (NHL, Spokane Chiefs, USA, 21)
#19 - Alex Lavoie (ECHL, Frisk Asker, CAN, 28)
#22 - Tyler Sheehy (AHL, Allen Americans, USA, 25)
#26 - Spencer Asuchak** (ECHL, Allen Americans, CAN, 29)
#27 - Sam Laberge (ECHL, Sorel-Tracy Eperviers, CAN, 23)
#29 - Jesse Mychan (AHL, Esbjerg Energy, CAN, 28)
#40 - Josh Lammon (ECHL, Allen Americans, USA, 25)
#44 - Zane Franklin* (ECHL, Kamloops Blazers, CAN, 21)
#71 - Dyson Stevenson** (ECHL, Utica Comets, CAN, 27)
#15 - Corey Mackin (ECHL, Reading Royals, USA, 25)
- There are 16 players from Canada and seven from the US on the roster. Here is a breakdown by state and province:
5 - Alberta
4 - Michigan
3 - Saskatchewan
3 - Ontario
2 - Minnesota
2 - British Columbia
2 - Quebec
1 - Prince Edward Island
1 - Pennsylvania
- Where did the players play their junior and or college hockey? As usual Steve Martinson has a lot of players from the WHL (Western Hockey League). Here is the list, keep in mind many players fall into more than one group, for example, play junior hockey and then go on to college hockey.
9 - played in the WHL (Western Hockey League)
7 - played in NCAA (US College)
5 - played in CIS/USports (Canadian College)
4 - played in NAHL (North American Hockey League)
3 - played in OHL (Ontario Hockey League)
3 - played in QMJHL (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League)
3 - played in USHL (United States Hockey League)
1 - played in BCHL (British Columbia Hockey League)
- Spencer Asuchak and Jared VanWormer will wear the "C" as co-captains this season but there are many players that have been captains in the past. Not sure this is a complete list but here are the players I found that were captains in junior, college or pro. Dyson Stevenson, Phil Beaulieu, Zane Franklin, Kameron Kielly, Samuel Laberge, Josh Lammon, Turner Ottenbreit and Tyler Sheehy. Another four or five players have worn an "A" in the past.
- There are seven rookies on the opening day roster and just three veterans but if you look at total professional games played it tells a slightly different story. Since just seven pro leagues in Europe count toward the 260 games before a player is designated as a vet the pro experience can be deceiving. Here are the five players with more than 300 professional games played when all pro leagues are included:
479 - Matt Register*
418 - Spencer Asuchak*
408 - Alex Lavoie
346 - Jesse Mychan
321 - Dyson Stevenson*
*meet ECHL definition of veteran
- Allen will start the season as one of the youngest teams in the league with an average age of 25. Only two teams (Wheeling and Orlando) are younger. The Americans average 190 pounds which is in the middle of the average of all of the teams.
- Winning breeds winning and knowing how to win championships is a key to success. There 18 players on the roster who have won championships in junior, college or pro hockey. Four players (Asuchak, Lavoie, Register, Stevenson) have won championships in Allen.
- Knowing how to win championships is exemplified by Allen coach Steve Martinson and his value to this team cannot be overstated. His 10 championships as a coach including four straight in Allen tells you all you need to know. Martinson enters the 2020-21 season with 1043 wins as a pro coach which is #2 all-time trailing only Scotty Bowman with 1244.
- Of the 17 non-rookies on the roster 13 have played in the AHL for a total of 365 games. Here are the players with 30+ AHL games played:
60 - Spencer Asuchak
42 - Dyson Stevenson
41 - Matt Register
33 - Turner Ottenbreit
31 - Sam Laberge
- In the NHL, more than 60% of players are left handed. How is the left shot vs right shot breakdown with the Allen Americans roster:
Goalies - 2 left, 0 right
Defensemen - 3 left, 4 right
Forwards - 7 left, 7 right
DID YOU KNOW: Some facts about players on the Allen roster:
C.J. Motte was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award (top collegiate player) 2014
Phil Beaulieu was the Defensive Player of the Year in his conference in college in 2019
Les Lancaster selected as Best Defensemen in his conference in college in 2017
Matt Register was selected his league's Best Defenseman in 2010, 2014, 2017, 2018
Spencer Asuchak won championships in Allen in 2014, 2015, 2016
Zane Franklin was selected the top forward in his league in 2014
Sam Laberge won his league's Humanitarian of the Year award in back to back years 2016, 2017
Josh Lammon was selected as the Best Defensive Forward in his conference in college in 2019
Alex Lavoie was selected as his pro league's Rookie of the Year in 2014
Cory Mackin was his league's MVP in 2015 and Rookie of the Year in 2016
Jesse Mychan was his league's most penalized player in 2011
Tyler Sheehy was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award (top collegiate player) 2017
Braylon Shmyr was his league's Most Sportmanlike Player in 2012
Jared VanWormer was his league's MVP in 2013
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