After a hiatus since the Allen Americans ended their 2023-24 season on April 28, the team takes the ice this week for training camp to start the 2024-25 season. Here are the key dates:
- October 3: Players can report to training camp for registration, team meetings, and physicals.
- October 4: On-ice sessions begin.
- October 11: Preseason game against Tulsa.
- October 16: Season-opening rosters are due to the league office by 3 PM ET.
- October 24: Season opens at Tulsa.
- October 25: Home opener against Kansas City.
- The Americans training camp will be open to the public. Training camp will take place in the community rink. Details on dates, times and how you can get in the rink along with the training camp roster will be issued later in the week. I would expect there might be a player announcement or two before Friday, but that remains to be seen.
- I haven't heard an exact number of training camp participants but based on history you can expect the roster to be about 30 players. This includes players signed to SPCs (standard players contract) and PTOs (player tryout contract).
- Some players will be missing the first few days of training camp because they are attending training camp with Allen's AHL affiliate, Tuscon Roadrunners. Three players were announced on Friday, but a fourth has been added. Coaches Adams and Ferguson are also in Tuscon for a couple of days. Here is the list of players attending Tuscon's training camp;
- Mark Duarte, forward
- Riley Ginnell, forward
- Nolan Orzeck, defenseman
- Hudson Wilson, defenseman
- Tucson's training camp opens tomorrow (11:00 am) at
Tucson Arena as they will hit the ice in Southern Arizona for the first
time to kickoff their ninth season that features the team’s home opening regular season
weekend on October 19 and 20 when they will
host Texas. The initial camp roster should be available later today. Unlike Allen, the Roadrunners practices are closed to the public. Tuscon has preseason games on Friday and Saturday in Henderson, NV against the Silver Knights. In the past, Allen Americans players that attend AHL training camps have usually been given the opportunity to play in a preseason game so we will see if that happens this weekend.
- Here are the number of players announced by every ECHL team according to elite prospects:
- 28 - Fort Wayne
- 25 - Kalamazoo
- 22 - Wichita
- 21 - Idaho, Maine
- 20 - Worcester
- 19 - Allen, Atlanta, Florida, Iowa, Jacksonville, Norfolk, Orlando, Toledo
- 18 - Adirondack, Bloomington, Greenville, Tulsa
- 17 - Indy, South Carolina, Trois Riviéres, Utah
- 16 - Rapid City, Tahoe
- 15 - Reading
- 14 -Wheeling
- 13 - Kansas City, Savannah
- 12 - Cincinnati
It makes you wonder if some of the teams at the bottom of this list already know they will be getting a lot of players assigned from their NHL/AHL affiliates. For example, last season Newfoundland had at least 15 players assigned at some point in the season from Toronto. Cincinnati is now affiliated with Toronto. Kansas City had 11 players assigned from their affiliate (Seattle/Coachella Valley) who played over 400 games with the Mavericks. As a reminder, last season Allen had a total of 61 games played by players assigned by its affiliate and just 19 games were by skaters, with 42 by goalies.
OTHER COMMENTS
- Not sure if this is a complete list but here are some new coaches named for the 2024-25 ECHL season including the last position they held before being named head coach:
- Allen Americans: B.J. Adams - head coach for Erie Otters (OHL) in 2022-23.
- Bloomington Bison: Phillip Barski - was associate coach for Barrie Colts (OHL).
- Greenville Swamp Rabbits: Kyle Mountain - was assistant coach in Greenville.
- Jacksonville Icemen: Brandon Mishinter - was assistant coach in Jacksonville.
- Reading Royals: Jason Binkley - was assistant coach/interim coach in Reading.
- Savannah Ghost Pirates: Jared Staal - was assistant coach in Charlotte (AHL).
- South Carolina Stingrays: Jared Nightengale - was an assistant coach in Rockford (AHL).
- Tahoe Knight Monsters: Alex Loh - was assistant coach/interim coach in Savannah.
- Worcester Railers: Bob Deraney - was assistant coach in Worcester.
- The comments keep coning on the blogs posts, setting an all time record of 225 and counting after the recent blog about Zawyer and Allen parting ways. I enjoy all of the dialogue and as I have stated many times I don't believe in deleting comments with few exceptions. Personal attacks on players and staff are uncalled for and will be removed if they cross that line. I know defining what is a personal attack is a slippery slope so I delete comments sparingly.
I will also delete comments that I know 100% are factually incorrect and cross over to personal attacks. An example of this is coach Adams was the fourth choice for the coaching job in Allen. That is just not true.
I would estimate I have deleted fewer that 15 comments during this entire off-season. I would ask everyone to refrain from personal attacks. If your comment is deleted and you take issue with my deletion feel free to email me (janssenfamily@msn.com) and we can discuss.
With that said there have been many constructive criticisms and suggestions in the comments section that bear discussion:
- Fan Club: This is a nonstarter. As several of you have noted, there has been issues with the fan club in the past and there will not be a fan club under present ownership, period.
- Providing Feedback: There has been a lot of comments about the best way to provide feedback to the front office. Should it be a representative group or or does individual feedback work best. I have participated in both over the years as a member of a season ticket holders advisory group and providing feedback on a one-on-one basis. I prefer the later because it is generally more timely and is more directly responsive to my issue. I had a conversation with team president, Jonny Mydra about this and he is willing to answer any questions you have. He is extremely busy right now dealing with the Zawyer transition and the loss of the Chief Operation Officer. He is basically doing three jobs right now so I ask you to be judicious. Jonny is very responsive to emails so if you have a question/feedback and can't get the answer from your ticket representative or don't have a ticket representative send Johnny an email at jm@allenamericans.com.
- Communication to STMs: I discussed this issue with Jonny and your point is well taken. If you are a STM you can look for increased communication coming from the Allen Americans. I will try and keep track to see how this goes.
- Interview with team owner LaSonjia Jack. If those of you that want this to happen can work together to come up with a series of questions I will do an interview. The only caveat is don't ask questions a reasonable person knows an owner can't or won't answer.
Thanks Barry for all the great information. So glad there is a hard stop on the fan club idea, it would just be another thing that people would complain about. Glad that Jonny is willing take feedback from the fans & STM, he already knows the problem fans and how to handle those situations. Adults should be fully comfortable bringing their grievances to a person instead of the typical keyboard warriors mentality.
ReplyDeleteI just hope our coach gets thicker skin and doesn’t let the chatter bother him so much. He knows there are a lot of people who knows the truth.
Hope they have a successful training camp and gains some new prospects to add to the roster
🙄
DeleteIt's not so much about BJ being the "fourth choice" as it is about him likely being the only option available for the salary offered. He’s stepping into the shoes of arguably the best coach in minor pro history, Steve Martinson, and one of the greatest players in ECHL history, Chad Costello—both of whom earned 2-3 times more than what the new ownership is paying BJ. CMON MAN!!
Delete^^^ facts
DeleteHere’s the question another way:
DeleteThere were multiple candidates for the role, several arguably more qualified, was BJ the only one formally offered the role?
If yes, great. We know why.
If no, then there were at least multiple offers made, be it 2 or more than 2…..
Exactly. There were offers to others and they passed on the job.
DeleteBarry? You've stated this to be factually incorrect. Several seem to have information coming from within the club and/or hockey industry, that strongly suggests information to the contrary.
DeleteIn all fairness, Myles/LaSonjia and Mydra haven't exactly been truthful this off season (remember Myles lied to Costello before he was fired ... documented on this blog by Barry), so perhaps they have categorically denied this to Barry ... ?
^^^^^^^ this ^^^^^^
DeleteYeah, this poster knows what he's talking about. Total respect to Barry, but he's reporting what he is told from the club. The leadership of this club thinks its fans are not knowledgeable. They know more about hockey, the ECHL, its history etc than leadership and its ownership.
DeleteI had heard about the possible team in rio rancho last year or the year before.. From what I have read, its a rebirth of a team.
ReplyDeleteAgreed re: Barry, but you’re accepting mediocrity at its finest. No one said they wouldn’t support the team. That’s the problem with people that want to dispute what has occurred. You’re naive to it.
ReplyDeleteInstead, accept many remain frustrated, most all vent their concerns with articulated comment and thought, the occasional person needs to be pulled back in line, but you’re hiding behind anonymity to accept mediocrity and disparage the ideas of others.
I’ve never met Jonny, don’t consider myself a “problem fan” but remain jaded like others as to bone head decisions.
If you think the keyboard warrior mentality is wrong, perhaps you don’t understand the purpose for forums and the ability to comment.
We all want BJ to win. As someone said, there’s head wind and challenges to achieve success this season.
Be open to the positives and negatives and most importantly, go red!
Surprised somewhat to not see anything on these hirings:
ReplyDeleteGreg Heffernan - Director of Scouting
Daniel Triesler - Head of European Scouting
Probably because they haven’t announced the future partnership yet, until Zawyer it totally out. Unfortunately that will be next year. Yes we still have Joe until end of this season.
DeleteScouting appointments are on Allen’s website under “staff”. Public knowledge. Nothing hidden.
DeleteExperienceExperience
DeleteHead Coach and General Manager
Head Coach and General Manager
Connecticut Chiefs · Full-timeConnecticut Chiefs · Full-time
Jun 2021 - Present · 3 yrs 5 mosJun 2021 to Present · 3 yrs 5 mos
Western New England University logo
Head Hockey Coach
Head Hockey Coach
Western New England UniversityWestern New England University
Sep 2009 - Jun 2021 · 11 yrs 10 mosSep 2009 to Jun 2021 · 11 yrs 10 mos
Sprinfield, MASprinfield, MA
State University of New York at Fredonia logo
Assistant Hockey Coach / Visiting Instructor
Assistant Hockey Coach / Visiting Instructor
SUNY FredoniaSUNY Fredonia
Sep 2006 - Aug 2009 · 3 yrsSep 2006 to Aug 2009 · 3 yrs
Fredonia, New YorkFredonia, New York
Mercyhurst University logo
Graduate Assistant Hockey Coach
Graduate Assistant Hockey Coach
Mercyhurst UniversityMercyhurst University
Sep 2002 - May 2004 · 1 yr 9 mosSep 2002 to May 2004 · 1 yr 9 mos
Erie, Pennsylvania Area
A couple of nobodies working on commissions they will never get...
Delete"Head of European Scouting" - need a Head of Parking Lot Scouting first....
DeleteThere’s a bit of absurdity with the pretense that the team has hired two “scouts.” Let’s be honest, roles like "director of scouting" or "head of European scouting" don't exist in the ECHL. Safe to assume they are friends of BJ trying to pad their resume. Talk about cheesy!
DeleteTrying to slowly salvage the train wreck of the past 4 months.
DeleteLipstick on a pig
Delete"A couple of nobodies working on commissions they will never get..." / the person that made this comment needs a hug!!! sorry you feel like you have to insult some guys doing their job, trying to earn money for their family.
DeleteTheir measure of success will be the deliverables. A glorified title will disappear if success is not delivered in short order.
DeleteI'm continued to be perplexed as to why this country cares about glorified titles.
What was that disjointed resume for?
ReplyDeleteJust discovered this blog and am impressed with the depth of great information. Thanks for doing this for all the fans. It's always exciting this time of year. Looking forward to cheering on the boys again.
ReplyDeleteI’ve been reading and listening all summer. Not commenting. I’ve now come to one conclusion. This is a giant cluster f snafu.
ReplyDelete-Bobby 226
No kidding. 22 days to the start of the season and the ability of the club to communicate to its fans is non existent. It is a colossal mess. They have the mentality, if it's not on Facebook then it doesn't matter.
DeleteRoster still hasn’t been filled out. What a train wreck. Reminds me of the final years of the Brahmas.
ReplyDeleteHow about the team putting together a bus ride/ticket package for the pre season game?
ReplyDeleteI asked my ticket rep and I was told they haven’t heard they would…
Come on upper management!!! We want to support the team..: help us out..:
they can't even get a bus for the players that doesn't break down on roads trips...no thanks
DeleteIt should be obvious by now that they don't care what anyone thinks. They have been made aware of all the complaints and if anything have doubled down on how they do things.
ReplyDeleteYep. Sad.
DeleteOther teams getting players assigned from AHL and Allen added 3 more players with no significant experience. It's so hard to contain the excitement for this season. I think maybe we change the emblem on the jersey this year to a white flag!
ReplyDeleteThe off season has been a diabolical mess. Zero communication from Mydra - beyond disappointing. Don’t give us the defensive response he is handling multiple jobs, that only happened a few week ago.
ReplyDeleteThe Jacks should be ashamed to step in the Event Center. They’ll hear the boos should they step on the ice.
They have crushed this club. We can’t even attract new talent, the word about Allen and the Jacks is out on the hockey street and it’s not good.
A joke. A complete and utter joke.
Allen boys looked solid in the Tuscon game last night.
ReplyDeleteIs it the same handful of people spewing the hate on here? Barely read a positive comment. Is this what the Allen fan base is all about? Too bad. Yes, I am a newbie here. Blows my mind with all the negativity.
ReplyDeleteJust a lot of pi$$ed off fans.
DeleteThe off season has been a total joke.
Honestly, if you don’t think the same then your heads in the sand.
The forum has proven the knowledge and information sources fans have.
Welcome to the blog. I think if you go back and look at the history of the tram in this blog and the interaction then you will better understand why fans are upset at the bomb that has been dropped on this team to wipe it out. Fans that have been fans from day one are sick to their stomach and rightfully so.
DeleteMyles lied to Costello.
Deletethey listened to Zawyer. Blew up the team and destroyed any momentum. Players left, so did fans.
Myles/LaSonjia now understand the mess they created.
Will take 5 years to get this back on the tracks.
Agree that short term looks bleak - but we have an opportunity to rebuild infrastructure. Hopefully ultimately with local ownership who values the franchise as a vital part of the Allen/Collin County community.
Delete