Thursday, May 30, 2024

Why Was Chad Costello Let Go by the Allen Americans? The Unanswered Question

 When I got wind of the impending news release this morning I had a range of emotions from sadness to anger to bewilderment. Decided to give it some time before trying to put my thoughts in the blog and glad I did. I have had a chance to talk to so many current and former players, coaches and fans today and the overwhelming sentiment from everyone is how much Chad Costello and his family is loved in Allen. It is hard for everyone to understand how a guy that has given so much to the Allen organization as a player and coach can be treated so poorly.

 

- A couple of things I want to make clear before I share my thoughts. First, the only opinion that counts in these situations is that of those playing the bills, the ownership group. I am sure the new majority owners, Myles and LaSonjia Jack, Joe Ernst, recently named Vice President of Hockey Operations for Zawyer Sports and other Zawyer executives (Zawyer manages the Allen Americans) were in concurrence on this change and it is their call. It is the nature of the business and it can be so cruel at times. The ownership group obviously has its reasons for terminating Chad Costello's contract with one year remaining and we will probably never know the details, but it is not based on the culture and success he has built with his team and how he has carried himself with the fans and in the community.

 

- Secondly, I have known Chad and Ashley Costello since 2014 when Chad came to Allen as a player. When you talk to someone on a daily basis as I have since Chad became coach in 2022 and spent hours in his office after every game and practice, this change is painful on a personal basis. While I try to back up whatever I say in the blog with facts and stats, I admit Chad is a lot more than coach, he is also a friend.

 

- It is hard to see how the organization could make this move based on what Chad has accomplished his first two seasons as a coach. Remember, he was recruited right out of the locker room by previous owner, Jack Gultai, and made the head coach. He had no experience with all the rules, regulations and paperwork required by the ECHL as a general manager and had to learn by the seat of his pants. The team was in last place at the end of December, Chad had to rebuild the team and finished in second place in the Mountain Divsion, won the first round of the playoffs before losing to Idaho who set an all-time ECHL record (.826) in the regular season. 

 

- In the just completed season Chad had to rebuild the team twice and finished third in the Mountain Division and the playoffs. He did this despite having more injuries than any team in the league and the least help from the affiliate of any team in the league. 

 

- Here are the numbers related to affiliate help. The two teams in the Kelly Cup finals (Kansas City and Florida) had over 400 games played by players from their affiliate. Allen's total games played from its affiliate was 61 and 42 of those were goalies. Just 19 games played by skaters assigned by Belleville. To Chad's credit he recruited NHL/AHL contracted players that totaled 132 games played. If Chad had not recruited these players (Crone, Murray, MacArthur) outside the affiliation the Americans would not have made the playoffs.

 

-  Coach Costello was given a three year contract when he was signed by Jack Gulati in 2022. His results after two season were a 2nd place and 3rd place finish in the Mountain Division, two playoff appearances and one playoff series win. How many ECHL teams have made the playoffs the last two seasons and won at least one playoff series? The answer is seven out of 28 teams and Chad accomplished this a rookie and second year coach. It sure seems worthy of allowing Costello to finish out the third year of his contract based on his on ice performance.  


- As much as you can talk about the results Chad Costello delivered on the ice, what sets him apart is how he treats his players and the fans. He truly cares about all he comes in contact with. I have seen first hand many times his love for his players, his family and the Allen Americans family. Here is a sample of what I have heard from some of his players that know him best:

Colton Hargrove: "Obviously I am not too happy about Chad being let go this morning. He is a great coach and even better human being. I'm not really sure of the reason for the firing, but it is hard in my opinion to fire a head coach/general manager who has made the playoffs in both of his two seasons with the injuries we had including myself, Crone, Finlay and others. We had 11 players on injured reserve at one point and almost no help from our affiliate and Chad still got us to the playoffs. I love the city of Allen and the fans, but this move has opened my options to play elsewhere and I know I am not the only one."

 

Kris Myllari: "Chad being let go was a huge shock to me. He was a great coach and more importantly an amazing person. He was amazing to myself  both as a coach and a teammate. The city of Allen lost a fantastic person and family. I certainly loved playing for Chad and I know I am not alone in that sentiment. We made the playoffs both seasons under Chad while being injured and short staffed. He was constantly changing our roster just to keep us afloat with key players being injured and we still got the job done. I know Chad will land on his feet and the fans and the organization lost a great coach."

 

Spencer Asuchak: "It is hard to believe he was let go, especially considering how it happened. Costy was the greatest player to ever wear an Allen Americans jersey. As a coach he maintained a winning record and made the playoffs both years, despite having the least affiliation help in the entire league. His contribution to the organization is unparalleled and his points record will never be broken. It is arguable this team might not even exist anymore without those of us who helped win four straight championships, with the two most crucial ones (Kelly Cups) being led by Costello. As someone who has lived and breathed the Allen Americans for over a decade, this decision hurts both players and fans incredibly. Costello is an amazing human being with an incredible family."

 

Hank Crone: "I would like to start by saying Chad Costello is not only an amazing coach but one of the best people I have come across during my hockey career. He has an unwavering passion for the game and most importantly his players. The organization has not only lost someone that has bled for Allen, but also someone who has changed peoples lives and hockey careers. I hope they understand what they have done and the domino effect it has caused. I was planning on playing in Allen as long as Chad was the coach and this decision has changed things for myself and others. I love the fans in Allen and I know just like the players, they are shocked to see Chad go." 

 

Colby McAuley: "Worst decision this organization could have ever done. He is the heart of the Americans and one of the best coaches I have played for. It is why most players want to play in the great place of Allen. His #13 jersey is hung in the rafters for a reason.....this disgusts me. The Costello family is very well known in the Allen community, this new ownership might not know this but they are making a bonehead decision."  

 

I heard from many fans directly and saw many more on social media. Here are a couple that talk about the coach and the man.

"Chad Costello is one of the most beloved guys in Allen's history. A class act, hall of fame player, a winner, a good developing coach and general manager, a great father and husband. Overall, exactly the role model that you want as one of the primary faces of your organization".....Maurice Fitzgerald

"The Costello family is well respected in the local hockey community and a large part of the fan base attends games to support them and the amazing culture Chad and his staff were trying to promote. One season under the new ownership was not enough time given to Chad".....Tim Webb  


I have so much more to say but don't have the words. More to come in the coming days and weeks. In closing I want to thank Chad for his support. He has given me extraordinary access so I can bring you the blog. I have seen up close and personal the effort and passion he has for everyone. There is no question about what he has accomplished one the ice. Hard to believe on ice performance has anything to do with letting him go. I would have hoped if the powers that be had some issues with a second year coach with a three year contract, they would work with him rather than cut the cord unexpectedly. It is a sad day for so many!

    

Monday, May 20, 2024

3ICE Season Cancelled, ECHL June Critical Dates, Schedule Release Date, Kelly Cup Playoff Update, Costello and Gill Records and More

 

It has been a while and a couple of things have come up I wanted to share along with some miscellaneous items I have been keeping on my list: 


- Not much new to report about the Allen Americans 2024-25 season other than the schedule will be made public in early June.

 I have talked to Chad Costello a couple of times and he remains confident after talking to numerous agents and players that it will be a good recruiting season though formal player signings are still a month away. There are plenty of action items coming up in June. Here are the details:

The ECHL playoffs are just at the conference finals stage and the Kelly Cup finals could go until June 12. However, plans for the 2024-25 season are well underway. ECHL players are already signing in Europe. 3ICE, where a lot of ECHL stars play during the summer, just announced no season in 2024 (supposedly to resume in 2025). While it is difficult for the four ECHL teams still in the playoffs, a lot of planning/recruiting/discussions are already taking place for the 2024-25 ECHL season. Here are the critical dates over the next month:
 
June
8: Protected Lists due
20: Future Considerations Trade Deadline
22: Season-Ending Rosters due
23: 1st day to sign contracts for 2024-25 Season
 
 
 
- 3ICE just announced there will not be a 2024 season. This after a schedule was issued (including June 19 at the Allen Event Center), tickets were sold and a draft was conducted. Here is the official statement from 3ICE. "Growing our game into the product you all deserve takes time and, right now, we require additional runway for the launch of season 3. We'll return to the ice bigger and better than ever in the summer of 2025." There was no transparency as to why the season was cancelled after all of the preparation, less than a month (June 12) before the opening puck drop.

3ICE has been a great summer opportunity for many ECHL stars and the Allen Americans connections have been many. The first season (2022) was very lucrative with some players making over $100,000. In season two the prize money was reduced a lot but still a great summer job for ECHL players who could play a fun game with no checking. The Allen Americans provided the most successful player in each of the two 3ICE seasons. Chad Costello was on the championship team and was the league MVP in 2022 and Hank Crone was on the championship team and was the league MVP in 2023. 

Many ECHL stars played in 3ICE. Here are just a few. There are four ECHL MVP's on this list, three Defensemen of the Year and most of these players were leading scorers on their team multiple times.
  • Chad Costello
  • Hank Crone
  • Matt Register
  • Colton Hargrove
  • Brandon Hawkins
  • Eddie Matsushima
  • Patrick Kudla
  • Alex Kile
  • Owen Headrick
  • Alex Aleardi
  • Jeremy Broduer
Cancelling the 2025 3ICE season is certainly a disappointment for Allen fans who were planning on attending the tournament at the CUTX arena on June 19th. You wonder if some of these players might take a closer look at going to Europe after missing out on the 3ICE money. Only time will tell.



- If you have been following the Kelly Cup playoffs you have probably noticed the playoff road wins record. The final four had a road record coming into the conference finals of 19-3. After four games in the conference finals the road teams are 3-1. Kansas City was the #1 seed in the league but has to play the first three games of the conference finals in Toledo. The Mavericks won games one and two with game three tonight (Monday). Kansas City set the all time ECHL record for road wins in a single regular season (29-4-2-1) and that success has continued in the playoffs with a road record of 7-0. You add it all together and the Mavericks road record this season is 36-4-2-1 (.872). Most everyone thought the Kansas City vs Toledo series would be epic, but the Mavericks are threatening to turn it into a route. FYI, the Adirondack vs Florida series is tied 1-1 in the more traditional 2-3-2 format. The teams play in Florida on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. 
 
 
 
- Idaho was eliminated from the playoffs by Kansas City but not before Matt Register became the all time leader in playoff points. In the history of the ECHL just three players have over 100 career playoff points:
 
1. Matt Register - 118 points (29G, 89A), 156 games between 2012-2024
2. Philip Berger - 117 points (50G, 67A) 76 games between 1989-1996
3. John McCarron - 102 points (38G, 64A) 116 games between 2015-2023
 
 
 
- FYI Chad Costello is #6 all time in career playoff points. In 71 playoff games, Chad had a total of 87 points (24G, 63A). 65 of his 71 playoff games were with the Allen Americans.
 
 
- Another Costello regular season record I came across recently. Of the top 20 ECHL players in all time assists Chad Costello is the only one that averaged over an assist per game. In 375 ECHL regular season games Chad had 389 assists.
 
 
 
- Two Allen players are locks for the ECHL Hall of Fame. In addition to Chad, Riley Gill's goalie records have him at the top of the all time list for playoff wins. Here is my ECHL Stats post from earlier in the week:  
 
Top five ECHL goalies in career postseason wins. Kelly Cups won is in parenthesis:
53: Riley Gill (3)
50: Pat Nagle (1)
42: Nick Vitucci (4)
39: *Cam Johnson (2)
31: Gerald Coleman (2)
 
*Still active and currently participating in Eastern Conference finals.
 
Here are the all time top five ECHL goalies in postseason games played:
90: Pat Nagle, Florida; Idaho; Fort Wayne; Toledo; Reading, 2012-23
90: Riley Gill, Kalamazoo; Reading; Allen, 2010-17
80: Nick Victucci, Carolina; Greensboro; Hampton Roads; Toledo; Charlotte; Greenville, 1989-93; 1995-98; 2000
52: Cam Johnson; Florida, 2022-24
50: Michael Houser, Cincinnati; Fort Wayne, 2013, 2018-19, 2022
 
 
 
- In the scheme of things it is not a very important stat but Allen's struggle to score empty net goals this past season was almost comical. As much as they tried they would just miss the empty net. Decided to go back and look at the stats over time and indeed the five empty net goals in 2023-24 was the fewest ever. The Americans had 11 in 2022-23 and 10 in 2021-22. The most empty net goals ever were in 2015-16 (16) and 2017-18 (13). 
 
 
DID YOU KNOW: For the 2024-25 season the ECHL will add two teams, the Bloomington Bison and Tahoe Knight Monsters for a total of 29 teams (Newfoundland dropped out toward the end of the 2023-24 season). The league hasn't announced how the divisions will be aligned, but it is obvious Tahoe will be in the Mountain Division and Bloomington will be in the Central Division. With Newfoundland gone the North Division needs a team and that appears to be Wheeling. The unanswered question is which division ends up with eight teams. The Mountain Division is the most geographically dispersed so if the league wanted seven teams in the division, Kansas City could move to the Central Division. I have heard Allen is scheduled to play Kansas City 10 times in 2024-25 so that might indicate the Mavericks will stay if the Mountain Division. Stay tuned.       

Wednesday, May 8, 2024

Q & A with Allen Americans Coach and General Manager Chad Costello

 

Last Friday I had a chance to sit down with Allen Americans coach and general manager Chad Costello to ask him about the just completed 2023-24 season and the plans for 2024-25. During the season when I head to the coaches office after practice I always have a "stat of the day" to quiz them about. Wanted to have a good one for this Q & A interview with Chad and it puts the last two seasons in perspective.

Q: How many ECHL coaches have made the playoffs in both of the last two seasons?

A: Chad is one of just 10 coaches/teams that made the playoffs in 2022-23 and 2023-24.

Q: Of the 10 that made the playoffs the last two season how many won at least one playoff round?

A: Chad is one of just seven coaches/teams that made the playoffs the last two seasons and won at least one playoff round.  


It was an eerie feeling entering the Allen Americans locker room just a few days after the season ended. It was dead quiet and a stark difference from the playoffs. The stalls and lockers were empty, gear was put away and players were already on the way home. 


 I met Chad in his office right next to the locker room and we both commented on the strange feeling and quiet from the hustle, bustle and loud music from just a few days earlier. As usual when interviewing Chad there were no question off limits and his honesty and openness comes through in his answers. Hope you enjoy what he had to say.

 

Q; What are your thoughts on the series loss to Idaho?

A: The first thing that comes to mind is game one of the series in Idaho. That was a heartbreaking loss. We had a two goal lead twice and a lead in the third period and then didn't make them earn the win in overtime. We said the loss wouldn't funnel into game two but I do think it leaked over a little bit. I think we learned we can play with Idaho, but at the same time there is a difference between playing with them and beating them four times. Every time we got to our game early we were in the game or won the game and every time we didn't play well early we lost by three or four goals. I like to use other sports analogies and I compare Idaho to tennis player Roger Federer. Idaho consistently plays at a high level all of the time. You will see an up and comer or low ranked player play with Roger for the first set and then he beats them 6-0 and 6-0. Idaho consistently plays at a high level and we could not. We could match their level but could not maintain it. 

 

Q: Despite the ending you have to be pleased with the season overall considering the obstacles you faced?

A: No doubt, we had to rebuild the team a few times and that is never easy when all of the good players have jobs. You have to give up futures to get new players and be competitive. At one point we were in last place by seven points and as a group we said our small goal is to be a playoff team. Our goal at the beginning the season was to be first in the division. When we reset our goal first and second place were already taken and there was no way to catch Kansas City and Idaho. Our small goal was to beat the rest of the teams in the division and I am proud of the way the team came through with that 6-0-1-0 streak at the end of the season to finish in third place. 

 

Q: What are you thoughts as you build your team for the 2024-25 season?

A: I think we need to make a lot of changes to be honest with you. With recruiting we are going to be more picky in who we recruit. We are going to try and find not just the best players for the team but the best player for a specific role on the team. We had a few players we asked to play a role outside of their normal role and they did a good job, but I need to do a better job of matching players to roles. Finding the right players for each role will help us get a better start next season. If we can fix our start and get rolling a little earlier it will be less demanding on the top guys both mentally and physically. I would say I need to do a better job in finding the right players and not just the best players. 

We need to have high-end talent and we will. The teams where the high-end talent competes all over the ice is where our concentration is going to be. The old saying of we need players that want to win before they want to score is what we are looking for, but we also need players that want to win before they just want to defend. The question is what did you do to help us win? Well, one night it was two goals, one night it was zero goals and a +1, one night it was a blocked shot and great on the penalty kill. We think those are the type of teams that are still playing in the playoffs, especially in our division. Some of it will be different personnel and some of it will be hard conversations with returning players. I am more motivated and more excited about the recruitment process this season than I was last season. Last year we made the playoffs, won the first round and we thought we were right there. Now I see we have to improve. The other reality is the league has changed. All of these teams with a lot of AHL contracted players will change because many of these players will become free agents. I think we can do a better job than others in recruiting some of these free agents. Marty always used to say you win championships in the summer and that is what were are going to try and do for sure.     

 

Q: This was the second season you had the fewest games played by players from your affiliate of all the teams in the league. How do you see Ottawa/Belleville fitting into your plans next season?

A: We signed a one year contract and it will be done at the end of  their season. Our plan is to see what is available for affiliates, what they each have to offer and make the best decision for our team. Belleville didn't decide to not send us players. They had a lot of injuries and were also fighting to make the playoffs. They were concentrating on their team just like I was concentrating on our team. There is no doubt when Fizer and Meriläinen were here we were pretty hard to beat. Belleville had injuries, maybe not as many as us, but they had injuries. Also the border can be an issue, if you are going to send a player for a weekend you have to really think about it. If our affiliate was in the US it would be easier to send players for a short period of time. A few things got in the way this season. I would say as an organization we have to look at what is best for us. 

 

Q: How important is it to you to have your affiliate identified early to help in your recruitment process?

A: The earlier we make a decision on an affiliate the better but the best decision is more important than a fast derision. It is hard to keep switching affiliates because they are based on relationships. I need to know what they are looking for and let them know what we are looking for. Getting to know everyone as people is critical. The longer we have to build that relationship before the puck drops the better. 

 

Q: How many future consideration trades do you have to settle before the June 20 deadline?

A: We will have to provide a list of players to settle four future considerations trades. Each one is a little different and we don't know the exact order as we have some time to decide on that. We owe a player to Iowa, Rapid City, Norfolk and Florida. To be completely honest, without doing those trades we probably would have finished dead last. In this league I don't think future trades are that important, especially when we need to make changes. 

 

Q: The use of veterans around the ECHL has diminished. Of the eight teams left in the playoffs, Kansas City has no veterans, four other teams have just one and only one team has four. How do you plan to use your four veteran spots next season?

A: Veterans are very important to our team just because of the affiliation setup. If you look back at the championships we won in Allen our veterans were our best players. That will be a goal for our team next season whether we have four veterans or not. The league has gotten younger so I think the veterans need to be a little younger. When you think about it, 260 games to be classified as a veteran is not a lot of games. Rather than call them veterans I call them experienced players. These experienced players will be a big part of our team because of the number of players we get from our affiliate. Teams like Kansas City don't need veterans when they have 10-12 AHL contracted players. We will need veterans for leadership and team talent level. What we need is for those veteran players to be our top-top players and push the ship if we don't have a lot of AHL guys.

 

Q: I know you do exit interviews with the players. Can you share what you cover in those interviews and some of the feedback you received?

A: The first few questions are about the logistics of when they are leaving Allen, are they flying or driving, what are their summer plans, where are they going to be located. Then I ask if they have a good setup for ice time during the summer and what kind of training they are going to do. It is more important than ever to come into the season fit. Almost the entire league starts with a lot of players at NHL/AHL training camps. I have seen this in the past when the number of Allen players at AHL camps is lower than other teams in our division and it makes the first three weeks of the season very tough. The other teams have been on the ice more and they are more game ready when the season starts. Next season we will take it a lot more serious and expect players to be more fit and ready when they enter the locker room. That will dictate where they are in the lineup to begin the season.

We asked the players what they liked about the season, what they didn't like about the season and if they are interested in coming back. We explained our organizational plans, what we are trying to build, thanked them for their effort and wished them the best.  

The feedback we received is they like it in Allen and most of them want to come back. What we heard most often is they enjoyed the way we coached and the way we treat them as players. They appreciate how professionally we run things and care about them as individuals. That is something Gens and I really try to walk the line of we care about you and love you and will treat you right, but it is also a profession and business and we will do what is best for the team. 

There were a few guys that shared they like it better when the coach was on them all of the time. As a player I did not like that, maybe because I felt I was self motivated and very rarely did Marty or whoever I played for have to give me motivation. Some of the younger players want more feedback on where their game is at and where it needs to be and let's wake up a bit. It was good to hear that because I can absolutely adapt to that. It was good for us to learn and remind ourselves every player needs something a little different.

The players liked where they stayed but did share the furniture needed to be upgraded. Ownership is already addressing that for next season.   

 

Q: Myles Jack has a unique background for an owner. Becoming an owner at 27 years of age after playing NFL football. In the few conversation I have had with him he seems dedicated to giving the team what it needs to be successful on the ice. Your thoughts?

A: It will be great to have the new ownership group for the entire off season and running into the start of next season. The timing of the new ownership taking over last September was hard on everybody. By the time everyone got to know each other the season was rolling and then we don't have much time. I will say when Myles walks into the locker room, with his presence, the room is better. His character and knowing how successful he was as an athlete has an impact. I can also tell you he wants to win but also understands what it is like when you go out there and things don't go right and you lose. He understands the process of improving, the obstacles that can get in the way and what the players are going through. The #1 thing I can say about Myles is when he walks into our locker room his character and his smile makes our room better. The guys love to see him. I also love it when he comes into the coaches office and talks to us. You know that he cares and the players sense that. The more he is down here the better. We really enjoy talking to him about the game, the team, the players and what we are going through. The cool thing about his first season is he saw us lose and he saw us compete and he saw us win. He saw what it is like with AHL players and without AHL players. It was painful for me, but as an owner he gathered a lot of data and information in his first season.

 

Q: Are there any lessons learned over the last two seasons in dealing with the referees and league office?

A: It is a hard line for me to walk because I always want to stand up for our players. A bad call is a bad call and it is what it is. It is fast, it is hard and it is not an easy job. What I struggle with is when the referee sees a penalty, I see them see a penalty, it is right in front of them and they decide for some reason to not make a call or to make a call. When it hurts our players chance to win the game it makes me go crazy. I just want to know why they didn't call what was clearly a penalty or why they did call what was clearly not a penalty. I just want to give these players every single opportunity to win every single game. 

What I have learned is some players will follow my lead and when I start barking at the referee they will follow. We have talked about it and talked about it and I tell the players I am not in the battle so I am calm and my comments have thought behind them. I might be thinking about the next call or I might be thinking about the next game. My message has been let me do the yelling at the referee but we have a really hard time doing that. Every single game we got mad and let our emotions go toward the referee rather than the other team the game never went our way. We typically would get off our game, took more penalties and it cost us the game. Every time we kept our eye on the prize and didn't give the referees a hard time, we won the game. The other thing to keep in mind is we have a long season, it is a marathon not a sprint. If you continue to fight over every decision the league makes or the referees make you are wasting time improving your players and game plan. If a could say this issue in one sentence it would be pick your battles, continue to stand up for your players but at the same time move on from things you can't change. 

We had very few suspensions this year after leading the league my first season and that is something I took seriously. It is one thing to try and hit a guy clean an accidentally get suspended. The stuff we were getting suspended for last season was ridiculous. I wanted to clean that up and we did. We barely had anyone suspended this season. Because suspended players have to be carried on the active roster I always say don't let one loss lead into another. 

 

Q: You run practices but also participate in many of the drills and even bag skate with the players sometimes. It seems like you are always going 100%. What messages are you trying to send to the players the way you run your practices.

A: I would be lying if I didn't say I do it for myself too. It makes me feel more a part of the practice. Some practices I don't like the way it is going so I will purposefully make three hard passes right on the tape and do it perfectly. Some of the best leaders I have had in my career have barely spoke, they just did it. I will never forget one of my coaches, who is now the coach of the Colorado Eagles. I remember we had four games in five days with a bunch of travel and practice should have been an optional day but it wasn't. Everyone was sore and tired. I was still pretty young. He called me to the front of the practice line and said go first and if you are going first set the bar high and go fast. I have always felt showing them is sometimes better than telling them. If I am yelling all of the time, stop down here, explode out of the drill, make good passes, it isn't as effective as showing them. That will change as I get older for sure, but right now it is easier to show them. I would say a healthy minded coach is best for everybody and when I do the practices and skate with them they get a healthy minded coach, so I am going to continue doing it.

As for the bag skating at first we thought it would be good for me to do the drills but not the bag skating just to show authority. I never really bought into that and thought if I ask them to skate down and back I can too. Also, when I do the skating and get tired I can make sure we don't overdo the skate. It is also a way for me to see how fast they are so I will skate along with a player. Some of them are not as fast as you think.  

Our practices are very organized and in my opinion we go from one drill to the next drill to the next drill faster than anybody. We do that on purpose because of 90 minutes of going over to the white board to describe the drill is not what we do. We do it before practice so we don't spend much time talking on the ice.

One concept I will fix next season is how we start training camp. In the past, probably because of my concern about injuries, we spent the first couple of days of training camp trying to get the player's legs under them. Those days are over. It will be more of a boot camp feel for the first five days of training camp this year. Whatever we have done the past two years to start the season hasn't worked. Whatever it takes to get off to a better start we will do. If we have to run our camp like an AHL camp that is what we will do. I think I am going to push the guys a little more at training camp. Usually the first two or three days are fun, you meet the guys and get used to your gloves. We are still going to do that but we are going to work a lot harder. 


Q: What are you most looking forward to this summer away from hockey?

A: One thing is my fitness level. When you coach it is not a easy as you think. I actually look up to Marty a lot because he was always in the gym and taking care of himself. For his age he was very fit and          looked great. Getting used to the schedule as a coach is not easy, especially on game day when it is hard to get a workout in. I want to get my fitness and health back. I had those massive knee injuries in Europe where I basically went from surgery to playing and then right into coaching. Taking some time off to heal and improve my fitness level is the plan for the off season. I am a way happier person and way better hockey coach when I am exercising so getting the regular schedule back is exciting to me. 

I have never been more motivated to recruit. My first year I fell in love with our team and the players. I remember thinking if we get healthy and get a little AHL help we will be fine. I don't want to take that chance again.This summer I am super motivated to find the best player for every single role on the team and take every single roster spot as seriously as possible. Starting with the veterans we will build from the backend out and the goalies to the defensemen. We have learned the importance of the sixth and seventh defensemen with all of the goals we allowed the last two seasons. 

Outside of hockey it is all about family. So many times during the season I am on FaceTime watching the kid's sports so it will be nice to be around and hang out with Ashley. Our usual summer schedule is we go back to Iowa for a week or two after school is out, we take a vacation with family, a vacation with friends, and then go back to Iowa for a week before school starts. Our life has changed a lot as the kids have gotten older as their schedules are so busy. I am usually hands off with the hockey stuff, but I am going to be helping out with some of the kid's hockey this summer and that should be fun.   

 

Costello Family: Chad, Ashley, Cayne (back), Camden, Avery, Adelyn (front)