I am back in Minneapolis for a few days before returning to Texas after a week of pheasant hunting in North Dakota. We were hunting around a small town just six miles from the Canadian border and 25 miles from the Montana border. It was typical upper Midwest weather for this time of year where you can expect anything. It was too hot (70's) the first few days of hunting, it then got cold (30's) with big wind (40-50 MPH) and after returning to Minneapolis the first snow of the season arrived. The snow was just enough to cover the grass, trees and woods with a dusting of white while melting on contact with the roads. Add in the fall colors are still close to peak and it reminds me what a wonderland Minnesota is as the seasons transition. Pheasant hunting went from outstanding the first part of the week to impossible in the wind at the end of the week. I just count my blessings that my hunting buddy of 60+ years and I can still keep the hunting tradition alive at 75 years of age. Have to say whoever called them the golden years never lived through them as we don't get over the fences and through the sloughs like we used to. It was definitely two old guys and an old dog chasing the wily ring-necked pheasant. Because we still shoot well enough and Jett's nose can still find the pheasants, I will be bringing a limit home to Texas. And the best news is we are going to do it again in November when the weather will be cold, and the snow will be flying, which makes for even better hunting.
Enough about me, it is time to focus on hockey. I had a chance to talk to coach Costello yesterday to get caught up on all things Allen Americans.
- Training camp is well underway as the team prepares for opening night in Tulsa on Friday. The roster has been fluctuating as players that attended AHL camps return to Allen and players on tryout contracts are released. With opening day rosters due in the league office on Wednesday (2:00 pm Allen time), Costello will have some decisions to make in the next few days. He could keep as many as 21 players on the active roster for the first month of the season as long as they can fit under the salary cap. In addition, there can be two players on reserve, so the Americans could start the season with as many as 23 players.
- As of this morning everyone is back in Allen and the bumps and bruises from preseason games (ECHL and AHL) should be healed so everyone will be available for opening night in Tulsa on Friday. The current roster includes three goalies, eight defensemen and 12 forwards for a total of 23 players. How many players will have to be cut before the opening day roster is submitted Wednesday afternoon will depend on whether any players are placed on injured reserve (doubtful), whether the salary cap can support the maximum 21 players allowed on the active roster for the first month of the season (doubtful) and whether Ottawa assigns anymore players to Allen prior to Wednesday (doubtful) Here is the current roster:
- #1 - Anthony D'Aliosio
- #31 - Luke Peressin
- #?? - Logan Flodell
- #3 - Ryan Gagnon
- #4 - Kris Myllari
- #5 - Nick Albano
- #19 - Jared Bethune (D/F)
- #20 - Ben Owen
- #23 - Colton Saucerman
- #55 - Lord-Anthony Grissom
- #24 - Dalton Skelly
- #7 - Colton Hargrove
- #10 - Jackson Leppard
- #15 - Liam Finlay
- #18 - Zach Pochiro
- #21 - Jack Combs
- #26 - Spencer Asuchak
- #28 - Justin Young
- #32 - Mikael Robidoux
- #44 - Andrew Durham
- #58 - Marcel Godbout
- #67 - Hank Crone
- #77 - Stephen Baylis
- 12 players from the USA
- 11 players from Canada
- 1004 games played for the Allen Americans
- 562 games played in the AHL
- 6'0' average height ranks #18 in the ECHL
- 194 pounds average weight ranks #9 in the ECHL
- 26.57 average age is the second oldest average in the ECHL
- Youngest player on the team is Jackson Leppard (22), oldest player on the team is Jack Combs (34)
- October 22 (Saturday) in Wichita
- October 29 (Saturday) in Allen
- October 30 (Sunday) in Allen
- November 4 (Friday) in Wichita
- Every time I talk to coach Costello it is clear he has established a great relationship with Allen's new affiliate. He talks to them almost every day and is kept in the loop on what is happening in Belleville. Not sure how much it will lead to players being assigned to Allen, but the relationship is off to a great start.
- Chad Costello is the third coach in Allen franchise history. How did the first two fare in their inaugural season at the helm in Allen. Dwight Mullins was the coach for the first season in franchise history (2009-10) and had a regular season record of 42-17-5. Steve Martinson's first season in Allen (2012-13) his regular season record was 39-19-9. The playoffs were even better as Mullins finished as the runner-up for the championship, losing to Rapid City. Martinson won the first of his four straight championships, beating Wichita in the finals.
- Here is a good refresher on the seven teams in the Mountain Division that contains everything from arena capacity to current coach to a review of the 2021-22 season: https://www.echl.com/en/news/2022/10/mountain-division-capsules
DID YOU KNOW: Here is the ECHL stats post from today. It’s ECHL game week, when all 28 teams still think they can win the Kelly Cup. That is about to change as reality hits. Opening day rosters are due Wednesday and opening night is Friday. As a reminder, here are the last 10 teams that turned the opening week optimism into a championship season, bookended by the Florida Everblades.
Welcome back Barry! Sounds like your trip was quite an adventure! Of course, we're always happy when you return to hear your thoughts as the hockey season begins.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back, Barry.
ReplyDeleteI admit, after seeing that Bibeau was at camp with Ottawa, I was hoping he might be the goalie they assigned the Americans.