It is hard to believe with all that has happened off the ice this summer I can start posting about what is happening on the ice in just one week. Have to admit I am looking forward to focusing more on the team and the season than the other issues. I had a chance to talk to with the B.J Adams and Brett Ferguson this week. Here is what I learned from them.
- Their recent trip to Los Angles to attend the Kings' Rookie Face-Off Tournament was very productive. Teams participating in the tournament in addition to the Kings and Utah were Colorado, Vegas, Anaheim and San Jose. Utah had 15 forwards, eight defensemen and three goalies at the tournament so a great opportunity for the coaches to become familiar with the young prospects in the Utah system. Just as important was the opportunity for B.J. and Brett to meet and network with many of the coaches and scouts that were in attendance.
- Next week Adams and Ferguson will be spending a couple of days at the Tuscon Roadrunners training camp. This is invaluable for the coaches to see the players, talk to the coaches, learn the systems used and get an idea of who may be assigned to Allen. Coaches attending AHL training camp has not always happened with past affiliates and its value cannot be overstated. This is a great start in the relationship with the Utah/Tuscon affiliation. The proof in the pudding will be how much help Allen gets in players being assigned and what opportunities Allen players will have to get loaned to Tuscon.
- Training camp planning is well under way. The team apartments are set up with new furniture and players will be arriving almost daily next week. Players don't have to report until next Thursday (October 3) and the first day on the ice will be on Friday, October 4.
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Here is Allen's updated roster with assigned jersey numbers:
Goalies
- #33 Marco Costantini
Defensemen
- #3 Ryan Gagnon
- #21 Mike Van Unen
- #23 Justin Allen
- #44 Nolan Orzeck
- #57 Ty Farmer
- #?? Hudson Wilson
Forwards
- #8 Mark Duarte
- #11 Rylan Van Unen
- #14 Brayden Guy
- #17 Riley Ginnell
- #22 Easton Brodzinski
- #26 Spencer Asuchak
- #28 Chaz Smedsrud
- #42 Robbie Baillargeon
- #84 Liam Gorman
- #86 James Hardie
- #92 Brayden Watts
- If you compare Allen's current roster, which will grow in the next week, here is how the Americans rank compared to rosters for the other ECHL teams:
- Allen is ranked #14 of 29 in games of ECHL experience with 1445 games. Five players have more than 100 games of ECHL experience led by Spencer Asuchak (448) and Brayden Watts (226).
- Only one team in the league has an average height taller then Allen's average of 6'1". The ECHL range is 5'11" to 6'2".
- Allen's average weight is 190 pounds which is ranked #14. The ECHL range is 196 pounds (Rapid City & Kansas City) to 183 pounds (Toledo & Savannah).
- Allen's average age is 25.16 which makes the Americans one of the youngest teams in the league. Four teams have an average age lower than Allen's. The range is from 28.00 (Tahoe) to 24.16 (Iowa).
OTHER COMMENTS
- I am sure many of you have noticed the Americans did not announce a player yesterday as I had indicated on social media. I try to give everyone a heads up when I hear about announcements but have missed the mark a couple of times recently. All I can say is plans change and I don't always hear about the change. I will make sure to use a hedge word or two in the future when posting about announcements. With that said I think, maybe, probably, it is planned, if nothing changes, I hopefully expect there will not be a player announcement today, but we should hear about player/players going to AHL camps.
- I was looking through a list of former Allen players that are playing elsewhere in 2024-25 and was surprised by the numbers. There are 109 skaters and 13 goalies on the list. Here are a few of the old timers still playing:
- Aaron Dell - Aaron was the goalie for Allen's first championship in 2013. The 35 year old has played in 130 NHL games and 145 AHL games. Aaron just signed an AHL-ECHL two way deal with the San Jose Barracuda.
- Kale Kerbashian - Kale was on both of Allen's CHL championships (2013 & 2014). In his pro career he has played in the AHL, ECHL and CHL in North America. Overseas he has played from Australia to Europe (Slovakia, Germany, Denmark). The 34 year old signed with a team in Slovenia for 2024-25 and has as goal and two assists in his first two games.
- Olivier Archambault - A dynamic player that first signed to played in Allen in 2017-18. In 19 games he tallied 31 points (13G, 18A) for a 1.63 points per game average. He spent most of the season on loan to AHL teams which led to a contract with the Syracuse Crunch. The 31 year old is playing in the Czech Republic this season.
- Alex Lavoie - Alex was another player on Allen's 2014 CHL championship team. As a rookie he was Allen's leading scorer and won the CHL Rookie of the Year award. Except for a short stint in Allen in 2020-21, Alex has played in Europe since 2016-18. The 31 year old is playing in Slovenia this season on the same team as Kale Kerbashian.
- Vincent Arseneau - After two ECHL Championships playing for Allen, the hard hitting, tough as nails forward has spent the last eight seasons in the AHL. The 32 year old is with a new team this season, Laval Rocket.
- There are 30 former Allen players that will be playing for other ECHL teams in 2024-25. Here are just a few that have signed with some of the league's top teams:
- Idaho - Matt Register, Hank Crone, Stanislav Demin
- Florida - Colton Hargrove, Kris Myllari
- Kansas City - Josh Thrower
- Adirondack - Darian Skeoch
- It's last call if you are interested in obtaining free tickets to Allen's lone preseason game against Tulsa on October 11. The game will take place at NYTEX Sports Centre in North Richland Hills. I will be having a drawing later this week for four free tickets to the game. If interested, all you have to do is send me an email (janssenfamily@msn.com) with your name and phone number.
Thanks. Good update. Attending the AHL camp will be a great opportunity. BJ and Fergs better be networking!
ReplyDeleteWe need another goalie!
Great job as always Barry
ReplyDeleteSending wrong players to AHL camp.
ReplyDeleteno new players announced because they have to get them during the open tryouts/train camp
ReplyDeleteThey've got to send somebody and since they didn't sign much they don't have much
ReplyDeleteIs it too early to start the bring back Costello chant on this thread?
ReplyDeleteThe chips are already in the air - nothing else left to say - support then but not the owners - the new motto - Let's run the Jacks out of Texas
ReplyDeletePS - that was my comment and reflects NOTHING on the ownership of this "blog" No attempt to butthurt the homers who seem to whine the loudest or censor the comments on here - love you!
DeleteThis is all LaSonjia’s fault.
ReplyDeleteShe listened to Zawyer.
Totally clueless.
Myles just followed orders.
We can either keep dwelling on the events of the off-season or accept the team’s current reality.
ReplyDeleteAttending rookie tournaments and training camps is a smart move. The coaches need to immerse themselves and build connections, as those relationships could benefit the team in the future. Still, I have doubts about seeing immediate results. This team was stripped to the bedrock, and they need to rebuild from the foundation by establishing a culture that attracts future prospects.
There was a time when players wanted to come here. What drove that? I believe it was largely leadership and the clear path for players to move up through hard work supported by great coaching and training, of course. That’s the foundation upon which the team is rebuilt.
Keep drinking the KoolAid.
DeleteSTH were taken advantage of.
As others have said, this is a train wreck where you’ve been forewarned 500 times in advance.
I shouldn’t assume you understand subtext nor that not explicitly stated. STH have every right to feel upset about the ‘Great Dismantling of 2024’. However, the purchase agreement was not contingent upon the team’s likelihood of success. Ownership and management are not obliged in any way to consult with STH or fans about what they do with the team. You’re a ticket holder not a shareholder. Ticket holders can give away, donate, or sell their tickets but they can’t return them for a refund. If you can’t stomach losing, you should probably take one of those options because it is extremely unlikely that this will be a winning season for the Americans.
DeleteI’ll go as far as to say the roster does not even matter this year. They have to build a foundation first. Securing quality players comes after that. Fans will be lucky if any player excels this year. If anyone shines and moves up, the Coaches should hold them as an example for next years recruits. Build on small successes. Maybe one of the players can launch into a fan favorite and help ticket holders feel better, fill some seats and sell some merch; that’s unlikely too but maybe.
Well said TB( Tissue Boy). These STH think they are Owen to have decisions run through them. What say a STH let’s us know what business they are in and then we tell them what they shouldn’t do.
Delete🤢
DeleteI’m not sure that’s what anyone is saying actually. We keep repeating the same old. It’s ok for people to support the Jacks and it’s ok for people to remain bitter about the offseason. Everyone is entitled to an opinion.
Delete∧,,,∧
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/ づ♡ I love you
Also if by chance the team makes a respectable showing, how many of these STH will not learn their lesson and be first in line to renew? If this is all so traumatic, move on. Sell your tickets on a game by game basis. You can complain, it’s your right to. But man you are like a bunch of old women
ReplyDelete1. I think many have said they with BJ the best and will eat humble pie.
Delete2. Can’t sell seats game to game. The Americans restrict such access on Ticketmaster unless the game is a sellout months in advance.
3. I think most are angered by the dismantling of something they watched build to which they were ok parting with hard earned dollars. Instead of making progress, after gaining STH commitments, they blow up the team, including both coaches. That’s the problem.
Definition of 'respectable' to you is......
DeleteI’m going to continue to read the blog just to laugh at the idiocracy
ReplyDeleteYes absolutely! The people flip flopping and talking like they know the real internal workings is hysterical, but I’m sure it’s the same people who thought none of the players would leave too.
DeleteBarry let me clarify the last person's remarks. Thank you for years of volunteer work. For all the time and effort you put into making this blog so much better than any others out there. He's referring to some of the posts attached to your blog when he says idiocracy. And second thank for for creating a place where people.can say what they want no matter what side of this mess they are on.
ReplyDeletea player told me zawyer is still very involved and Joe Ernst is still the top dog at the Americans for hockey ops. Barry is there truth to this?
ReplyDeleteYes, as I mentioned in the blog post about Zawyer departing, there will be a transition period and it will be different for the business operations and hockey operations. The details are still being worked out. With both Allen coaches new to the ECHL I could see Zawyer hockey operations consulting for most if not all of the upcoming season. Business operations will be a much shorter timeframe but a lot of details have to be resolved before the divorce is final.
DeleteThis season is shot.
DeleteWhat a disappointment.
The usual euphoria about being 20 odd days from the start of the season is not there.
Miles/LaSonjia - you just learnt a very valuable lesson in business. Money doesn't buy business acumen.
You mad a mistake blowing things up without having both an understanding of what you were about to do, and without have a better, more justifiable structure ahead of you.
You made decisions with no clear path. You were swimming against the tide ever since May 30th.
Yes unfortunately Joe will be around until the end of the season. That is absolutely factual.
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