Allen traded co-captain Jared VanWormer to the Jacksonville IceMen yesterday for future considerations. The hardworking forward was acquired by Allen in a trade with Norfolk at the beginning of last season. He has played 57 games for the Americans and scored 38 points (23G, 15A). It has to be a difficult choice to trade a player that wears a "C" and is known for his hard work and always playing the game the right way. I am sure there are many factors that go into a trade like this. Coach Martinson has mentioned that after he was assigned all of the contracted players from San Jose and Iowa there was an abundance of wingers on the team who could play center but it wasn't their natural position. Martinson has also told me he expects additional wingers to be assigned by Iowa once the AHL gets going. Last week Martinson waived winger Corey Durocher and signed center Jake Gricius to address this position imbalance.
- Other factors Martinson would have to consider when making a trade like this is how does the player fit into the current lineup, what are the budget/salary cap considerations and are teams interested in trading for the player.
- As I mentioned yesterday there is no Christmas freeze on roster changes this season. With so many different scenarios coach Martinson has to plan for, there is no doubt additional changes will take place. Some NHL training camps start a week from tomorrow, talks on the AHL startup are underway, the deadline for players returning from Europe is 10 days away and there are still good AHL/ECHL level free agents still looking for jobs. It all spells change will continue on the Allen roster.
- COVID protocols are another issue ECHL teams deal with every day. So far eight ECHL teams have placed a total of 41 players on the Commissioner's Exempt List. Matt Harding from The Sin Bin recently interviewed ECHL Commissioner Ryan Crelin and included the discussion they had about the ECHL's COVID testing strategy in his Monday Headlines story. It is clear from Crelin's comments the league is doing everything they can to keep the players safe but it is also clear it is just a matter of time until all 13 teams currently playing will have players on the Commissioner's Exempt list. Here is a link to Matt's story: https://thesinbin.net/monday-headlines-week-2/
- The NHL announced a change to the offside rule yesterday so a player's skate doesn't have to be on the ice, as long as the skate is in the plane above the blue line the play is onside. Here is a story about the change with some interesting commentary: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/2020/12/22/22196378/nhl-changes-offside-rule-nhl-new-rule-for-offside-skate-breaking-the-plane-nhl-replay-review
- I saw some social media banter that gave me another perspective on what could possibly happen when the AHL training camps start up which is likely to be in the middle of January. I assumed because of NHL teams taking 4-6 players off their AHL affiliates roster to fill their "taxi squad" the AHL teams would turn around and recall all of their players that are currently assigned to ECHL teams. But another possibility is some AHL teams opt out of the 2020-21 season and need to find roster spots on AHL and ECHL teams that are playing for some of their players. It could be rather than losing the contracted players ECHL teams already have, additional contracted players will be assigned. This should all shake out over the next couple of weeks. It is clear many issues must be resolved before the AHL moves forward with their season. The biggest issue is how many of the teams will play and how many will opt out given the COVID restrictions where they play.
- How does this all relate to the Allen Americans who currently have eight NHL/AHL contracted players assigned? Depending on what happens with the AHL season start up, Allen could lose all or some of their contracted players or be assigned more contracted players. That is why Steve Martinson is playing chess right now, always looking three or four moves ahead.
DID YOU KNOW: Jared VanWormer is one of nine players that have worn the "C" as a captain in Allen. Only four played their last professional game with the Americans. Here is the captains list. Those with an asterisk played their last pro game as a member of the Allen Americans:
2019-21 - Spencer Asuchak, Jared VanWormer
2017-19 - Joel Chouinard*
2015-17 - Chad Costello, Gary Steffes*
2014-15 - Jamie Schaafsma
2013-14 - Mike Berube
2011-13 - Jason Deitsch*
2010-11 - Tobias Whelan*
2009-10 - Jarret Lukin
I can’t believe we traded Jared he was good for us am going miss him
ReplyDeleteI had the same exact thought. But we have to remember Marty knows the whole big picture of what he wants in a team...
Delete