I am about to embark on a nature trip to the Pantanal Region of South America with my blog proofreader, aka my lovely wife. The Pantanal is the largest wetland in the world at over 75,000 square miles. The majority of this ecosystem lies within Brazil's borders but it also has parts in Bolivia and Paraguay. While the Amazon is more famous, the Pantanal is home to the greatest wildlife concentrations on the South American continent. In addition to the many bird species we will see on this adventure, we will hopefully see everything from the Giant Anteater, Ocelots, Tapirs, Pumas, River Otters, Anacondas, Caiman, Capybara and hopefully the elusive Jaguar.
- Since I will be mostly off the grid until early September, I will likely miss some important announcements regarding the Allen Americans. I expect by the time I return Allen's new affiliation will be announced, the Americans new assistant coach will be announced and several key players, both new and returning will be announced. Will be some very exciting news over the next three weeks.
- I will also miss the 3ICE playoffs on Saturday. Chad Costello's team (Team Trottier/Blue Team) is the second seed and
Jack Combs' team (Team LeClair/Black Team) is the third seed. That means
they will play each other in the opening round (one game) in Las Vegas
with the winner advancing to the championship finals and a chance to win
$137,000 (each player). It is guaranteed either Jack or Chad will be
playing for $137,000 on Saturday.
- For the last blog before I head to South American I wanted to share my thoughts on the ECHL Hall of Fame process, which is currently in its annual nomination process. I am not sure what, if any, plans the Allen Americans have to submit nominations for 2023 but here is my take:
- The Allen Americans won back to back Kelly Cup championships in 2015 and 2016 with two players that are locks to be in the ECHL Hall of Fame. A while back I contacted the ECHL to find out the process for selection to the ECHL Hall of Fame. Here is that process.
"We send out nomination forms to each team on August 1st of each year and the nominations are due into the league office by the Tuesday after Labor Day. At some point in late September or early October, the Hall of Fame Committee will have its initial meeting to discuss the candidates that have been nominated. Often times it takes two meetings to finalize the induction class."
"Only members of the selection committee, the Board of Governors, teams or persons affiliated with the ECHL may submit official nominations, which must be made in writing to the league office. Fans are encouraged to contact their team to propose names for nomination.
- I have read accounts of ECHL teams long quest to get players into the Hall of Fame. It often takes several years of submitting a nomination before success, after all it is a subjective process and it is an exclusive club.
- I think it is time for the Allen Americans to start the trek to the Hall of Fame for Riley Gill and Chad Costello. Gill's last ECHL game was in 2017 so it is clear he is done playing. Unfortunately his career was cut short when he was injured in his second game of the season on October 21, 2017. That would end up being the last game of his illustrious career.
- While Costello just retired to become coach and general manager of the Americans, he is still playing at a high level of pro hockey as evidenced by the fact he is one of four finalists for the 3ICE MVP. Some may say his Hall of Fame nomination should wait, but I say his ECHL stats are so compelling he should also be nominated this year.
- Here is my case for the Gill and Costello
RILEY GILL
- Riley was always good for Allen in the regular season, winning Goalie of the Year, leading the league in save percentage and leading the league in shutouts. Gill had two 30 wins seasons during his time in Allen. With all of his success during the regular season, Gill was made for playoff hockey. During his career he was in three Kelly Cup finals and won all three. For his first Kelly Cup (2013) with Reading he started the season in the SPHL and didn't join the Royals until the end of February. He went on to lead Reading to the Kelly Cup with a playoff GAA of 1.91 and save percentage of .930. His record was 13-3-1 and included four shutouts with two of the shutouts in the finals. For his effort he was named Kelly Cup playoff MVP.
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| Riley Gill - only goalie in ECHL history with 3 Kelly Cups |
- This quote from coach Steve Martinson captures what Riley brought to the Americans. "It's nice to know you have a veteran back there who can step up when you need him, he gives you peace of mind." In 2015 Gill won game seven in the Western Conference finals over Ontario and game seven in the Kelly Cup finals over South Carolina.
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| Action Shot - photo by Dianne Webster |
- Gill owns almost every Allen goalie record, both regular season and playoffs and several ECHL all time playoff records. Here are the ECHL career goalie records that Riley ranks #1 all time:
90 - most playoff game appearances: Allen (51), Reading (20), Kalamazoo (19).
5094 - most playoff minutes played: Allen (2771), Reading (1274), Kalamazoo (1049)
53 - most playoff wins: Allen (30), Reading (14), Kalamazoo (9)
11 - most wins in Kelly Cup finals: Allen (7), Reading (4)
CHAD COSTELLO
- Some (including Chad) may feel it is too soon for a Hall of Fame nomination since he just retired and is still playing pro hockey (3ICE) and could very well continue playing next summer. Chad told me the Americans should focus on Riley Gill's nomination. With that said, here are just a few of the reasons Costello is already Hall of Fame worthy:
- In August of 2018 the ECHL came out with the 30 greatest players in ECHL history. Chad was ranked #9 which was way too low in my opinion but quite an honor all the same. He is the only player in the top 10 not already in the ECHL Hall of Fame.
- In the history of the ECHL a player has won the scoring title by more than 20 points just six times. Three of the six are owned by Chad Costello. The other three happened in the 1990's. In 2014-15 Costello scored 125 points and won the scoring title by 45 points, the largest margin in ECHL history. He won the scoring title by 34 points in 2016-17 and 23 points in 2015-16.
- Costello has won the ECHL MVP award three times, the only player in history to win it more than once. He won back to back in 2016-17 and 2015-16. His third MVP was with Colorado in 2011-12.
- Chad won back to back Kelly Cups with Allen in 2015 and 2016. In 2016 he became the only player in ECHL history to win both the regular season and post season MVP awards.
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| Chad Costello - 2016 league and playoff MVP |
- The bottom line is Chad Costello is a lock for the ECHL Hall of Fame
and if compared to his peers is the greatest player in the history of
the league in my opinion. To have one Hall of Fame player on a roster is
unusual, to have two as Allen did on its back to back Kelly Cups is
quite an honor for the Americans. I know it won't happen but it would be
great to see Riley Gill and Chad Costello got into the ECHL Hall of
Fame together.
- If you have an opinion on the Hall of Fame nominations I point you to the guidance from the ECHL on the nomination process, "Fans are encouraged to contact their team to propose names for nomination."
