We just returned
from our trip to Greece and Albania. It is hard to describe the impact
of visiting Ancient Greek sites like the Athens Acropolis and the
Parthenon. Then visiting Delphi and my favorite, Olympia. We finished
our trip spending a few days in Albania which has a rich history of its
own. Being a stats guy, here is an impressive one that very few would
get correct in a trivia game. Albania is the second most mountainous
country in Europe.
Trying to get some good karma for the Americans I brought out my “Go
Allen Americans” sign (from 2013-14) to the starting line of the ancient Olympic
Stadium. Not impressive by today’s standards, but remember this was
around 550 BC. All of the competitors competed naked and it is estimated
45,000 spectators watched from the grassy hillside.
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| At the starting line |
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| Olympic stadium entrance |
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| Olympic Stadium as it was in 550 BC |
When I left for Greece, Allen was in the middle of what I termed an “18
Game Challenge” which would determine the Americans fate for the season.
Allen started the season flirting with a .500 record achieved in large
part by playing the teams at the bottom of the standings (Utah and
Rapid City). The Americans record on December 3 was 7-6-4-0 (.529), but five of the seven wins were against Utah and Rapid City.
The 18 Game Challenge started in Indy on December 15, a 6-0 loss and an all-time record for fewest shots in a game (7). The challenge ended on January 15 with a 4-1 loss in Wichita. Allen didn’t fare well in the challenge finishing with a record
of 3-12-3-0 (.250) and sealed its fate.
The Americans are now relegated to trying to be the “best of the rest”
as the Mountain Division has five teams (Idaho, Kansas City, Tahoe, Tulsa, Wichita) ) battling for four
playoff spots and the bottom three (Allen, Rapid City and Utah) battling
to be the best of the rest. The reality as tough as its sounds, is the Americans realistic goal the rest of the season is to avoid finishing in last place in the Mountain Division.
- Talk about change, there has been plenty since the beginning of January. Here is a recap from several different sources:
- January 1 - Allen traded leading goal scorer Easton Brodzinski to Adirondack for forward Paul Polino. Brodzinski refused to report and Adirondack traded him to Tulsa. Since joining Tulsa, Brodzinski has played in six games and scored five points (3G, 2A). He has played twice against Allen, scoring a goal in both games as the Oilers beat the Americans twice. Polino has played eight games for Allen and scored six points (1G, 5A).
- January 7 - Forward Dakota Seaman traded to Wheeling to satisfy the futures Allen owed Wheeling for the acquisition of goalie Luke Richardson. Seaman played in six games for Allen and had no points and 15 PIMS. Since joining Wheeling he has played in six games and has one assist and nine PIMS.
- January 8 - Allen released defenseman Ayodele Adeniye. He played in 12 games for Allen, had no points and 11 PIMS. He has caught on with Peoria (SPHL) and has played in two games with no points.
- January 9 - Coach and general manager B.J. Adams dismissed by the Allen Americans.
- January 9 - Assistant coach Brett Ferguson was named interim coach and general manager for the remainder of the 2024-25 season.
- January 13 - Goalie Dylan Wells was assigned to Allen by Tucson. He spent six weeks in Tucson and played in three games. One game was in a backup role but he had two starts and won them both. His totals for the three games was 142 minutes played with a 2.95 GAA and .885 save percentage.
- January 13 - Defenseman Nolan Orzeck traded to Reading for defeneman Kenny Johnson. This trade was to get a bigger, stronger, more stay at home defenseman for the Americans. Orzeck opted not to report to Reading and signed in Europe (Finland).
- January 14 - Brayden Watts named captain of the Allen Americans.
- January 18 - James Hardie traded to Wheeling for future considerations. Allen acquired Hardie from Rapid City at the end of 2023-24 and in 17 games (regular season and playoffs) he tallied 13 points (6G, 7A). This season Hardie had seven points in 28 games (2G, 5A). I would assume the futures for Hardie will be a player, not cash.
- Here is the roster as it stands this morning:
Goalies
- #33 Luke Richardson - Reserve
- #35 Anson Thornton*
- #39 Dylan Wells*
Defensemen
- #23 J.C Brassard
- #82 Cole Fraser
- #3 Ryan Gagnon
- #55 Kenny Johnson
- #66 Artyum Kulakov
- #21 Mike Van Unen 14-day IR
- #2 Quinn Warmuth
- #5 Hudson Wilson
Forwards
- #26 Spencer Asuchak
- #42 Robbie Baillergeon
- #24 Harrison Blaisdell
- #28 Brian Chambers 14-day IR
- #16 Kyle Crnkovic*
- #8 Mark Duarte
- #10 Will Gavin*
- #84 Liam Gorman
- #14 Brayden Guy
- #9 Nick Isaacson
- #17 Colin Jacobs
- #89 Patrick Polino
- #92 Brayden Watts 3-day IR
OTHER COMMENTS
- The battle for the best of the rest will be front and center over the next eight days as the Americans play five straight games against Rapid City. Friday and Saturday they play in Rapid City. The teams then return to Allen for three more games next week on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. There are so many plot twists with this series. None bigger than Chad Costello going against the team that let him go over the summer. It should be an amazing series for two teams tied for last place in the Mountain Division with identical .365 point percentages.
- Since December 3rd the Allen Americans have a record of 3-14-3-0 (,225). They have seen their point percentage drop from .529 to .365. Allen has had an eight game losing streak, a five game losing streak and is currently on another five game losing streak.
- In the last 20 years the Kelly Cup champion finished in the top five during the regular season in all but four years which includes Florida in the last two. Here are the teams that finished lower than #5 during the regular season and went on the win the Kelly Cup:
- 2024 - Florida (8th)
- 2023 - Florida (11th)
- 2012 - Florida (7th)
- 2007 - Idaho (6th)
Here are the top five teams in the ECHL right now. Based on history the odds are the 2025 Kelly Cup champion is on this list:
- .750 - Wheeling
- .743 - Florida
- .743 - Trois Riviéres
- ,681 - South Carolina
- .679 - Toledo
DID YOU KNOW: A big reason Allen has struggled this season is the Americans are not a high scoring team. They have scored 93 goals, the fewest in the division (tied with Rapid) while allowing 151 goals, the most in the division. If the Americans are going to avoid last place, they will have to win games that are low scoring. Here are some stats that illustrate where Allen must improve:
This team just sucks plain and simple!!!! Need a real coach in Allen!!!! Along with real owners who know this sport!
ReplyDeleteTo those concerned Myles Jack isn't aware of the issues or not paying attention, Myles and JM made Zawyer terminate BJ. They were persistent and made it happen, despite significant opposition. Kudos to both of them for pushing
ReplyDeleteNext step, Myles has terminated and removed REV from the Americans. Things are changing folks. Myles is very much involved and is wanting to bring the Kelly Cup back to Allen.
Lets go RED!
What stinks is it didn’t even have to come to this. Any of it. I don’t understand how the league has allowed Zawyer to Zawyer. Oh well, keep up the good fight Myles.
DeleteYep, bingo. None of it.
DeleteWhat happened to Chad Costello was not right.
Agreed!! Gotta give Myles and JM credit for getting that done. But thers still much to get done.
DeleteYep Myles moved up a notch on the ladder - he is now at notch ONE!
DeleteSo glad the Myles made the changes necessary! He absolutely cares for this team. They got sold a bag with hiring Zawyer, and listening to Joe that BJ was a good coach. If he’s so good let’s see if he coaches the new team they own lol, trust me they won’t. Have total faith they will make good decisions going forward, it will just take time to undo what BJ destroyed. Still have faith in Myles and this team! Hopeful for next season. Go Red!
ReplyDeleteAs the resident neophyte to this team, if Myles is the owner, how come they have to have Zawyers input on anything? I truly don’t know how the behind the scenes works in this team. And who is REV? Joe?
ReplyDeleteThe ECHL wanted Zawyer to buy the Americans.
DeleteOther owners voted against this, alluding they'd have too much control.
So, Zawyer went to plan B, which was bring the Jack's in as majority owners, sign a management deal for Hockey Ops to by managed by Zawyer, REV would also consult on the "management" of the balance.
Not to open a can of worms, but Zawyer hired a former ECHL exec to run hockey ops who had quite a beef historically with the team. Long story short, Costello gets fired (without reason), Myles buys into the recommendations, and the last 6 months have been bad decision after bad decision.
REV is TX based and will own and manage a new ECHL team in the next year.
Trainwreck, but gotta give Myles massive credit for the moves he has mad and will obviously continue to make. It's certainly been a whirlwind introduction to the ECHL and hockey ownership.
As a FYI, the Zawyer agreement still exists, not sure of its in run off, will cease at seasons end, or what the story is there.
The Jack's do also have ownership interests in other ECHL teams owned by Zawyer.
Brain damage ....
What cities or states are in talks for further expansion? Any TX cities?
DeleteRumor has New Mexico.
DeleteBREAKING NEWS: Pro hockey is coming to New Mexico! 🏒 🏜️ I'm hearing the latest ECHL expansion has a franchise coming to Rio Rancho, New Mexico as soon as the 2026-27 season. The expansion franchise will be operated by REV Sports Management
Didn't work with the CHL - sure as chit won't work with the ECHL - look for 1,800 average at these games
DeleteFYI Zawyer and Rev are out…. They are no longer involved, thank goodness. ✌🏼
DeleteMyles stopped by to speak with my husband and myself at the last home game. I believe he is headed in the right direction, understands their is customer dissatisfaction regarding the product on the ice and will continue to make decisions to improve the team and the customer experience. He admitted he trusted the wrong people early on and is taking steps to rectify. Won’t help this season, but it gives hope that more change will yield improvements for next season.
ReplyDeleteA day late and a dollar short - new Americans motto
Delete💯 agree
DeleteSo Adams has been gone since the 9th and the interim coach is no better. Honestly don't see even a good coach fixing this team, it needs better players but I'm guessing at this point nobody good is going to want to come to a losing team with an interim coach.
ReplyDeleteThe question now is who will Miles go after and who's he using for advice on the next coach? Hopefully not Zawyer or anyone else. I know he has Martinson's number and can get way better advice than Zawyer. I know some ECHL teams have had their affiliate make this decision but if the Americans will not be with Utah next year then perhaps that's out. One thing is for sure, if Miles doesn't go around Zawyer for advice we're probably still screwed.
Allen will NOT be affiliated with Tucson (AHL), or Utah (NHL) next season.
DeleteMarty will NEVER come back to Allen - might have heard that if I would have been in Athens, GA recently and actually spoke with him...
DeleteI never said he was coming back, not did I say he should call him and offer him the position. It says, "I know he has Martinson's number and can get way BETTER ADVICE than Zawyer." Says nothing about having him come back. I have his number and have spoken to him. You're not telling me anything I don't know.
DeleteProject much azzhole?
DeleteI guess so you slacked jaw POS loser
DeleteMyles has a grip on things along with Jonny. This year will be a write off, & starting the day after the playoffs are over, expect big changes in the hockey ops department. It will be a total house cleaning & Myles will listen to his heart this time. He will right the ship. We have to trust the process & that process will pay off in the long run. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Myles’ got this!
ReplyDeleteA marathon we have started over from the learning how to run phase. Problem is: Do I want to spend the season ticket money on a gamble that this can EVER be fixed?
DeleteI am. I will. I believe he now gets it.
DeleteGo Red!
it took a long time but yes this is 100000% spot on. gotta give credit for them pulling the plug on the bj stuff and moving on. now time to get a winning culture and rebuild into the championship type team for future seasons.
DeleteSay what you will, but MYLES LISTENED TO THE FANS. He admitted he got it wrong with BJ and got rid of him. Props.
ReplyDeleteYes he did. He is listening and making amends for the mistakes.
DeleteOk that might be fine now but what is to give any of us hope for next season being different? We have to shell out our money now with no guarantees; we all assumed Chad and the team would be coming back and look at that!!!
ReplyDeleteI’m not renewing my tickets until I know who the coach is going to be!!!!
ReplyDeleteCan't formally approach or announce Costello until after the season.
DeleteJust sayin ....
Go Red!
BS - why not?
Delete"formally" ....
DeleteHe is not a head coach
Delete🤣🤣🤣
DeleteGagnon to Idaho.
ReplyDeleteBlind Freddy saw the Gagnon trade coming. Infact, someone called it out on the 475 post blog I think. Numbers have been bad, on the ice when most goals are scored. Great guy, but tough to stay around when this is a numbers game. Could be a coaching issue, not sure.
DeleteIf Ferguson isn’t sticking around next season, let’s hope there isn’t total decimation. Everyone we have traded has performed better elsewhere.
Oh no 😥
DeleteWho’s next? Asuchak?
Players can always come back in the future..plus the mass exodus is telling. The more players want out, and the more fans express disdain, the more ownership feels the pressure to right the ship.
Delete12 month wait to come back .....
DeleteAsuchak is turning into the Crash Davis of hockey. He’s been around so long, they might as well name a concession stand special for stale popcorn and a flat soda after him. He’s not moving up ever, everyone knows it. Hey, Spencer, there’s more to life than chasing a dream that’s been dead for years. Staying too long doesn’t make you a hero—it just makes you stuck.
DeleteCrash Davis spent 21 days in the show.
DeleteI think they look to see which player is good and then trade them. Because why would we ever want to have any good players on the team???
ReplyDeleteAh, the classic management move: wait until the ship is nearly sunk to patch the holes. A sudden “change of mindset” after trust is shattered? Groundbreaking. Nothing says “we care” like fixing things only when there’s no other choice. Too little, too late, but hey, A+ for effort… I guess.
ReplyDeleteAs a Brahmas fan, I held out on being an Americans fan due to rivalry… I enjoy minor pro hockey too much and folded a few years back and became a fan of the team… Blame me for bringing Brahmas luck to Allen lol.
ReplyDeleteThis has NOTHING to do with luck - just stupidity
DeleteThe same people who jumped to give credit to Myles for finally taking action should be running Anonymous The Brahmas Fan for State Senate. He too, like Myles, is speaking words to take blame. Blah blah blah. At least it didn’t take ATBF some 8 months to step up to take responsibility. Seriously, Myles gets no credit from me. If he wanted better for this team, he would have listened to the fans and done something about this months ago not concurrent with season ticket renewal offers.
DeleteNothing to do with luck - agree.
DeleteHave to disagree TBD. Myle's has stepped up.
He's clearly gone through several stages of emotion from March/April 2024 when Little Joe got in his ear (whilst at the ECHL mind you, and not yet officially in the Zawyer role, hence the underwhelming Costello number retirement ceremony).
He TRUSTED Zawyer and Little Joe.
He had CONFIDENCE their advice was correct and sound.
He saw the negative posts, anger and frustration and IGNORED it trusting his advisors.
As the season started and he witnessed lower bums in seats, lower merch sales, a horrific results outcome, he started to QUESTION everything and have DOUBT.
Myles has contracts with Zawyer and Zawyer has decision making of hockey Ops. What does that mean? It means BJ reports to them, not Myles, and they make all hiring and firing decisions from a Hockey Ops standpoint. You can't just ignore contracts.
What people don't know is Myles pushed for BJ to be fired well before Xmas. He met resistance and gave it another 3-4 weeks when ultimately, Little Joe outright refused to fire BJ and Myles ultimately went way over Little Joes head to have it done.
Im in the know, and I am not defending the poor decisions made, but I will say Myles cares. He hears all the voices. BTW, you better believe Little Joe reads the blog.
So in short, he has acted, with resistance from others to effect change. It does take time and the contractual language he agreed to, made it difficult. It's easy to sign a contract and think it's the right thing, but to undo that, or change terms, is generally a difficult situation.
Yes, the last 6 months have been bad decisions, yes it will take 18 months + to fix this mess, but change is happening.
If you’re going to rebuild, this is a move in that direction. Yes it sucks for Gags, but at the end of the day, why not get a head start to the rebuild now? Bad deal for Gags but at the end of the day he is competing on a team that potentially could make a deep run. With all of the injuries that Idaho has, them trading for Gags is a smart depth move for a run. Think about that before bashing a trade of this sort. I am not say that any of you are wrong or right. But have a thought about the positive.
ReplyDeleteJust to clear things up BJ put every old Americans player on the trade block, so yes that means Spencer had been out there too. Just no one has grabbed him.
ReplyDeleteHappy Ryan can get out of here and his rights aren’t stuck here, bc who knows what will happen next season. Does it make sense no, but it is what it is. Our defense hurts and losing Ryan will not help us. Trading him for a player that will never report is crazy. Smh
Lot's of validity here.
Deleteif we want to look at numbers, 3 players come up.
Watts, Asuchak and Crnkovic.
Watts, Not going to trade our captain and leading goal scorer.
Asuchak, as stated, has been in trade talks, but likely wouldn't report for a trade.
Crnkovic, AHL signed. Kyle's perfomance has been down this season, but lets be honest, everyone's has with the results and scoring going against us this season as our opposition just "throws the puck at the net".
Go Red, interesting 3 months coming up.
Don't expect any baseline for next season from a coaching standpoint until mid-May to early June. Roster protection mid June. Long wait for get thru all of this and see how things shake out Sep/Oct 2025.