Allen Americans Update, Josh Winquist Heads to Slovakia, Signing Players Explained, Joel Chouinard Establishes Hockey Scholarship and More

 

It has been a busy 10 days for general manager, coach and player Chad Costello as he has lots of  pucks in the air at the same time. Here is a recap of some of Costello's activities in the last 10 days:

• June 13 - Outstanding future considerations trades were settled. Forward Gavin Gould went to South Carolina as the future consideration that brought forward Colby McAuley to Allen and defenseman Phil Beaulieu went to Worcester as the future consideration that brought defenseman Nick Albano to Allen. The impact of these future consideration trades won't be fully known until it is determined if McAuley and Albano sign with Allen for 2022-23. 

• June 15 - Allen's season ending roster was submitted with the maximum of 20 players for which Allen has their rights. Luke Peressini, Nick Albano, Ben Carroll, Kris Myllari, Darian Skeoch, Nolan Kneen, Jake Kearley, Andrew Jarvis, Eric Roy, Corey Durocher, Chad Butcher, Josh Winquist, Branden Troock, Justin Young, Colby McAuley, Jackson Leppard, Jared Bethune, J.D. Dudek, Zach Hall, Kelly Bent. 

• June 16 - First day to sign players for 2022-23. Costello has until June 30 to sign as many players as possible off the season ending roster. He can retain the rights to a maximum of eight unsigned players beyond June 30 by giving them a qualifying offer which requires a 5% pay increase from last season.
   

 - General Manager Costello has been in contact with all of the players on the season ending roster. Thus far Branden Troock and Josh Winquist have signed in Europe. They have joined a long list of top ECHL players that will play in Slovakia in 2022-23. There are several other players talking to AHL teams and European teams or both. There is no doubt some more players will go to Europe and a couple may get AHL deals.

 

- A couple of players conspicuously absent from the season ending roster are Spencer Asuchak and Jack Combs. I interpret that to the fact that Costello already knows they will both be in Allen so no need to protect them. They are also veterans and can eventually become free agents, even if unsigned and given a qualifying offer.

 

- The only player that has been signed and announced is Jackson Leppard who scored 35 points (20G, 15A) and had 61 penalty minutes as a rookie last season. Coach Costello looks for Leppard to have a bigger role next season with a lot of upside.

 

- Costello has several other players, both new and returning, already signed, but as in the past, the team will string out the announcements over the summer. Costello did tell me he has enough players signed that he will be able to protect all the players he wants to have back with his eight qualifying offers.

 

- What is already known is Costello will have to replace the offensive production of himself, Brandon Troock and Josh Winquist. The three of them combined for 70 goals in 140 games last season. The good news is Costello has been talking to some high end offensive players (young players and veterans) and is encouraged about getting them to sign in Allen.

 

- As stated above, Allen traded the rights to Gavin Gould to South Carolina for the rights to Colby McAuley at the trade deadline (March 31). Gould had a season ending knee surgery and didn't play after January 22. McAuley played a key role as Allen fought to make the playoffs the last weekend of the season. I have said all along this would be a great trade if Allen could sign Colby McAuley for 2022-23. I have heard from several sources Colby is one of the players looking to play in Europe next season. 

 

- Recruitment is a full time job this time of year but Costello has plenty of other to do items on his plate. He is still working on identifying coaches to help him. The most important is an assistant coach and he hopes to have that position filled soon. 

 

- The other big action item that takes time is finding a NHL/AHL affiliate. The agreement with Seattle was for one year and they are one of several teams Costello has talked to, but nothing is imminent on the affiliation front.

 

- Between now and June 30 you might see players from the season ending roster be announced as going to Europe and maybe being signed by AHL teams though that will likely be later. And a reminder, players that have already signed to return to Allen will not be on the qualified list so when you see the list on the 30th it is always a guessing game whether the missing players are already signed or are now free agents. 

 

- Here is a diagram created by Andrew Zadarnowski which does a great job of showing the complete process of signing players. If you are on Twitter, Andrew is a great follow (@AZadarski):

 

-  There is no time to rest for Costello because he spends his weekends playing in the new six team professional 3-on-3 hockey league, 3ICE. He was in Las Vegas last weekend and had a tough start. His team, which is known as Team Trottier or the Blue Team, played the first game in the tournament so no time to adjust to all of the unique rules. Two eight minute running time halves with the winner advancing. Chad's team got beat 5-0 and was done for the tournament after one game. I heard some teams got together to practice and others had to get fill-ins because of visa issues with some of the Canadian players. This weekend the tournament is in Denver and Chad's team will play the second of three first round games against the Red Team (Team Carbonneau). Former Allen players J.C. Campagna and Jeremy Brodeur play for the Red Team. You can watch all of the action live on CBS Sports Network which is carried by most cable and streaming services. The action starts at 4:00 pm CDT on Saturday. Chad mentioned to me a side benefit of playing in the league is his ability to network and recruit.    

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- A couple of former Allen Americans are headed in different directions for the 2022-23 season. Olivier Archambault is leaving the Trois-Riviéres Lions (ECHL) to play in Italy. Archambault was the Lion's second leading scorer last season with 54 points (19G, 35A) in 51 games. Going in the opposite direction is Alex Breton who just signed with Trois-Riviéres after playing the last two seasons in Slovakia. Breton was the 2020 ECHL Defenseman of the Year when he played in Allen.

 

- I had a chance to talk to former Allen captain Joel Chouinard yesterday about a scholarship fund he created which is run through the Allen Americans Red Lamp Foundation. Joel is now President of his own financial services company and came up with the idea to help young hockey players in need. Yesterday, along with Allen coach Chad Costello, Joel presented checks to the first scholarship recipients. Here is how it all started in Joel's own words:

 

Last year, as I started my first season as an assistant coach for a local travel team, I realized how expensive hockey was down south. I grew up playing hockey in Canada. Don’t get me wrong, it was still a huge expense for my parents and not all my friends were fortunate like I was, but it was nothing compared to how it is now. Kids who play travel hockey in the south have to travel all over the country to play other programs and get good exposure. Unfortunately, that makes hockey a very cost prohibitive sport.  It is with that in mind that we started this award. To help elite young athletes pursue their dreams of playing hockey at higher levels.

Brooklyn and Keaton will both be playing for the Dallas Stars Elite AAA program this year, a top-ranked Tier 1 program in the country.

Good luck to both of you!!

And special thank you to Ana Gonzalez, the Allen Americans Professional Hockey Club and of course, all of our donors. Without you, this would not have been possible!!

-Here is the presentation and recap put out by the Allen Americans. Congrats to Joel and the Allen Americans.

 

 

 As today marks the 50th Anniversary of Title IX, the Allen Americans Red Lamp Foundation would like to recognize Brooklyn Japp (Dallas Stars Elite 16U AAA) and Keaton Martin (Dallas Stars Elite 14U AAA) on being awarded the Red Lamp Foundation - Rising Star Award for their exemplary work ethic both on and off the ice. Thank you to Americans Alumni Joel Chouinard, whose bright vision created this scholarship program, and to those who donated towards this great cause of helping young athletes pursue their dream of playing hockey at higher levels. 

 

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: The Allen Americans regular season record since they won the first championship in 2013:

 

2021-22:  35-28-8-1
2020-21:  45-23-3-1
2019-20:  40-14-6-2
2018-19:  25-41-4-2
2017-18:  35-29-6-2
2016-17:  40-17-4-2
*2015-16:  41-24-3-4
*2014-15:  48-14-6-4
*2013-14:  39-22-1-4
*2012-13:  39-18-4-5

TOTAL   396-30-45-27

*won championship

 

A Look Back at Allen's Last Championship, Six Years Ago Today, With Chad Costello and Aaron Gens

 

I thought today would be a good day to take a trip down memory lane as the Allen Americans transition from coach Steve Martinson to coach Chad Costello. Today is the sixth anniversary of Allen's last championship, which they won at home on June 9, 2016.  It was the fourth straight championship for Martinson and the second straight Kelly Cup for Costello, who had quite a season. 

 

- Here is a recap of the 2015-16 season for Chad Costello:

• Scored 103 regular season points and won the ECHL scoring title by 23 points
• Won ECHL regular season MVP Award
• Won Kelly Cup Playoff MVP Award
• Set ECHL all-time record for assists in one playoff year (29)
• Set ECHL all-time record for assists in final series (10)
• Quarterbacked Allen's playoff power play to a league leading 27.7% including 32.7% at home
  

-  You can easily argue Allen's 2016 championship was the best of the four straight between 2013 and 2016. It was hard to see it coming based on the Americans regular season performance. Here are some facts:

• Allen's 2015-16 regular season points percentage was just .618 on a record of (41-24-3-4). That was the lowest points percentage of any of the Americans championship seasons. 
• Allen didn't even win its division in 2015-16, finishing 20 points behind first place Missouri who had a .757 points percentage.
• Allen finished the regular season losing six of the last 11 games.
  
• Allen's .618 points percentage in 2015-16 was ranked tied for fifth best in the ECHL but was sixth with the tiebreaker. Teams that finish that low in regular season points percentage rarely win the Kelly Cup.

 

- Here are the Kelly Cup champions since 2005 with their regular season finish in parenthesis. Anyone who says once you get in the playoffs anything can happen hasn't looked at ECHL history. Most seasons 16 teams make the playoffs but the lowest to win the Kelly Cup was #7.

• 2022 - Toledo finished #1 and Florida finished #3 
• 2021 - Fort Wayne (5th)
• 2020 - No Playoffs
• 2019 - Newfoundland  (3rd)
• 2018 - Colorado (4th)
• 2017 - Colorado (3rd)
• 2016 - Allen (6th)
• 2015 - Allen (2nd)
• 2014 - Alaska (1st)
• 2013 - Reading (2nd)
• 2012 - Florida (7th)
• 2011 - Alaska (1st)
• 2010 - Cincinnati (5th)
• 2009 - South Carolina (4th)
•  2008 - Cincinnati (1st)
• 2007 - Idaho (6th)
• 2006 - Alaska (1st)
• 2005 - Trenton (4th)    

 - Allen was no better than the fourth seed in the Western Conference when the 2016 Kelly Cup playoffs began. Missouri was the heavy favorite having won the Brabham Cup as the best regular season team by a wide margin (.757 to .688). In addition to Missouri both Fort Wayne (#2) and Colorado (#3) were seeded higher than Allen.

 

- The Americans almost didn't make it out of the first round, playing fifth seeded Idaho. The Steelheads got off to a terrible start but by the end of the season were one of the best teams in the division. Idaho's record the last three months of the season was 19-6-3-2. The series was tied 2-2 when Allen got blown out 7-1 in game five in Idaho. The Americans returned home to the Allen Event Center and won game six 4-2 to set up a crucial game seven. Allen prevailed in game seven but it took a third period power play goal (David Makowski) to tie the score and an overtime goal by Tristan King to advance to the second round. 

 

- Round two saw Allen face Missouri, the #1 team in the league and the Americans long time rival from the CHL days. To add more drama, the Mavericks were coached by Richard Matvichuk who had won championships with Allen as the assistant coach. Allen won the series 4-2 with the final game being a 5-1 win on the road. That was the famous "poogate" game when the Mavericks put stinkbait in the Allen locker room and elicited this quote from Steve Martinson after the 5-1 win that eliminated Missouri, "Don't put gas on the fire unless you want a bigger fire." 

 

- After eliminating the #1 seed in the second round pretty handily, you could see the Americans gaining confidence as they moved to the third round (Conference Finals). Allen was once again the underdog as it took on Midwest Division champions and #2 seed Fort Wayne who had just dispatched Utah 4-0. Allen scored 21 goals in five games against Fort Wayne to win the series 4-1. Fort Wayne's captain was former Allen captain Jamie Schaafsma, who won two championships with the Allen Americans. 

 

- Allen made the Kelly Cup finals and took on another team that was not expected to make through the playoffs. The Wheeling Nailers were the #5 seed in the Eastern Conference and beat the #2 seed (South Carolina) in the Conference finals.

 

- Allen beat Wheeling in six games to win the Kelly Cup but it was not an easy series for the Americans. Here is a recap:

• Game 1 - Allen gave up a shorthanded goal and two power play goals to Wheeling, but managed to to score five goals including two power play goals to win the game 5-3.
• Game 2 - Allen trailed 7-1 at the end of the second period which included an empty net goal as Allen pulled the goalie late in the period when on a power play. The Americans scored five third period goals to close the gap but lost 7-6. With the series tied 1-1 the teams headed to Wheeling for three games.
• Game 3 - Allen gave up the first goal of the game (second period) and could never get a lead. The Americans tied the score 1-1 (Gary Steffes) and 2-2 (Greger Hanson) but eventually lost the game 3-2.
• Game 4 - It was Allen's turn to score first (Gary Steffes) in a game that wasn't decided until Eric Roy scored an empty net goal with 34 seconds remaining. Allen won 4-2 to tie the series 2-2.
• Game 5 - This turned out to be the turning point of the series. With the score tied 2-2 after regulation time on goals by Chad Costello and Vincent Arseneau, the Americans won the game just 17 seconds into overtime on a goal by Greger Hanson. Allen headed back to the Allen Event Center with a 3-2 series lead.
• Game 6 - It was a unique Kelly Cup clinching game for the Americans. Three power play goals (Tristan King, Greger Hanson, Eric Roy) all assisted by Chad Costello and an empty net goal (Gary Steffes led to a 4-2 Allen win and a second Kelly Cup. Allen was outshot 44-27 in the game but Riley Gill was the difference maker stopping 42 of 44 shots for a .955 save percentage.

 

- There is little doubt in my mind Allen would not have made it through the 2016 playoffs or even past the first round had it not been for the experience the team gained from winning the Kelly Cup the year before. The Americans didn't have a great regular season and had to go through a team playing well at the end of the season (Idaho), the #1 seed and Brabham Cup winner (Missouri) and the #2 seed (Fort Wayne) just to get to the Kelly Cup finals. What Allen had going for it was 10 players that had won the Kelly Cup in 2015 and a coach with nine championships to his credit. Those 10 players were:

• Vincent Arseneau
• Spencer Asuchak
• Chad Costello
• Aaron Gens
  
• Riley Gill
• Greger Hanson
• Joel Rumpel
  
• Gary Steffes
• Dyson Stevenson
• Casey Pierro-Zabotel   

- Allen had plenty of help from rookies in the playoffs, especially on defense. Eric Roy had 21 points and trailed only Costello (38 points) and Hanson (23 points) in playoff points. Other rookie defensemen in 2016 were Rick Pinkston, Jordan Rowley and Thomas Carr. If you remember Aaron Gens was out with a broken ankle and didn't play until the last game of the third round, David Makowski broke his thumb and missed the final series and Rick Pinkston missed most of the second and third rounds. Carr and Rowley really stepped up during the the playoffs after just graduating from college.

- The 2016 championship saw several players make the all-time ECHL record list.

• #1 assists in one playoff year, Chad Costello (29)
• #1 assists in final series, Chad Costello (10)
• #2 most points in one playoff year, Chad Costello (36)
• #3 most points in final series, Chad Costello (13) 
• #4 most goal in final series, Gary Steffes (6)
• #7 most goals in one playoff year, Greger Hanson (15)

 

- I had a chance to talk to Chad Costello and Aaron Gens about the 2016 championship and it was quite the experience. Gens spent most of the playoffs watching from the sidelines as he was trying to rehab from an injury just to get back in the lineup. I am always amazed at the detail players remember about games played six years ago. I got mesmerized in just listening to them talk about the 2016 playoffs and what the team went through. Here are a few of their thoughts and some specific plays they brought up that were key. 

• "I thought Idaho was the best team in the division at the end of the season."
• "The hit Vincent Arseneau put one of Idaho's defenseman in game one of the series set the tone."
• "It is so important to get past the first round of the playoffs, it is only then that you know what you have."
• "We really put it to Missouri in the second round of the playoffs. Our team just had the belief we were the better team. Once everyone in the locker room buys into that belief we were hard to beat."
  
• "Fort Wayne tried to play us very physical and we killed them on the power play. In our wins in games one, four and five were were 7-15 (47%) on the power play."
• "After the loss in game two of the finals at home the entire locker room knew we were going to win the series. We were trailing 7-1 after the second period and scored five third period goals to lose 7-6. That loss gave us more momentum than a win."
•  Game five of the final series was key as Allen gave up a late third period goal to send the game to overtime. Allen won the game 17 seconds into overtime on a Greger Hanson goal. Chad and Aaron described that goal in so much detail it was hard to believe. From the faceoff win to the pass to the goal to what was said by Martinson after the game. They knew every step of the play, where on the ice every player was, the accuracy of the passes, the type of shot, the position of the puck when Hanson hit it and exactly how it entered the net. 

 

- It is always fun to go back and relive the past especially a season as remarkable as 2016. I know this is much more detail than most are interested in but it was so enjoyable looking back at what in my opinion was an Allen team that over preformed to win the Kelly Cup. This video will bring back those memories and provide a vision for the future: https://youtu.be/4Lt211yYf7M

        

Allen Americans Update

 

I had a chance to sit down with Chad Costello to get an update on a variety of topics related to his transition from player to coach and his recruiting process for the 2022-23 season. My first question for Chad was what his bike was doing in his office? I know where he lives and as a bike rider myself, a 20+ mile commute from his home to his office is not easy. Turns out Chad's dad and brother are serious off road bikers so the skill runs in his family. 

 

- Allen released its protected list this week. It is the first step in the establishing the Americans roster for 2022-23. The protected list is comprised of every player that Allen holds the rights to, based on the ECHL criteria and there is no maximum number of players that can be on the list. Here are the 34 players on Allen's protected list. This list doesn't tell you much since it is everyone that Allen could but on the list (except Costello himself).

Luke Peressini, Nick Albano, Ben Carroll, Kris Myllari, Darian Skeoch, Nolan Kneen, Jake Kearley, Philip Beaulieu, Andrew Jarvis, Eric Roy, Miles Liberati, Sam Ruopp, Lester Lancaster, Will Lochead, Turner Ottenbreit, Corey Durocher, Chad Butcher, Josh Winquist, Branden Troock, Justin Young, Colby McAuley, Spencer Asuchak, Jack Combs, Jackson Leppard, Jared Bethune, J.D. Dudek, Gavin Gould, Zach Hall, Kelly Bent, Josh Lammon, Scott Conway.

 

- Next up on the critical dates list is settling the outstanding future considerations deals, which have to be completed by a week from Monday (June 13th). You can expect to see a lot of activity on the transactions list next week as these deals get completed all around the ECHL. The ECHL is like most pro sports when it comes to the trade deadline, teams in the playoffs or battling for the playoffs become buyers while teams with no chance of the playoffs become sellers. Kansas City and Wichita were sellers who traded top players for futures which will turn into players for next season. Buyers included Florida who added top scorers from other teams to help in the playoffs. Allen was also a buyer, adding Josh Winquist and Colby McAuley (among others) down the stretch. Winquist was Allen's leading scorer in March with 12 goals in 12 games (no other player had more than seven). Winquist also led the Americans in plus/minus (+8) in March. Winquist had four game winning goals down the stretch including two in overtime. After McAuley was acquired right at the trade deadline he played in nine games between the regular season and the playoffs and had eight points (5G, 3A). Colby had a goal and assist in each of the last two regular season games when the playoffs were still in doubt. You can certainly make the argument Allen would not have made the playoffs with out the acquisition of Winquist and McAuley.

 

- Future consideration trades can run the gamut from a set amount of money, to a specific player, to picking from a fixed number of players, to a mutually agreed upon player or any combination of these. It is also important to remember the terms of a future considerations trade can change as long as both parties are in agreement. The number of players and names of players can change. The bottom line is general manager Costello will be busy this week satisfying his future consideration trades. 

 

- Costello has spent a lot of time on the phone talking to players to gauge their interest in returning to Allen. Chad said he has already talked to 90% of the players. Some players are a definite yes, some will come back to Allen if they don't go to Europe and some will return if they don't get an AHL deal. What Chad did tell me is he feels good about the number of players that are interested in Allen if they play in the ECHL. 

 

- There is nothing new to report on an NHL/AHL affiliation for the 2022-23 season. The Americans are reaching out to several NHL teams to try and find the right fit. It is hard to rush these things but it would sure be nice if Costello had a few AHL training camp spots to help recruit players from last season that are looking for AHL deals and also to help recruit new players. 

 

- Chad is also working on what his staff will look like for 2022-23. You can expect some changes to the existing staff and also some new additions in terms of roles and responsibilities. It is still a work in progress but decisions will be made soon. 

 

- Costello had a Zoom call with the league office last week to go over all of the paperwork, rules, regulations, access to information and deadlines he has to deal with as the coach and general manager. He told me the league office was very welcoming and answered all of the many questions he had put together.

 

- Costello is also looking into some changes in the locker room that will help the players as the rehab from injuries, warmup and help in their development. He is also looking into adopting some of the training approaches he saw in Europe where training plans and activities are individualized and monitored.           

 

- A week from Thursday (June 16) is the first day to sign players to contracts for 2022-23 season. Costello already has some informal agreements with players but they won't be finalized until the 16th. Allen typically spaces out player signings over the summer, but with a new coach I would expect the Americans will try to make a big splash with some early signing announcements.

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- The ECHL will have its summer meeting in Las Vegas June 28-30. The Board of Governors (BOG) usually meet just before the meeting. Sometimes rule changes and/or franchise changes are considered at these BOG meetings. Will have to see if there is a heads up on agenda items.

 

- The ECHL Defenseman of the Year, Charle-Edourad D'Astous of the Utah Grizzlies has followed in the footsteps of his predecessors, Les Lancaster and Alex Breton who moved to Europe after winning the Defenseman of the Year Award. As a defenseman, D'Astous just set the all time record for goals scored in a single playoff season with 19 goals in 18 games. You can only imagine what the record would be if Utah had made the Kelly Cup finals. D'Astous just signed to play in Finland next season and will be playing in the same league as Lancaster.

 

- D'Astous is one of many top players from the Mountain Divsion that will not return in 2022-23. Here is a few examples of leading scorers not returning. The annual exodus to Europe is just beginning:

• Chad Costello, Allen, retired (72 points)
• Jay Dickman, Wichita, signed in Slovakia (58 points)
• Darik Angeli, Kansas City, traded to Florida for future considerations (65 points)

 

- There are just six individuals that have their names etched on the Kelly Cup three times and only four of them were players all three time. Two of the four are Riley Gill and Matt Register. In addition, 45 individuals have their name on the Kelly Cup twice. Ten of the 45 to have their names engraved twice were part of Allen’s back-to-back championship teams in 2015 and 2016: head coach Steve Martinson, as well as players Vincent Arseneau, Spencer Asuchak, Chad Costello, Aaron Gens, Riley Gill, Greger Hanson, Joel Rumpel, Gary Steffes, and Dyson Stevenson.

- Some former Allen players are on the move for the 2022-23 season:

• Alex Lavoie - from Sweden to Denmark
• Josh Atkinson - from Hungary to Germany
• Braylon Shmyr - from Scotland to Germany
• C.J. Motte - from England to USA (Iowa)
• Evan Weninger - from Slovakia to France

DID YOU KNOW: The ECHL stats post for today is about how many games it has taken in the Kelly Cup finals to determine a winner. Allen won 4-3 over South Carolina in 2015 and 4-2 over Wheeling in 2016. Incidentally, six years ago today on June 4, 2016, Allen took a 3-2 series lead over Wheeling when the Americans won on the road in overtime. Greger Hanson scored the game winner just 17 seconds into the overtime period. 

 

The Kelly Cup finals pit two #1 division teams, Toledo #1 in the Central Division against Florida #1 in the South Division. It should be a great series but history says it is unlikely to go seven games. Here is a breakdown of how many games it took to crown a champion in the 31 best-of-seven finals series in ECHL history. There is an 84% chance this series will be decided in fewer than seven games:

 

4-0: 4 times (12.9%)

4-1: 14 times (45.2%)

4-2: 8 times (25.8%)

4-3: 5 times (16.1%)