It is getaway day for the Allen Americans as they head out this afternoon on the first road trip of the season where they will play Wichita on Friday and Kansas City on Saturday. It will be plenty of bus time for the guys to bond. The team will practice this morning (11:15 am) and leave this afternoon (2:30 pm) on the 365 mile trip to Wichita. After the game tomorrow night against the Thunder the Americans will jump on the bus for the 200 mile trip to Kansas City arriving around 2:30 am Saturday. After playing the Mavericks on Saturday night it will be back on the bus for the 475 mile trip back to Allen arriving Sunday morning.
- The month of November will be telling for Allen with nine of 11 games on the road. The schedule includes a three game series in Rapid City (November 17, 19, 20) and a three game series in Idaho (November 24, 26, 27). Luckily the team will be flying to these destinations. The only home games this month will be November 13 (Kansas City) and 14 (Wichita).
- The team had a very good practice yesterday. That is not just my opinion but what I heard in talking to players and the coaches after practice. Goalie Antoine Bibeau, who played only two games while in Charlotte looks ready to go. His GAA in his two AHL games was 1.93 and his save percentage was .918.
- Look for some different line combinations on this road trip and the power play will be tweaked with Eric Roy expected back in the lineup.
- The practice this morning will be a light one and not very long (45 minutes). Coach Martinson will spend some time working on the power play and as always, breakouts and entering the offensive zone drills.
- All healthy players are expected to make the road trip. Nolan Kneen and possibly one of the forwards will stay home.
- I know it is no surprise to most Allen fans but one of the things that has always impressed me in talking to Steve Martinson almost everyday is the amount of time he spends in his role as the team's general manager. There are so many details regarding housing, travel, immigration, salaries, budget and logistics that consume Martinson's time. But first among equals is the time he spends trying to improve the team. It is a case where if you stand still you will go backwards and it may be more true this season with a new affiliation that is not expected to have a lot of contract players assigned. You combine that with the team's slow start and you can be assured Martinson is working hard as the coach to improve on the ice but also working hard off the ice as the general manager to improve the team.
OTHER COMMENTS
- The Mountain Division is the closest division in the ECHL based on early season results. Wichita is off to a poor start (1-3) with its only win the 7-0 shutout in Allen on opening night. Other than Wichita's .250 points percentage, the other six teams in the division have points percentages between .500 and .667.
- The Mountain Division is in a typical position with the leading scorer in the league (Yauheni Aksaintsiuk, Idaho), the top scoring defensemen (Charle-Edouard D'Astous, Utah) and the leader in penalty minutes (Mikael Robidoux, Kansas City).
- Scoring first has not been the advantage so far this season as it has been in the past. Usually across the ECHL, the teams that score first have a points percentage around .750. Currently the teams that score first have a record of 31-14-4-1 for a points percentage of .670.
- The per diem allowance when the team is in travel status this season is $48 per day, broken down to $10 for breakfast if in travel status prior to 10:00 am, $14 for lunch if in travel status prior to 1:30 pm and $24 for dinner if in travel status prior to 7:00 pm. FYI, if promoted to the AHL, in addition to more salary the per diem allowance is $81 per day.
- It is hard to compare scoring when you look at former Allen players who are playing in Europe because there is so much variance in the quality of the leagues. There are only seven European leagues that games count toward veteran status in the ECHL. The top pro leagues in Russia, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Slovakia and Czech Republic are considered the best leagues in Europe. Former Allen players that are playing in these top European leagues include Les Lancaster (Finland), Tyler Sheehy (Germany), Jason Fram (Russia), Konrad Abeltshauser (Germany), Stepan Falkovsky (Russia) and Alex Breton (Slovakia).
If you look at former Allen players with great starts and high point totals, they include Scott Conway (Northern Ireland) with 21 points (10G, 11A) in 12 games, Steve Owre (France) with 20 points (7G, 13A) in 15 games and Kale Kerbashian (Denmark) with 13 points (10G, 3A) in 11 games.
DID YOU KNOW: The Americans will be on the road most of the month of November. Allen has historically been an outstanding road team. In some seasons the road record has been about as good as the home record. In a couple of the early years including 2012-13 when Allen won its first championship it had a better road record than home record. The Americans were also 5-3 on the road in the playoffs in 2013.
2020-21: 19-16-1-0
2019-20: 18-7-4-2
2018-19: 10-21-3-2
2017-18: 11-13-0-1
2016-17: 24-9-2-1 (home record was 25-8-2-1)
2015-16: 19-14-1-2
2014-15: 24-8-1-3 (home record 24-6-5-1)
2013-14: 19-12-2 (home record 20-10-3)
2012-13: 20-8-5 (home record 19-10-4)
2011-12: 19-8-6
2010-11: 24-8-1 (home record 23-8-2)
2009-10: 19-12-1
It's nice to have a better goalie situation but the defense is still a big question mark moving forward.
ReplyDeleteJay, Per diem is negotiated between the league (owners) and the players association (PHPA). Over the five year term of the current contract, per diem has gone from $43 per day in 2018-19 to $48 this season. Next season (2022-23), the final year of the CBA, the per diem will be $50.
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