The 100 day barrier before the start of the 2022-23 season will be broken this week and I had a chance to talk to Allen coach and general manager, Chad Costello before he headed off to Hershey, PA for his 3ICE tournament (more on that later) to get an update on all things Allen Americans.
- The announced signings increased to three this week as the Americans added Jared Bethune to the roster. Bethune played nine games in Allen in 2017-18 and three games in 2020-21 before before his breakout season in 2021-22 when he played 61 games and tallied 17 points (8G, 9A). When Allen was short defensemen last season Jared volunteered to go move to the blue line even though he had never played the position before. He did great and his versatility down the stretch playing both positions was a real asset for the Americans. Here is a scoop from coach Costello, "Jared played really well when he played defense last season. His training this summer, both on ice and off ice, is focused on primarily playing defense in the upcoming season."
- Here are the signed and announced players and the players who have been given qualifying offers:
- Signed and Announced
- Jackson Leppard
- Nick Albano
- Jared Bethune
- Seven players given qualifying offers
- Ben Carroll
- Kris Myllari
- Darian Skeoch
- Jake Kearley
- Chad Butcher
- Colby McAuley
- J.D.Dudek
- None of the players given qualifying offers have officially signed elsewhere (AHL or Europe) but I have heard from several sources that Butcher and McAuley have signed in Europe.
- The third group of players from last season you have to assume are already signed include the following list. If they are not signed they are free agents and can sign with any ECHL team. My guess is they will be back with the Americans:
- Spencer Asuchak
- Jack Combs
- Nolan Kneen
- Luke Peressini
- Justin Young
- Nothing new to report regarding an affiliation for the 2022-23 season. Coach Costello told me all of the NHL staffs were involved in the NHL draft this past week so nobody was interested in talking about affiliations. He is hoping progress can be made this week.
- You may have read or heard the rumor that Seattle will not return as the Allen affiliate for 2022-23. If you notice the recent press release issued by the Americans, they have dropped the sentence that says Allen is an affiliate of the Seattle Kraken. My understanding is Seattle will affiliate with another team in the Mountain Division.
- Getting AHL training camp spots, whether from a new affiliate or through contacts with other NHL/AHL teams will be critical in recruiting players to Allen. It will be a big hurdle for Costello to overcome in recruiting high end young players that are looking to move up to the AHL, if he doesn't have training camp spots to offer
3ICE
- If you haven't been watching or following the new 3-on-3 professional ice hockey league, 3ICE, it has taken summer hockey by storm. 3ICE is a nine stop summer touring circuit where six teams barnstorm to venues in the US and Canada playing a single elimination tournament every Saturday in about three hours. For this inaugural season the league has used a mix of NHL, AHL, college and junior arenas to see the best fit.
- Here is a lengthy story written by Sean Shapiro from The Athletic about 3ICE with many interesting details on the creation of the league, the business model, what it means for players and the future vision. A great read: https://theathletic.com/3397058/2022/07/05/three-on-three-summer-hockey-league-3ice-up-and-running-with-robust-prize-pool-tv-deals/
- The 3ICE rules guarantee nonstop action. Teams consist of six players and a goalie. Each game is two halves of eight minutes running time. Here are some of the rules that ensure a fast paced game of 3-on-3 hockey.
- All penalties are penalty shots
- If goalie freezes the puck it is a penalty
- Pucks going into the netting remain in play
- Only faceoffs are to start the game and the second half
- Once the puck is advanced over the red line there is an over and back rule like basketball
- No open ice checking (will still be puck battles)
- No video replay stoppages
- No overtime, directly to shootout
- The league is built on television revenue and sponsorships more than attendance with the game televised in over 180 countries including on CBS Sport Network in the US. The players in 3ICE are a mixture of minor-league players, some with NHL experience, and a few younger players who are recent college grads. There are a lot of players familiar to ECHL fans. The biggest names associated with 3ICE are the six coaches who are all NHL greats:
- Joe Mullen - Team Mullen/Yellow Team
- Bryan Trottier - Team Trottier/Blue Team
- Larry Murphy - Team Murphy/Green Team
- John Leclair - Team LeClair/Black Team
- Grant Fuhr - Team Fuhr/ White Team
- Guy Carbonneau - Team Carbonneau/ Red Team
- Last night was the halfway point of the eight week regular season. Team Mullen has won three of the four tournaments thus far, including last night. Chad Costello's team (Team Trottier) beat Team Mullen in the finals last week in Grand Rapids.
- The remaining regular season schedule:
- July 16 - London, Ontario (2:00 pm CDT)
- July 23 - Pittsburgh, PA (2:00 pm CDT)
- July 30 - Quebec City, Quebec (3:30 pm CDT)
- August 6 - Nashville, TN (4:30 pm CDT)
- 3ICE will finish its season with a championship tournament on August 20 (6:00 pm CDT) in Las Vegas. The top four teams advance to the championship and have a chance for a $127,000 payday which goes to each player on the championship team. My understanding is the championship weekend will be on the main CBS channel.
- Here is how Chad Costello's team has fared in the first four 3ICE tournaments:
Week 1 (Las Vegas) - It was an inauspicious start for Team Trottier as they played the first game in league history and lost 5-0. Just 16 minutes of hockey (2 eights minute halves) and they were done. Chad told me it was a tough loss but it was helpful to lose first thing and watch the rest of the tournament.
Week 2 (Denver) - Team Trottier made it to the finals and lost to Team Mullen
Week 3 (Grand Rapids) -Team Trottier won the tournament, beating Team Mullen in the finals.
Week 4 (Hershey) - Team Trottier unfortunately drew Team Mullen in the opening round and lost 4-2 so were eliminated right away.
After four weeks, Team Trottier is in second place in the six team league and has a good chance to make it to Las Vegas for the championship weekend.
- There are no fewer than seven players on 3ICE rosters that have played for the Allen Americans:
- #13 Chad Costello - Team Blue/Trottier
- #55 Jake Newton - Team Blue/Trottier
- #56 Jeremy Brodeur - Team Red/Carbonneau
- #9 J.C. Campagna - Team Red/ Carbonneau
- #19 Jack Combs - Team Black/LeClair
- #86 Corey Mackin - Team Black/ LeClair
- #10 Pete MacArthur - Team Yellow/Mullen
- Here is the full roster for each team that I received from the league. It shows up in black ink on the red background so may be difficult to read. You will notice many players have spent time in the ECHL. There are a few errors in the bios including the use of East Coast Hockey League instead of ECHL which 3ICE will change.
Team Red/Carbonneau
#56 Jeremy Brodeur (6-0, 185, 25 yrs) Essex Fells, NJ (Goalie), the son of Martin Brodeur, has over 11 years of goaltending experience, including three seasons with the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) where he became the franchise’s all-time leader in shutouts and won a championship in 2015. He later went on to spend four seasons in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) and another four in the American Hockey League (AHL).
#9 JC Campagna (6-4, 205, 28 yrs) Dallas, TX was a member of the OHL’s Sarina Sting where he spent two seasons before playing at St. Thomas University. He most recently played in the East Coast Hockey League where he has played 193 games and scored 138 points and over 11 seasons for nine different teams.
#16 Chris Connor (5-7, 175, 38 yrs) Westland, MI has played 15 seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) where he appeared in 731 games, and scored 559 points. Throughout his career, he also played nine seasons in the NHL with the Dallas Stars, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Detroit Red Wings, the Phoenix Coyotes, and the Washington Capitals, in which he played 180 games in total.
#4 Zach Goberis (6-0, 194, 24 yrs) Arvada, CO played three seasons in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) where he appeared in 165 games, scoring 144 points. More recently he spent two years at Adrian College, scoring 49 points in 53 games.
#11 Samson Mahbod (5-9, 165, 33 yrs) Montreal, PQ, Canada was selected 75th overall by the Gatineau Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) in 2005. After five seasons in the QMJHL, he played five seasons in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). Most recently, he has played over 10 seasons playing in various international leagues, including the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
#10 Tyler Nanne (5-10, 191, 26 yrs) Edina, MN was selected 142nd by the New York Rangers in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. In 2021, he played overseas for three seasons respectively at the Austria league with the Bratislava Capitals, in the SM-liga with the Sport Vaasa, and with Swe-1 with Bjorkloven IF.
#8 Aaron Palushaj (6-0, 188, 32 yrs) Livonia, MI was drafted 44th overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, played in four NHL seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes where he appeared in 68 games and scored 14 points. He also spent a number of seasons in the AHL and most recently played for HC Davos of the Hockey National League.
Team White/Fuhr
#3 Semus Donohue (6-0, 186, 26 yrs) North Oaks, MN spent a season with the British Columbia Hockey League and one with the North American Hockey League (NAHL) before spending three years at Michigan Tech where he played in 117 games and scored 48 points and two at St. Cloud State where he appeared in 66 games, scoring 25 points. Most recently he spent time with the East Coast Hockey League’s (ECHL) South Carolina Stingrays.
#22 Mitch Fossier (5-11, 174, 25) Alpharetta, GA played four seasons at the University of Maine. Most recently, he played overseas with Banska Bystrica HC 05 in the Slovak league, where he played 38 games and scored a total of 27 points.
#5 Peter Lenes (6-4, 165, 36 yrs) Shelburne, VT played four seasons in the ECHL, and was selected as an ECHL All-Star in 2009-10 with the Ontario Reign. Prior to that, he was an outstanding player at the University of Vermont for four years where he played in 148 games and scored 92 points. More recently, he spent three seasons with Kitzbuhel EC of the Alps Hockey League where he appeared in 83 games, scoring 99 points.
#39 Mike Lundin (6-2, 191, 37 yrs) Burnsville, MN was drafted 102nd overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. He played in over 250 games in six seasons in the NHL with the Lightning, Minnesota Wild and Ottawa Senators before joining the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) where he spent four seasons, appearing in 196 games and scoring 96 points.
#12 Ryan Malone (6-4, 219, 42 yrs) Pittsburgh, PA is a 10-year NHL veteran that was drafted 115th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. Over his time spent in the NHL, he has scored 370 points in 641 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning. More recently, he spent two seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL).
#20 Jeff Taffe (6-3, 215, 41 yrs) Hastings, MN was selected 30th overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. He spent nine seasons and played 180 games between six teams in the NHL, including 98 games with the Phoenix Coyotes and 53 with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He also played 13 seasons in the AHL and most recently, five seasons with various leagues overseas.
#31 Ryan Zapolski (6-0, 198, 35 yrs) Erie, PA (Goalie) spent four years at Mercyhurst College before joining the ECHL where he played six seasons. More recently, he went overseas for the last seven seasons, appearing in 306 games between Finland’s SM-liiga, the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and the Austrian League.
Team Black/LeClair
#19 Jack Combs (6-0, 201, 34 yrs) St. Louis, MO played five seasons with the Ontario Hockey League before playing in the ECHL where he played 11 seasons where he played a total of 280 games and scored 340 points. He also spent 5 seasons overseas playing for Sweden, Switzerland, and Germany.
#8 Brandon Hawkins (5-10, 198, 28 yrs) Macomb, MI played two years at Bowling Green and two years at Northeastern University before playing four seasons in the AHL and three seasons in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) where he has appeared in 146 games.
#17 TJ Hensick (5-10, 203, 36 yrs), Howell, MI was selected 88th overall by the Colorado Avalanche in 2005. He played four seasons in the NHL, appearing in 112 games and scoring 38 points. More recently, he spent 13 seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) where he has appeared in 653 games and the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) where he appeared in 169 games.
#23 Alex Kile (6-0, 194, 27 yrs), Troy, MI played at the University of Michigan before spending six seasons in the AHL where he appeared in 76 games and five seasons in the ECHL where he appeared in 205 games and scored 168 points.
#86 Corey Mackin (5-8, 167, 27 yrs) Philadelphia, PA played two seasons with the British Columbia Leagues before playing four years at Ferris State University. before playing three seasons in the ECHL. Most recently, he spent time in the ECHL and overseas, playing for Vita Hastten HC in the Sweden 1st Division.
#61 Dalton Skelly (5-10, 172, 26 yrs) Keller, TX Played three seasons in the North American Hockey League (NAHL) where he appeared in 106 games from 2014-16 and scored 48 points for three different teams before enrolling at Holy Cross College where he spent four years, playing in 116 games and scoring 34 points. After a brief stint in the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL), he most recently played in 51 games for the Wichita Thunder of the ECHL.
#85 Blake Weyrick (6-3, 200, 26 yrs) Malibu, CA (Goalie) played four seasons in the United States Hockey League (USHL) before Joining the Janesville Jets of the NAHL where played in 38 games and made 843 saves. He more recently spent two seasons at Canisius College and one at Lakehead University where he totaled 628 saves in 26 games.
Team Yellow/Mullen
#11 Tim Coffman (5-11, 176, 34 yrs) Elverson, PA spent five seasons in the ECHL where he scored 163 points in 169 games. He later went on to play four seasons in Switzerland's Swiss League where he scored 227 points in 176 games,
#28 Kevin Fitzgerald (6-0, 180, 25 yrs) Hinsdale, IL played in 138 games in four seasons in the North American Hockey League (NAHL), including 59 points in 60 games with the Aberdeen Wings in 2016-17 before playing five years at St. Cloud State where he scored 103 points in 163 games.
#10 Pete MacArthur (5-10, 180, 36 yrs) Clifton Park, NY played four years at Boston University before going to the AHL where he spent six seasons. He has also played five seasons overseas and seven in the ECHL, scoring 240 points in 265 games.
#7 Patrick Mullen (5-11, 186, 36 yrs) Boston, MA is the son of Joe Mullen, most recently played for UK’s Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) and started his career playing junior hockey for the Sioux Falls Stampede, which later led to him attending the University of Denver where he spent four years. Undrafted from college, he signed a two-year free agent contract with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings in 2009. He went on to play 10 seasons in the AHL where he appeared in 394 games before spending four seasons overseas.
#72 Tyler Murovich (5-9, 185, 32 yrs) Pittsburgh, PA is an 11-year ECHL veteran that also spent five seasons in the AHL, as well as three in the OHL. During his time in the ECHL, he appeared in 396 games and scored 221 points, while playing for six different teams.
#19 Jacob Theut (Goalie) (6-3, 190, 28 yrs) Washington, MI has played four seasons in the ECHL where he has played 44 games with three different teams.
#79 Joe Whitney (5-6, 165, 34 yrs) Reading, MA played two seasons with the NHL’s New Jersey Devils (2013-15). He also played 10 seasons in the AHL where he scored 311 points in 450 games for seven different teams. The last four seasons, he has spent time in the Swedish Hockey League, as well as in Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey League where he appeared in 87 games, scoring 83 points.
Team Green/Murphy
#12 Mark Auk (6-0, 194, 27 yrs), Grosse Point Park, MI played four seasons at Michigan Tech where he registered 84 points in 150 games and captured back-to-back WCHA championships in 2017 and 2018. He later spent four seasons in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) with three different teams, totaling 100 games and 56 points and most recently played with Denmark’s Odense Bulldogs, scoring 26 points in 42 games last season.
#96 Tim Davison (5-10, 183, 28 yrs) De Pere, WI spent four years at the University of Wisconsin before joining the ECHL where he scored 81 points in 154 games for four different teams in five seasons.
#7 Colton Hargrove (6-1,202, 29 yrs) Dallas, TX was selected 205th overall by the Boston Bruins in the 2012 NHL Entry draft. After playing three years at Western Michigan University, he played four seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL), scoring 113 points in 259 games. He most recently played two seasons in the Austrian League where he has scored 69 points in 92 games.
#27 Eamon McAdam (6-2, 185, 27 yrs) Doylestown, PA (Goalie) was selected 70th overall by the New York Islanders in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. After three years at Pennsylvania State University, he spent four seasons in the AHL and five seasons in the ECHL where he played in 113 games and had 3,096 saves.
#17 Griffen Molino (6-0, 185, 28 yrs), Trenton, MI played in one season with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. He also spent four seasons in the AHL and two seasons in the ECHL where he scored 59 points in 50 games with the Utah Grizzlies in 2019-20.
#19 Chris Mueller (5-11, 196, 36 yrs) West Seneca, NY played five seasons in the NHL between 2010 and 2015 where he saw action with the Nashville Predators, Dallas Stars and New York Rangers. He has also logged 15 seasons in the AHL, playing with a number of teams and winning two Calder Cups (Texas Stars 2014, Toronto Marlies 2018), as well as earning an All-Star appearance in 2012 as a member of the Milwaukee Admirals.
#47 John Schiavo (5-10, 181, 28 yrs) East Patchogue, NY has spent seven seasons in the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) where he has played in 192 games. He most recently played for Kansas City Monarchs of the ECHL, scoring 25 points in 51 games last season.
Team Blue/Trottier
#21 Cam Brown (5-7, 155, 29 yrs) Natick, MA played four years at the University of Maine before joining the Eastern Hockey League (ECHL) where he has played for four total seasons. He also played three seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) and most recently three seasons overseas in Denmark and Sweden.
#13 Chad Costello (5-9, 185, 35 yrs) Johnston, IA is a two-time ECHL Kelly Cup Champion and two-time league MVP, as he led the Allen Americans to titles in 2014-15 and 2015-16. During his eight seasons in the ECHL, he has played in 375 games and posted 576 points. Prior to his ECHL career, he played at Northeastern University and has since spent time in the AHL and Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey League.
#71 Sean Dhooge (5-3, 150, 23 yrs) Aurora, IL played three seasons and appeared in 102 games at the University of Wisconsin before transferring to Arizona State University where he played in 54 games.
#46 Bobby Farnham (5-10, 188, 33 yrs) North Andover, MA spent four seasons in the NHL, playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils and Montreal Canadiens. In 2015-16, he played in 50 games with the Devils. He has also played eight seasons in the AHL and most recently spent a season in the British Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL).
#1 Parker Milner (6-1, 187, 31 yrs) Pittsburgh, PA (Goalie) played four years at Boston College before joining the AHL where he spent seven seasons. He also has seven years of ECHL experience where he has appeared in 245 games.
#55 Jake Newton (6-3, 205, 33 yrs) San Jacinto, CA spent a year at Northeastern University before joining the AHL where he spent three seasons. In addition to his AHL experience, he played one season in the ECHL and most recently spent his last seven seasons overseas, including four years in Finland’s SM-liga where he has appeared in 140 games and scored 70 points.
#93 Colton Saucerman (5-8, 191, 30 yrs) has played seven seasons in the ECHL and six seasons in the AHL. More recently, he has spent time overseas playing for the Austrian and the Slovak league.
Taxi Squad
Pavel Barber
Matt Salhany (5-10, 179, 29 yrs) Warwick, RI played five seasons in the ECHL where he appeared in a total of 148 games with three different teams before joining Denmark League’s Soenderjyske where he has spent the last two seasons.
Tomas Sholl (6-0, 180, 27 yrs) Hermosa Beach, CA (Goalie) played for two seasons in the North American Hockey League before playing three seasons with the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. He then moved on to spend four seasons with the ECHL and eventually played overseas with the Slovak and the Austria leagues.
What is going on with Coach Marty?
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