Wednesday, August 28, 2024

Allen Americans Weekly Update - Ty Farmer Returns, Some This N' That, Schedule Change, Neck Protection Mandate, 2024-25 Expectations and More

 

Before I get started on the weekly update I wanted to thank everyone for all the dialogue in the comment section of the blog recently. As I have stated many times over the years the readers of the blog should feel free to share their opinion no matter what side of an issue they are on. I don't believe in deleting comments unless they are personal attacks. It is always best if you include the rationale and facts in your comments. There are a few factual inaccuracies in some of the recent comments I want to correct:

  • Zawyer doesn't own controlling interest in the Allen Americans. The Zawyer organization owns and operates three ECHL franchises, the Jacksonville Icemen, Tahoe Knight Monsters and the Savannah Ghost Pirates. Additionally, Zawyer only operates the Allen Americans and Atlanta Gladiators. The Jack's own controlling interest in the Americans and have hired Zawyer to operate the franchise, but could end that agreement if they wanted to operate the team on their own. Obviously, being new to hockey, they have relied heavily on the Zawyer expertise.
  • Zawyer is not trying to set the Americans up so they can move the franchise because they don't own the franchise. Only the Jack's could make that decision and they are unequivocally not doing that.

 

- The Allen Americans announced their eighth returning player yesterday and 12th overall for the 2024-25 season. Defenseman Ty Farmer will return to Allen for a third season. Farmer played 10 games for the Americans after finishing his collegiate career at the University of North Dakota in 2022-23. He played 48 games for Allen last season after starting the season on injured reserve and missing the first 24 games of the season. In 48 games last season, Farmer totaled 10 points (5G, 5A). It took him 39 games into his pro career in Allen to score a goal, but he then scored five goals in 13 games. Here is the Allen Americans press release announcing Farmer's return with quotes from coach Adams and Ty: https://allenamericans.com/news/2024/08/americans-strengthen-blueline

 

- Here is the updated roster with each skaters average points per game and plus/minus for the team or teams they played for last season:

Goalies

  • Marco Costantini
     

Defensemen

  • Nolan Orzeck:  .47 PPG, +6
  • Justin Allen: .26 PPG, -2
  • Ty Farmer: .21 PPG, +9
  • Mike Van Unen: PPG .18, -4
  • Ryan Gagnon: .17 PPG, +5

Forwards

  • Brayden Watts: .94 PPG, -34
  • Easton Brodzinski: .63 PPG, +/-0
  • Chaz Smedsrud: .63 PPG, -7
  • James Hardie: .58 PPG,  -13
  • Rylan Van Unen: .30 PPG, -5
  • Liam Gorman: .14 PPG, +2


- It is clear from the stats above the Americans will need to add more firepower to the roster through a combination of signing players and having NHL/AHL contracted players assigned by Utah/Tuscon. FYI, here are the stats for some of the players that will not return to Allen in 2024-25, as a comparison:

Defenseman 

  • Kris Myllari: .67 PPG, -17
  • Eric Williams: .44 PPG, -16 

Forwards

  • Colton Hargrove: 1.33 PPG, -2 (2022-23 stats)
  • Hank Crone: 1.30 PPG, -7
  • Colby McAuley: .93 PPG, -18
  • Blake Murray: .87 PPG, +10
  • Liam Finlay: .73 PPG, -4
  • Bennett MacArthur: .58 PPG, +3


- Here are a few items I have noted since last week's update. I am sure most of you have seen these but want to include just in case:

 

- I was reminded today that one of the ECHL rule changes for 2024-25 is having an impact on Mountain Division rosters. Teams will be able to dress one more skater next season increasing from 17 to 18. It wasn't that long ago (2022-23) that the league increased the number of skaters from 16 to 17. I got this text from a player, "The league changing the rules to allow 12 forwards to be dressed is really opening the door for fighters to sign everywhere now. The Mountain Division is going to be crazy."

 

- The 2024-25 roster is only half complete at this point and it is impossible to know how the team will perform. I decided to take a look back at the regular season results since Allen joined the ECHL to see how they fared. Here is the regular season rank with points in parenthesis. Allen missed the playoffs just once and won two championships. It is fair to say the expectation based on past history is the 2024-25 team should make the playoffs and to call the season a success advance past the first round. It is a tall order but as B.J. Adams said at his introduction press conference, "I understand the history of this team and I am excited to take it to the next level."

  • 2023-24: 18th (70 points)**
  • 2022-23: 12th (77 points)**
  • 2021-22: 9th (79 points)**
  • 2020-21: 1st (94 points)**
  • 2019-20: 3rd (92 points) (no playoffs)
  • 2018-19: 26th (56 points)
  • 2017-18: 13th (78 points)**
  • 2016-17: 2nd (104 points)**
  • *2015-16: 5th (89 points)**
  • *2014-15: 2nd (106 points)**

*Won championship

**Playoff teams

  

DID YOU KNOW: Six ECHL teams had 90 or more points in 2023-24. Who doesn’t reach the 90 point mark in 2024-25?
 
114: KC
105: TOL
100: IDH
97: ADK
93: GVL
91: JAX
 
Seven teams had fewer than 69 points in 2023-24 and all missed the playoffs. Will any make the playoffs in 2024-25?
 
68: SAV
67: UTA
66: REA
64: RC
64: WIC
62: IA
50: ATL
 
- FYI, Norfolk was last in points in 2022-23 with 47 points and improved to 89 points in 2023-24.
 
- Cincinnati went in the opposite direction. The Cyclones had 103 points in 2022-23, but dropped to 69 points and missed the playoffs in 2023-24. With a new affiliation agreement with Toronto and the likelihood of having 10-15 NHL/AHL contracted players assigned in 2024-25, look for Cincinnati to be much improved.

 

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Wednesday, August 21, 2024

Allen Americans Update - Roster Reaches 11 Players, Assistant Coach Brett Ferguson, Former Players, Mountain Division PIMS and More

 

We just returned from Washington DC and a long overdue visit with our only grandchild who is 20 months old. Needless to say it was a very special visit. I envy those of you that have children, grandchildren and family living close by. With that said here is an update since my last blog post.

 

- The Allen Americans roster for 2024-25 season has increased to 11 players with the announcement of forward Liam Gorman yesterday. Here is the press release: https://allenamericans.com/news/2024/08/americans-sign-former-penguins-draft-pick   


- Here is the updated roster with the number of professional games (ECHL & AHL) played by each player:

Goalies

  • Marco Costantini - 25 ECHL games
     

Defensemen

  • Nolan Orzeck - 124 ECHL games
  • Ryan Gagnon - 120 ECHL games
  • Justin Allen - 48 ECHL games
  • Mike Van Unen - 11 ECHL games

Forwards

  • Brayden Watts - 226 ECHL games, 1 AHL game
  • Easton Brodzinski - 107 ECHL games, 1 AHL game
  • James Hardie - 63 ECHL games
  • Chaz Smedsrud - 9 ECHL games
  • Rylan Van Unen - 0 ECHL games
  • Liam Gorman - 0 ECHL games


-  The roster is only half announced at this point, but does not have a lot of pro experience. Coach Adams will have to add some more experienced players going forward.

  • Watts has played three seasons.
  • Gagnon, Orzeck and Brodzinski have played two seasons.
  • *Hardie, *Allen and Costantini have played one season.
  • *Smedsrud, *M.Van Unen, R. Van Unen, Gorman are rookies starting their first full season.
  • The oldest player on the team is Ryan Gagnon (28).
  • The entire roster has just two AHL games played. Last season the roster had over 500 games of AHL experience.

*In addition to above the these players played a few pro games the same season they finished their college/junior careers.


-  The Allen Americans formally announced assistant coach Brett Ferguson this morning. Here is the press release: "We are pleased to announce that Brett Ferguson has joined the Americans as our new Assistant Coach. Prior to this role, Coach Ferguson was a valued member of the Anaheim Ducks organization, starting in 2015. During his tenure, he served as the Video Coach for both the Ducks and San Diego Gulls and as the Assistant Coach for the Gulls in the 2018-2019 AHL season. Please join us in welcoming Coach Ferguson to Allen."


 

OTHER COMMENTS

- Tarun Fizer spent most of the 2023-24 season in Belleville, but averaged a point a game in the 10 games he played in Allen. There was an expectation and hope he would be assigned to the Americans for the playoffs, however it never happened. Fizer has signed an AHL deal for 2024-25 with the Springfield Thunderbirds which means if he gets sent to the ECHL he will join Colton Hargrove and  Kris Myllari with the Florida Everblades. 

 

- Goalie Tomas Sholl who was the ECHL Goalie of the Year playing for Idaho in 2019-20 has signed with the Steelheads for 2024-25. Sholl has been playing in Europe the last few seasons. Idaho has only announced seven players for next season, but the seven players include the ECHL 2020 Goalie on the Year (Sholl), the 2023 Rookie of the Year and MVP (Hank Crone), the 2024 Defenseman of the Year (Patrick Kudla) and the 2024 Sportsmanship Award winner (A.J. White). Idaho is the only team in the ECHL that  totaled 100+ points the last two seasons and looks poised to do it again in 2024-25.

 

- Jack Comb's younger brother, Charlie, played in Scotland last season with Dyson Stevenson and averaged a point per game. He just signed in the ECHL with the South Carolina Stingrays. Charlie is listed as the shortest player in the ECHL at 5'6".  

 

- Kansas City took just 688 penalty minutes last season, only one other ECHL team had fewer. It is clear the Mavericks want to have more toughness this season. They have signed Daniel Amesbury who averaged 4.00 penalty minutes per game in a short stint with Fort Wayne last season. Today it was announced Kansas City has signed former Allen defenseman Josh Thrower. In 2017-18 Thrower led the Americans with 10 fighting majors. Allen led the Mountain Division in penalty minutes last season with 1211. The other teams in the division ranged from 885-688 PIMS. If Kansas City is an indicator, look for the Mountain Division to return to its history of toughness in 2024-25.

 

- When Allen and Colorado won four straight Kelly Cups from 2015-2018 the Mountain Division was the toughest in the ECHL. That is not the case anymore. Here are the number of ECHL teams in each division that had 900 or more penalty minutes in 2023-24:

  • 1 of 7 - Mountain Division
  • 3 of 7 - South Division
  • 4 of 7 - Central Division
  • 5 of 6 - North Division

 

-  I came across this old meme while I was researching something for my ECHL Stats page while visiting my young granddaughter in DC and it made me smile. Hopefully it will also make you smile:

Image preview 

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: In the last two seasons just five ECHL players combined for 60 or more goals. Here is their status for the 2024-25 season:

79 goals - Brandon Hawkins, (re-signed with Toledo)
66 goals - Hank Crone, Allen (signed with Idaho)
66 goals - Zack Andrusiak, Cincinnati & Fort Worth (signed in Europe - Slovakia)
63 goals - Michal Stinil, Wichita (remains unsigned)
61 goals - Alex Aleardi, Rapid City (signed with Fort Worth)

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Wednesday, August 7, 2024

Allen Americans Weekly Update - Hardie Returns, Roster Grows to Seven, Housing Upgrade, Affiliation Thoughts, Season Ticket Prices and Big Red Flashback

 The Allen Americans announced their seventh player for the 2024-25 season yesterday. Forward James Hardie will return after finishing last season with the Americans. Hardie was acquired from Rapid City late in the season (March 24) for future considerations which turned out to be Ty Fournier. Here is the Allen Americans press release announcing Hardie's re-signing. https://allenamericans.com/news/2024/08/americans-add-scoring-depth-up-front

 

- Here is a Hardie stat you won't see anywhere else. He played in 12 regular season games and five playoff games after joining Allen and led the team in goals with six (tied with Liam Finlay). He also led the team in plus/minus in the playoffs at +3. He is a skilled forward who can put the puck in the net. If he gets top six minutes and power play time he could be a 30 goal scorer. He had 41 goals and 38 goals in his last two seasons in juniors.

 

- The Americans will have to pick up the pace in announcing players, especially new players. Six of the seven announced thus far have been returning players, with Brayden Watts the one exception. There are eight Tuesdays remaining before the start of training camp. Allen will have to start announcing more than one player per week, they need to average at least two per week going forward.

 

- Here is the current roster with stats from last season:

Goalies

  • Marco Costantini - 24 games, 3.19 GAA, .913 save percentage
     

Defensemen

  • Ryan Gagnon - 48 games, 8 points (0G, 8A), 52 PIMS, +5
  • Justin Allen - 38 games, 10 points (2G, 8A), 16 PIMS, -2
  • Nolan Orzeck - 51 games, 27 points (5G, 22A), 10 PIMS +8  (Allen games only)

Forwards

  • Easton Brodzinski - 62 games, 39 points (22G, 17A), 91 PIMS, 0 plus/minus
  • Brayden Watts - 62 games, 58 points (14G, 44A) 29 PIMS, -34 
  • James Hardie - 12 games, 10 points (4G, 6A) 12 PIMS, -1 (Allen games only)

 

- How does Allen rank in the number of players announced thus far. The Americans are in the middle of the pack in the Mountain Division but rank #20 among all ECHL teams. Player announcements range from a high of 20 to a low of one. Here are the numbers for the Mountain Division according to elite prospects:

  • 14 - Wichita
  • 11 - Kansas City
  • 9 - Tahoe
  • 7 - Allen
  • 7 - Utah
  • 6 - Rapid City
  • 3 - Idaho
  • 3 - Tulsa

 

- Kameron Kielly was productive in the brief time he spent in Allen last season. He had four points (3G, 1A) in four regular season games and two points (1G, 1A) in his lone playoff game. Kielly just signed in Europe (EIHL) with the Dundee Stars. 

 

-  I know from first hand conversations with players and coaches, something that came up at exit interviews the last two seasons was related to housing. Some of the housing wasn't the best and furnishings were always an issue. There is good news for 2024-25 as the players will be staying in upgraded apartments on the west side of Highway 75 near Pinstack in Allen. Owners LaSonjia and Myles Jack have purchased all new furniture for the apartments. The Allen players will now have one of the best living situations in the league.

 

- I haven't heard much about Allen's new affiliation since the announcement was made last week. It is kind of a head-scratcher when you think the owner of the Arizona Coyotes, Alex Meruelo, lost his team to Utah but still owns the AHL team in Tuscon (Roadrunners). It makes you wonder how the relationship between Utah and Tuscon will work and how that might impact Allen. The rumors are Tuscon will move after the 2024-25 season and remember, Allen's affiliation agreement is just one year. The good news is Allen's affiliation agreement is with Utah and things are on the upswing with the Utah Hockey Club. Hopefully the Utah management will see to it Allen gets players assigned. The more you read about the Utah Hockey Club owner, Ryan Smith, the more optimistic you become. You just hope all of the enthusiasm has a little trickle down to the Allen Americans. If you haven't seen this article about Ryan Smith, it gives you a great insight of what he is like as an owner. https://thehockeywriters.com/ryan-smith-building-something-special-in-utah/  

 

- I had a long time Allen Americans season ticket holder contact me last week to tell me he had checked out the ticket prices for Allen's AHL affiliate, Tuscon Roadrunners, who finished second in the 10 team Pacific Division last season, but lost in the first round of the playoffs. His center ice tickets in Tuscon (same location) would cost $1152. In Allen the same location costs a minimum of $1224. Both teams play 36 home games. While some might say the size of the market, Tuscon (1,000,000) and DFW (8,000,000) justifies the higher ticket price, but others disagree. The AHL is full of future and former NHL stars and plays a much higher quality of hockey. They argue ECHL ticket prices should not be higher than AHL prices. I looked up the AHL Texas Stars roster since 2019-20 and it tells the story. Here are a few examples of the players the Texas Stars season ticket holders saw the last few season.

  • Jason Robertson
  • Jake Oettinger
  • Ben Bishop
  • Joel Kiviranta
  • Thomas Harley
  • Ty Dellandrea
  • Logan Stankhoven 
  • Mavrik Bourque (2024 AHL MVP)

 FYI, according to the team websites, Allen's season ticket prices for full season tickets (36 games) range from $828 to $1994. Tuscon's range is $504 to $2160. What is your opinion on ticket prices in Allen vs Tuscon?

 

- You may have seen the recent story about a minor league baseball team from Sioux City, Iowa having their chartered bus catch on fire on the way to games in Chicago. The team made it off the bus safely, although several players lost their gloves when the overhead bins melted. Here is a article about the incident: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/midwest/2024/08/05/787094.htm

 

- When I heard about the baseball team's bus fire it reminded me of a similar, though much less serious fire, the Allen Americans encountered in 2012.  

 

- For those of you that have followed the Allen Americans for a long time you will remember the early years when the team owned its own bus, affectionately called "Big Red" which was loved despite all of its warts. Here is a little background from a blog post in 2017 when Jack Gulati bought the Americans.

If you attended the press conference last February when Jack Gulati was announced as the new owner of the Allen Americans you may recall the loudest cheer of the entire event was when Jack informed everyone that Big Red was not part of the deal. The Americans owned the team bus which was bought used out of Nashville when the franchise started in 2009. The bus is 22 years old and I was told by long time bus driver Scott Alexander, who passed away in 2014, that Big Red had close to 2,000,000 miles on it.


Big Red


- As much as Big Red was the subject of ridicule the fact of the matter was the players and coaches really liked the set up on the bus. The problem was Big Red became more and more unreliable as the years went by, with mechanical breakdowns ranging from engine issues to brake problems to no air conditioning. There were water leaks and gas fumes at times.

- You could write a book about Big Red with its breakdowns, getting stuck in the Rocky Mountains, trips to Canada and driving all over the USA in search of the Kelly Cup. Because the team owned the bus they never flew, even on long trips. 

 

- One Big Red incident was captured on video in 2012, thanks to Jarret Lukin who was the American's first captain and is fourth on the all-time games played list (238).  Whether you have seen this video many times or watching it for the first time it shows the humor it what could have been a serious situation.


  

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: The number of hat tricks and shutouts in the ECHL each season is surprisingly close. Not sure why but here are the stats the last three seasons. The numbers for the Allen Americans are in parenthesis:

2023-24
82 - Hat tricks (3)
89 - Shutouts (1)
 
2022-23
81 - Hat tricks (8)
85 - Shutouts (1)
 
2021-22
102 - Hat tricks (6)
98 - Shutouts (1)

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