This & That - Little Tidbits About the Players, The Season, Retiring Numbers & Summer Activities

When you write about the Allen Americans each and every day during the hockey season (at least that is the goal) some days include a very specific topic and some days are a free for all. There is at least one reader of the blog (Jim K. talking to you) that loves the free for all days where the topics are all over the place. A blog post that I usually call "this and that" or "news you may be able to use."  Here goes some this and that:

- The city of Allen had to do some significant repairs to the ice plant in the community rink over the summer and the project is still not 100% complete. It is complete enough that they have ice in the community rink but when I stopped by last week you could see they still have to pour some concrete behind the stands along the length of the building. Finishing this project, getting the building inspector and fire marshal approval may be why the details on tickets for the two preseason games with Kansas City (Friday, October 6th at 8:45 pm & Saturday October 7th at 5:30 pm) have not been finalized. These games will take place in the community rink. Stay tuned.


- Greger Hanson has now reported to San Diego to get ready for training camp with the Gulls.


- The other day I talked about the great new apartments the Americans will be in this season and had the question of whether the team will provide cable and internet for the players since it wasn't provided last season. The answer is yes, both cable and internet will be provided. New ownership comes through again! Thanks Jack!


- Have you ever thought about the Allen Americans retiring numbers? The team will be starting their ninth season as a franchise and there are certainly candidates to consider that had a big impact on Allen and are now retired. Bruce Graham, Jarret Lukin, Tyler Ludwig and Gary Steffes are all part of the Allen record book and worthy candidates. However, if I were king I would wait for Chad Costello and Riley Gill to retire and have #13 and #30 the first numbers to head to the rafters for the Allen Americans. The impact these two players have had on the team and the league sets them apart in my opinion. Chad and Riley will both be in the ECHL Hall of Fame some day.


- If you are talking about putting something in the rafters maybe the first individual recognition should go to the only person that was in Allen for all four consecutive championships and that is Steve Martinson. He will be starting his 22nd season as a head coach and I always bring up his 10 championships which is remarkable but maybe even more impressive is the fact that he has made the playoffs in 20 of his 21 seasons. If you know the history of that one season he did not make the playoffs it almost should count or at least there should be an asterisk.  Steve was hired as the coach for a new ECHL franchise in Chicago (Chicago Express) in 2011-12. Back in 2013 Martinson talked about that season in Chicago after I asked him what it was like to win his first championship in Allen.  Here is what he said, "The championship was satisfying for me personally because it came the year after missing the playoffs in Chicago. Missing the playoffs had never happened to me before. Even though that Chicago team lost seven players to the AHL and had seven season ending injuries and unbeknownst to me the team was folding, it was tough missing the playoffs. To win the championship the year after missing the playoffs for the first time was big for me."


-  I heard that Casey Pierro-Zabotel has arrived in Allen. It will be great to have the second leading scorer in the ECHL from last season back in an Allen uniform. Casey had the best season of his professional career last season with 88 points (24 goals 64 assists) and played in all 72 games for Colorado. Look for Casey to have an expanded role for Allen after winning the Kelly Cup the past two seasons. Welcome back Casey and family!


- Another arrival in the last couple of days is equipment manager Tim Abbott. The Americans are fortunate to have an equipment manager with Tim's credentials. Tim spent 13 years as the associate equipment manager with the Detroit Red Wings during which he was part of three Stanley Cup championships. He was the head equipment manager in Adirondack (AHL) for five years where he was part of two Calder Cup championships. The players love this guy, he is on top of everything and takes great pride in his job.


- Several readers have asked me about Derek Mathers and his decision to retire from professional hockey at such a young age (24). I have tried to contact Derek a couple of times but have not been able to talk to him so won't speculate as to why he made the decision to retire.


- I took a quick look at how Chad Costello, Spencer Asuchak and Josh Brittain did in their first regular season games in Europe. According to eurohockey.com and eliteprospects.com all three lost their first game. Spencer's team lost 5-1 and he had no points, Josh's team lost 3-2 in overtime and he scored a goal and Chad's team lost 2-1 in overtime and Chad had no points. All three will play again today (Sunday).


- I had the chance to talk to Riley Gill on Friday and asked him about his summer. It has been a busy one for him and his family. He did get to spend some time at the family cabin in Wisconsin but not as much as as in the past. As the player representative for the team he attended the PHPA meeting in Orlando. Riley also instructed at hockey camps in the DFW area and also went to Scotland for a goalie camp. Riley is now the goalie coach for Allen High School joining former Allen players Jason Deitsch (head coach) and Eric Adams (asst. coach) on the coaching staff.

Here are a couple of pictures of Riley's summer acitvities. The first is a monster 48 inch northern pike Riley caught on the lake where his family has a cabin. If you are not a fisherman this is a trophy fish for sure. Most states and Canadian provinces give master angler status to fishermen that catch a northern pike over 40 inches. The second picture is Riley at the old course at the home of golf, St. Andrews Scotland which traces its roots to 1754. The bridge in the picture (Swilcan bridge) is the most famous bridge in golf.

DID YOU KNOW: Riley Gill is the most successful playoff goalie in the history of the ECHL. He has 10 more playoff wins (53) than any other goalie to go along with his three Kelly Cup championships. He owns all career playoff goalie records on the ECHL website.

Getting To Know New Allen Forwards Olivier Archambault, Marcus Basara and Zach Pochiro

Yesterday was an opportunity to look at the new defensemen on the 2017-18 Allen Americans team. Today it is time to look at the forwards that are new to Allen. This list will grow over the next couple of weeks and I am not including Casey Pierro-Zabotel and Jonathan Lessard who have played in Allen before. As I mentioned yesterday my goal is not to do a complete player profile but give you some idea of the type of player Allen is getting and let you hear what they sound like and see what they look like. I will do in depth player profiles once they arrive in Allen.

OLIVIER ARCHAMBAULT - A fourth round draft choice (#108 overall) of the Montreal Canadiens in 2011, Olivier is a 24 year old left shot forward who is 6' 0" and 190 pounds. This will be his fourth professional season. He has averaged close to a point a game in 123 ECHL games (58 goals 56 assists) and has also played in 40 AHL games.  His goals per game average over his ECHL career (.47) is outstanding. Steve Martinson coached Archambault in the 2015 ECHL all-star game when Olivier made the ECHL all-stars as a rookie while playing for the Alaska Aces.

Archambault is an offensive minded player with excellent speed and acceleration with very quick hands. He will remind you of Greger Hanson coming down the left wing. He is great at puck protection and offensive vision.

Olivier played his junior career in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) and was the first overall pick in the 2009 QMJHL draft. When the Montreal Canadiens drafted him they had this to say, "After having watched some Archambault tape, it is apparent he is just exploding with the skill that made him a first overall pick in the QMJHL. He has elite speed, great hands and exceptional playmaking abilities along with good hockey IQ. Here is a video of what he can do:

What number might he be looking for? He has a lot of them over his career but has been wearing #19 in two of his three ECHL seasons and wore #10 last season.

He is not a fighter but ends up with two or three scraps each season. Here is pregame interview from when he played for Alaska (2014-15). You will note french is his first language. There will be quite a contingent of French-Canadians on on the final roster for the Allen Americans this season.

MARCUS BASARA: Marcus joins the Allen Americans as a rookie having just completed his college eligibility at the University of Alaska - Fairbanks where he played in 140 games and had 87 points (41 goals 46 assists). He is a 6'0" 200 pound right shot forward who hails from British Columbia. One of his college coaches described Marcus as the type of player that has the rare combination of speed and skill having the ability to make plays at top speed. Marcus attended the Washington Capitals development camp in the summer of 2015 and 2016. Basara was a Business Administration major in college and was twice named to the WCHA all-academic team.

This is a video from when Marcus was 16 and playing junior A hockey for the Vernon Vipers but it gives you a lot of information about him. Some game highlights, his coaches comments on his abilities, his aspirations to attend a division 1 hockey school and some of his likes and dislikes. 

This is what Marcus looks like now:

Rookies typically don't have much (if any) say in what number they wear but Marcus seems to be a fan of #9 along with several other players. I am always reminded of what equipment manager Kacee Coberly, who was in Allen for several years, told me he used to tell rookies who asked for a specific number, "you are lucky to have any number so don't be asking me for specific number."


ZACH POCHIRO: Zach is a 23 year old 6'2" forward that weighs 200 pounds. He was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the fourth round (#112 overall) in the 2013 NHL draft. He played two years in the WHL for the Prince George Cougars before signing a three year professional contract with St. Louis. But after playing a few pro games for Kalamazoo Wings in 2013-14 and Alaska Aces in 2014-15 he was sent back to juniors (Prince George) as a 20 year old. Here is a video that gives some background.

Here is another story that gives you some background on Zach: https://www.nhl.com/blues/news/pochiro-out-to-prove-hes-no-gamble/c-725775



What kind of player will Zach be for the Allen Americans. Here is one scouting report (McKeen's) prior to Zach being drafted by St. Louis that gives you a good idea of the type of player he is. Pochiro is an energetic hard working center that shows a good mix of speed, grit and skill. A good intense skater that reaches a top gear fast and boasts a terrific lateral step. Not belligerent yet ultra aggressive and fearless. Will sacrifice himself diving in front of pucks on the penalty kill and is a willing combatant.

There are many examples of talented forwards that seem to thrive in the Steve Martinson system and have increased production when playing for Allen. Jonathan Lessard, Gary Steffes, Spencer Asuchak and Bryan Moore are good examples. Zach Pochiro could be that kind of player this season. He played in Norfolk last season on one of the worst teams in the league and scored just three goals and had 24 assists in 42 games.

From my research it appears Zach is a fan of #13 but you can be assured that number will not be available anytime soon, if ever. That number is headed to the rafters once Chad Costello finishes his playing career.


DID YOU KNOW: Olivier Archambault, Zach Pochiro and Tanner Eberle were teammates in Quad City in 2015-16. Archambault led that team in scoring.

Getting to Know New Defensemen Jaynen Rissling, Dalton Thrower & Josh Thrower

It is always interesting to get to know the new players that will be coming to Allen each season. If you are like me it takes a while to recognize most of them without looking at their number when attending the first few practices or games. But soon you can identify everyone just by the way they skate.

Whenever a new Allen player is announced I always do an internet search to find out as much as possible about them. Since we still have three weeks until training camp I thought today would be a good day to share some "news you can use" about the new names on the Americans roster. Will cover the defensman today and the forwards tomorrow. There will be plenty of time to do in-depth player profile interviews when the season begins.


JAYNEN RISSLING - Jaynen will be 24 on September 24. He is a left shot defenseman, 6'4" and 205 pounds. He was a seventh round draft choice of the Washington Capitals in the 2012 NHL draft. This will be his fourth professional season having played for the Cincinnati Cyclones the last three seasons. Jaynen's dad (Kelly) had a short career in professional hockey including brief stints with the Fort Wayne Komets and Kalamazoo Wings. His uncle (Gary) had a long pro career including 221 NHL games, mostly with the Pittsburgh Penquins.

Jaynen played his junior career in the Western Hockey League (he is from Edmonton) for the Calgary Hitmen and was the captain of the team his last season (2013-14). He led his junior team in penalty minutes for three straight seasons. He is a big guy that will stick up for his teammates, plays with a lot of grit and will be good at clearing out the front of the net. He has dropped the gloves over the years with some familiar names like Garrett Klotz, Derek Mathers, Harrison Ruopp, Jake Marchment, and his soon to be teammate, Dalton Thrower.

What you can expect from Rissling is a defense first defenseman but someone that can pinch in the play. He likes to hit, he plays with passion and he is a character guy with leadership skills.

Jaynen wore #9 in juniors and #81 for most of his days in Cincinnati so that may give you some idea of his number this season. 

Here is a video from a few years ago when Jaynen was named captain of his junior team.

 DALTON THROWER - Dalton is a 23 year old, 6'0" 200 pound right shot defenseman who was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round (#51 overall) in the 2012 NHL draft. This will be his fourth professional season as he played for Brampton in each of the last three seasons. He also has nine AHL games to his credit. His younger brother (Josh) will also play for Allen this season. Like Jaynen Rissling, Dalton played his junior hockey in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and was the captain of his team (Vancouver Giants) in his last year in juniors.

When Dalton was drafted he was described by scouts as gritty, tough and intelligent on both sides of the puck who isn't afraid of anyone. When you get a physically agitating, hard hitting blueliner that can make hard accurate outlet passes or rush the puck you get Dalton Thrower. In 285 games in his WHL career Thrower had 42 goals, 105 assists and 414 penalty minutes. While Dalton has struggled to transfer his junior stats to the professional game he is the type of player that should thrive in the Steve Martinson system and may be one of those players that has a career year in Allen. Dalton will also drop the gloves if necessary. .

Dalton wore #2 last season in Brampton but has worn many different numbers in his career including #4, #6, #23 and #47 when he was captain in Vancouver.

Here is a video from 2016 when Dalton was with the St. John's IceCaps (AHL).

JOSH THROWER - Josh is the younger of the Thrower brothers. He is 21 years old, 6'1" and 200 pounds. He is a right shot defenseman who is a rookie having finished his junior career last season playing for the Moose Jaw Warriors in the WHL. Simliar to his brother, Josh is a two way defenseman that can make the outlet pass but also carry the puck. He will finish he checks, clear the front of the net and is willing to drop the gloves. Being the younger brother, Josh has always looked up to Dalton and the two are best friends. I am sure they are looking forward to playing together in Allen.

Here is a scrap that Josh had with Tyrell Goulbourne back in 2014 that is said to have almost folklore status among WHL fight enthusiasts. This fight has over 70,000 YouTube views.

Here is a story from Dalton's and Josh's junior days when they were about to play against each other: http://hitmenhockey.com/thrower-duel-on-deck



Here is the Allen Americans press release on the signing of the Thrower brothers:  http://allenamericans.com/americans-welcome-brother-duo-to-allen/


These three defenseman fit the Steve Martinson mold very well. Tough players who will finish their checks but also have the skill to make the outlet pass and jump into the play. They will definitely be difficult to play against and they aren't afraid of anyone. The other trait they have in common is their leadership skills on and off the ice. Martinson often says sometimes you have a lion and sometimes a pack of wolves. These three tell me 2017-18 will be a pack of wolves year.

The statistics above are courtesy of eliteprospects.com.


DID YOU KNOW: - The Thrower brothers are certainly not the first brothers that have been signed by the Allen Americans. Everyone remembers the Ludwig brothers (Tyler & Trevor) who were a big part of Allen's first three championships. But do you remember the Howes brothers (Scott & Andrew) were in camp with Allen back in 2012-13? The Daniels brothers (Drew & Justin) were also with the Americans during the 2012-13 season. 

Housing and Transportation Much Improved This Season, Bootland Signs in Orlando, Players Overseas

When Jack Gulati took over the ownership of the Allen Americans one of the many things he addressed was taking care of the players. It was so important to Jack he stopped by practice to address the team about 30 minutes prior to holding the press conference announcing he had purchased the Allen Americans. Here is what I wrote at the time (February 24):
"The concern about providing all necessary equipment for the players was clearly covered by Jack. He sees that as a top of the list item. That issue was so important to Jack he went to the Americans practice just prior to the press conference and personally told the players skates, sticks, tape etc. were a top priority and were being ordered. The picture below shows Jack addressing the team. The photo was prior to Gulati telling the team that their skates were on the way because as soon as he said that there were smiles and stick taps all around."

Jack Gulati addressing the team - photo by Dianne Webster

 
- Back in February I had a chance to check with several players that had played for Jack in Reading and they all confirmed that he took good care of the players. Jack himself told me how important it was to take care of the players in order to have a successful franchise.


- Here are two examples of taking care of players that prove the point. Coach Martinson shared with me that the team will be staying in brand new apartments just five minutes from the rink. Two miles to be exact from apartment to rink. All apartments offer premium interior features such as dark cabinetry, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances with built-in microwaves, wood style flooring, and full size washer and dryers. Some of the amenities include resort style swimming pool with tanning ledge, poolside gas grills with dining space, 24 hour fitness studio equipped with cardio and strength training, game room with billiard table, theater room & leash free dog park. This is definitely a housing upgrade from past seasons.


- There are a lot of moving parts when getting housing ready for the players arrival. One group that doesn't get enough credit is the Allen Americans Fan Club. They take on the task of setting up the apartments so they are ready when the players arrive. Setting up one apartment would be a big task. Imagine doing it for 20 players.


- Big Red (bus) is gone and from what I have heard the Americans will be traveling on a very nice sleeper bus for those trips when they don't fly. My reporting (not verified) is the team will be leasing a bus for their road trips that was recently acquired from a private party in California and is in the process of being converted to a sleeper bus. This will be a big upgrade from Big Red. I promise a complete story on this new mode of transportation as soon as I get all of the details.


- After a few years of problems with housing and transportation things should be much improved for the 2017-18 season and maybe the biggest improvement from a recruiting standpoint is Allen will be flying rather than busing on the longer road trips. There is no doubt players were aware in the past that Allen bused more than the typical ECHL team.


- Former Allen Americans forward and fan favorite Darryl "Booter" Bootland has signed with the Orlando Solar Bears for the upcoming season. It will be Bootlands 16th professional season. Here is part of what he had to say on social media, "Well I am sure some have heard the rumors, it has been a very tough decision but Sarah and I have decided we are moving to Orlando to join the Solar Bears. We are very thankful for our time in Colorado and wish we could stay." Bootland joins former Allen players Chris Crane, Tristan King and John Snowden (asst. coach) in Orlando. Make sure to get your tickets for October 21 & 22 when Orlando plays Allen at the Allen Event Center.


DID YOU KNOW: Here are some of the Allen Americans from the past that are playing overseas this season. Information courtesy of eliteprospects.com.

Alex Lavoie - Finland
Konrad Abeltshauser - Germany
Dave Bonk - Japan
Nikita Jevpalovs - Latvia
Dallas Ehrhardt - England
Josh Brittain - Slovakia
Jordan Rowley - Finland
Jake Newton - Finland
Tony Turgeon - England
Wade MacLeod - Germany
Judd Blackwater - Slovakia
Josef Fojtik - Czech Republic
Jack Combs - Germany
Austin Smith - Italy
Devin DiDiomete - Italy
Steven Tarasuk - Germany
Spencer Asuchak - Slovakia
Rylan Schwartz - Germany
Colton Yellow Horn - Czech Republic
Justin Kirsch - Germany
Spencer Edwards - France
Chad Costello - Germany

A Deep Dive On the Allen Americans 2017-18 Schedule

The Allen Americans schedule for the 2017-18 season has been out for some time (May 13) and congratulations to the ECHL for having the schedule out so early for what will be the league's 30th anniversary season. Now that the focus is starting to sharpen on the upcoming season with training camp just over three weeks away I thought it would be a good time to do the annual "deep dive"  on the Americans schedule. It is probably more information than you would ever want to know about the schedule but it will give you many different views of what coach Martinson and the team will be dealing with. Four trips to the mountains in the west and a trip to Florida in the east would have made for a challenging year for the oldest tenured Allen American, Big Red (the bus). A quick calculation shows if the Americans do not fly to any away games this season the bus travel would come in right at 15,000 miles or about 250 hours of bus time. Thanks to new Allen Americans owner, Jack Gulati, Big Red has gone to the great bus graveyard in the sky. Even better, the rumor I heard is Big Red was headed to Tulsa to be the Oilers team bus (hehe). The Americans will be flying much more this season and when they do travel by bus they will be traveling in a newer, recently converted sleeper bus. More on that in a later blog post. 


- One of the goals of the ECHL when preparing the schedule is to balance cost along with having a schedule that avoids teams playing each other too many times. Allen will be playing 13 different teams this season compared to 14 last season. The bad news is five of the 13 teams (Atlanta, Florida,  Fort Wayne, Jacksonville, Indy) Allen will only play on the road. Allen will play Orlando twice at home but will not play the Solar Bears on the road.


- Below is a complete list of the Allen's 72 games by opponent. Teams with an asterisk are Mountain Division foes.

13 games - Tulsa (7 home 6 away)*
12 games - Wichita (6 home 6 away)*
10 games - Idaho (4 home 6 away)*
8 games - Kansas City (4 home 4 away)
8 games   - Rapid City (5 home 3 away)*
6 games - Colorado (4 home 2 away)*
6 games - Utah (4 home 2 away)*
2 games - Fort Wayne (0 home 2 away)
2 games - Orlando (2 home 0 away)
2 games - Florida (0 home 2 away)
1 game   - Indy (0 home 1 away)
1 game - Atlanta (0 home 1 away)
1 game - Jacksonville (0 home 1 away)

Note there is much more emphasis on divisional play this season as Allen will play 55 of their 72 (76%) games against Mountain Division foes. The only new team on the schedule is Jacksonville and that will be one game on the road. With Kansas City moving to the Central Division this season the schedule has Allen playing the Mavericks just eight times compared to 12-14 times in past seasons.



- Here is a breakdown of the schedule by day of the week. This is a very similar breakdown as last season.

Sunday - 10 (5 home, 5 away)
Monday - 2 (1 home, 1 away) - The home game is the MLK Kid's Day (January 15)
Tuesday -  3 (1 home, 2 away)
Wednesday - 10 (7 home, 3 away)
Thursday - 1 (1 home 0 away)
Friday - 21 (10 home, 11 away)
Saturday - 25 (11 home, 14 away)



 Allen has always tried to get more road games early in the season to avoid conflicts with football. The schedule is not as favorable this season. In November they will play six home games and six road games. Last season they played just three home games and 10 road games in the month of November. The following lists the games by month.

October - 7 games (3 home 4 away)
November - 12 games (6 home 6 away)
December - 13 games (8 home 5 away)
January - 12 games (5 home 7 away)
February - 11 games (4 home 7 away)
March - 14 games (8 home 6 away)
April- 3 games (2 home 1 away)
  

- One of the many things the team looks at when the schedule comes out is how many times they have to play three games back to back to back. Three games in three days is stressful especially if there is travel involved. Players are more prone to injuries in these situations. This past season the Americans played three games in three days only four times. In 2017-18 that will happen six times. Here are back to back to back games for the Allen Americans. Notice that in four of the three games in three days travel is involved.

October 27, 28, 29 - Tulsa (A), Tulsa (A), Tulsa (H)
November 3, 4, 5 - Wichita (A), Wichita (H), Tulsa (H)
December 29, 30, 31 - Wichita (A), Wichita (A), Wichita (H)
January 19, 20, 21 - Indy (A), Fort Wayne (A), Fort Wayne (A)
February 1, 2, 3 - Colorado (H), Colorado (H), Tulsa (A)
February 9, 10, 11, - Florida (A), Florida (A), Jacksonville (A)


-  Four games in five days is really brutal and that only happened once last season. This season the Americans will play four games in five days three times but notice two of them take place in consecutive weeks. Allen will play eight games in 13 days at the end of December with the three day Christmas break separating two periods of four games in five days. A real oddity is playing four games in five days against the same opponent which will happen to close out the calendar year against Wichita. Should be an interesting series. Here is the list of four games in five days.

November 1, 3, 4, 5 - Utah (H), Wichita (A), Wichita (H), Tulsa (H)
December 19, 20, 22, 23 - Kansas City (H), Kansas City (H), Tulsa (H), Tulsa (H)
December 27, 29, 30, 31 - Wichita (H), Wichita (A), Wichita (A), Wichita (H)



- Six of the 13 teams on Allen's schedule this season didn't make the playoffs last season. Of Allen's 72 regular season games 44 (61%) will be against the six teams that did not make the playoffs.


- Allen will play play four teams with a winning percentage above .600 last season. Allen will play 20 games against the four teams that had winning percentages above .600 last season. The Americans will play 36 games against teams that were below .500 last season. Here is a complete list in winning percentage order with the number of games Allen will play each team this season in parentheses:

.688 - Colorado (6)
.681 - Fort Wayne (2)
.674 - Florida (2)
.646 - Idaho (10)
.569 - Orlando (2)
.549 - Utah (6)
.521 - Kansas City (8)
.431 - Tulsa (13)
.431 - Atlanta (1)
.417 - Rapid City (8)
.368 - Indy (1)
.340 - Wichita (12)
.000 - Jacksonville (1)



- The easiest part of the schedule for Allen will be a period between November 26 and December 15. The Americans will play just four games in 20 days. A back to back on December 1 & 2 at home against Rapid City and a back to back on the road against Kansas City on December 10 & 11. At the other end of the spectrum is December 19 to December 31 when Allen plays eight games in 13 days.  


- If you have ever wanted to go on a road trip to cheer on the Americans, mark your calendars for February 9, 10, 11 when the Americans will visit Florida for two games against the Florida Everblades and one against the Jacksonville IceMen.


- Another alternative for a road trip is early in the season when Allen plays Tulsa back to back on Friday (October 27) and Saturday (October 28). It is only 230 miles to Tulsa and it is a great facility.


- The schedule is much more balanced this season than in the past when the Americans seemed to play Tulsa a lot early in the season and Wichita later. They play Tulsa every month of the season with the exception of February. Allen plays Wichita four times in November, four in December, twice in January, once in March and once in April.



-  It is interesting the Americans longest road trip and longest homestand both take place in March. Allen plays six games on the road at Idaho, Utah (2), Rapid City, Colorado (2) from March 7-18 followed by six games at home against Tulsa (2), Kansas City, Wichita and Colorado (2) from March 21-31.


- Here is the complete 2017-18 Allen Americans schedule if you don't already have it: http://allenamericans.com/schedule/



DID YOU KNOW: Allen plays Orlando for the home opener on October 21. Opening night at the Allen Event Center has been a mixed bag for the Americans since joining the ECHL. Their first year in the ECHL (2014-15) they opened at home against Tulsa and got beat 9-6 despite a hat trick from Greger Hanson. In 2015-16 Allen opened at home against Quad City and lost 2-1. It was definitely an auspicious opening game as Allen's only goal was scored by Garrett Clarke and assisted by Justin Courtnall and Joel Rumpel. Last season the results were better as Allen beat Missouri 6-3 even though the Mavericks outshot Allen 47-39. Riley Gill was great in goal. Interestingly five of the six goals scored by Allen in the home opener last season were scored by players no longer with the team. Greger Hanson, Chris Crane, Kale Kerbashian (2) and Chad Costello. The exception was Eric Roy who will be back on the blueline for Allen this season. 

Transition to Europe - Catching up with Spencer Asuchak and the Costello Family in Their Own Words

 I hope you enjoy today's post and can maybe identify with the mixed feelings many fans have whenever their favorite player or one of the best players on their team opts to head to Europe. Their head says it is a great opportunity but their heart is aching.

 You can imagine if one of your adult children that lived within miles of you came home and told you they were taking a new job in Europe. It would be a great adventure and the pay would be more than they were earning in their current job. And maybe this adult child was married and had your only grandchildren. I am sure most parents would be supportive and happy for the opportunity presented to their child but part of them would be crushed on the inside. Whenever one of the Allen Americans, who have made Allen more than just a place to play, heads to Europe many fans get that parental feeling of I am happy for you but I really don't want you to go. 

That is the case with Spencer Asuchak and Chad Costello. They have been such a big part of Allen Americans history on the ice but have also embraced North Texas off the ice and see Allen as much more than the place they work.

 When Spencer signed to play with HKM Zvolen in the top league in Slovakia he said in part, "The last four years in Allen were the best years of my life. Winning three championships in four years with such amazing teammates and fans will never be forgotten. Allen will always be a second home to me and I will always consider the teammates and fans as family."

Chad, in part, wrote this after he signed to play for the Iserlohn Roosters in the top German league this season, "The Allen community has been unbelievable to be part of the last three years. It doesn't feel like a "second home" anymore, just home. We've stayed here year around for three straight years. To the Allen fans you guys are awesome. You are not just fans for two hours during a hockey game, you are fans 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You've taken my family in and made us feel like we were at home from the get go. You are so much more than fans, you are friends and family."


I would be remiss to not mention the impact Spencer and Chad had on the ice for the Allen Americans over the last few years. Most importantly the three championships in four years for Spencer and two Kelly Cups in three years for Chad. Chad holds almost every offensive record in the record book for Allen and was selected as league MVP for all three years he was in Allen (by the PHPA in 2015 and the ECHL in 2016 & 2017). If you look at post season play, Spencer Auschak is the career leader in playoff games played, is #4 in points, #4 goals and #1 in penalty minutes. Spencer and Chad were two key cogs in Allen's success and will be greatly missed but they have a great opportunity in Europe.


With the above as background I wanted to find out from Spencer and Chad what the transition to their first year of playing hockey in Europe has been like. They both reported to their teams over a month ago and if they were still with Allen they would not report for another month from now. That is a big change from the past. I also asked Chad's wife, Ashley, what it has been like for the family as they have three young children, Cayne who is seven, Camden who is or will be three and Avery who will be two. 

Here is what they had to say in their own words. To no surprise Chad and Spencer have had great training camps/preseasons and will be big contributors to their teams as the regular season gets underway.


SPENCER: The transition has been pretty good so far. Most of our exhibition/preseason games have been against Swiss A teams so the competition has been pretty tough. A good challenge and experience though. It has been really nice having five other import players on the team and three of them, like me, played their junior hockey in the Western Hockey League. So far I have found it a bit harder to play physical on the bigger ice but at the same time it gives you a lot more room when you have the puck. I have had a decent preseason and think I am improving every game.

Spencer, who wears #86 has become an outstanding faceoff guy

Net front presence is still Spencer's bread and butter

CHAD: We just finished our last preseason game tonight. We had six preseason games and training camp was much longer then I have been used to. I finished the preseason with eight points in the six games. As a team we started slow but got much better as the preseason went on. After the first preseason game the coach and general manager announced they did not want me on a tryout contract any longer and wanted me to be on the team as a normal contract. The first week started as rough as it gets. I had a blood/staph infection from a elbow injury. So I missed the first week of camp, but it has healed up and I am all good now. As far as the transition has gone it is still a work in progress. The bigger ice sheet changes the game a lot. It is a lot more tactical and more of a defensive style game. From what I have seen so far it is a trap and quick transition game for sure. The special teams game seems to be where the games are won and lost. With the bigger sheet and more time to make plays on the power play has been a lot of fun. The league is very competitive, very fast paced, and a lot rougher in the corners then I had imagined. I am on a line with Americans Travis Turnbull and Jack Combs. We have had good success so far and I enjoy playing with them. I also have a fellow Texan on the team by the name of Chris Brown. He was born and raised in Flower Mound. We have become close and he is a great teammate and great friend that says he has heard a lot of us Allen Americans. I do miss Texas and the Americans organization a lot but also love it here in Iserlohn. The team here has a great family vibe with great older leadership. We as a family think of Allen every day and I miss my old teammates. I saw the other day that Chewy (Joel Chouinard) was named team captain. What a great decision that was as he is an amazing teammate and will do a great job. I also saw that
 Gary (Steffes) had retired from hockey. I texted him and congratulated him on a great career. To me he was everything the Americans stood for. A great person, a great leader, always gave a hard nosed effort and was always there as a teammate. I will miss playing with him and know he will do great in whatever he does. He is and always will be a great friend.

The famous #13 with line-mate Jack Combs on the far right

Another Celly

ASHLEY:  Hello Barry - wow what a month it has been ... the first week was crazy with Chad's infection and going to the hospital .. made me especially nervous with being on a new team, in a new country and Chad on a tryout contract. I was quickly relieved with how the team, the staff and the doctor handled Chad and the situation. Cayne has just started school here which I think will be the biggest adjustment. He will have a translator in class with him so that will help a lot and I am told he will be speaking German fluently soon. Cayne is also getting adjusted to his new hockey team. He was moved up to the 10 and under age group. I'm super excited for him and for the opportunity he has with him just turning 7.
Our schedule has been pretty crazy with Cayne having practice four days a week and hockey games on the weekend along with school and Chad's schedule. We have tried to make the most of the days off by exploring new towns or even going on castle tours. We took the kids to the North Sea one day.
We live in a little community in Iserlohn called Letmathe, a very cute town that has many restaurants and stores and it's right on the river. We live in a house and have a back yard. Its been nice because we can walk to Cayne's school.
I learn something new every day here. I try to pick up on my German. I am finally able get around without the GPS and I'm getting the grocery store figured out.
The hockey games are very exciting! The fans chant during the entire game. They are very prideful of their team.
I've certainly had my days when I'm missing my family and being in Texas. We miss the comfort of the known.
Chad and Chris Brown will each be auctioning off signed sticks to donate to those impacted by hurricane Harvey. So that should be up on the Roosters website soon.
Excited for the regular season to start. We will be cheering for the Allen Americans from across the pond this year! Wishing them good luck this season.

Will continue to follow your blog! Love to read it! Let me know if you need anything else.

The Costello's - Cayne, Chad, Avery, Ashley & Camden are loving Germany

Barry the Blogger Returns - Africa Trip, Allen Roster Update, Right Shot vs Left Shot Primer

It has been so long I feel like I need to reintroduce myself, Barry the Blogger here. My wife/proofreader and I just returned from a month long vacation in Africa visiting many safari camps in South Africa and Namibia. If you have any interest in nature and wildlife you must add a safari trip to Africa to your bucket list. I am not a photographer but took a few short videos with my iPhone when the mood struck me. Here is just a small sample of the sites and sounds. In the first video we were in the midst of a herd of 21 elephants as they were moving and eating. The second video was a pride of 11 lions doing what they do best as they sleep around 18 hours per day. The last video is a colony of fur seals at Cape Cross on the Skeleton Coast of Namibia (Atlantic Ocean). This colony has 250-300 thousand seals when all of the pups are born in November and December.

- Now it is time to start focusing on hockey, it is that time of year when preparations begin to quicken and activity increases. Coach Martinson has returned to Allen from his summer home in Illinois, the players that live in the DFW metroplex have started skating together and fans are finalizing their choices for which home games to attend.


- There is so much to write about in the lead up to training camp you can expect frequent blog posts starting with this one. For starters, a brief recap on a few players who won't be back in Allen and an updated roster. I will have more detailed information in future blogs.


- The past. A lot of familiar names will be missing when the Americans take the ice for their home opener against Orlando on October 21. It is possible the top six scorers from last season will be missing.  Chad Costello (122 points) is playing in Germany, Greger Hanson (76 points) signed with the San Diego Gulls (AHL), Spencer Asuchak (66 points) is playing in Slovakia, Bryan Moore (51 points) signed with the San Jose Barracuda, David Makowski (50 points) signed with the San Jose Barracuda and Gary Steffes (47 points) has retired. It is possible Moore and/or Makowski could be assigned to Allen if they don't make the Barracuda roster out of training camp but they both have a realistic shot at sticking in San Jose. These six players accounted for 54% of the Allen goals last season and 51% of the total points. This despite these six players missing a total of 84 Allen games because of call ups, injuries and the fact Makowski was in Germany until early December and Moore wasn't traded to Allen until the middle of November. It will be difficult to replace that much offensive firepower especially if Moore and Makowski are in San Jose. And let's be honest, there is no way to replace Chad Costello.


- Also missing will be fan favorites Dyson Stevenson who was traded to Wichita and all time single season penalty minutes leader (274) Derek Mathers who has retired.


- The future. With Steve Martinson at the helm you know the Americans will have another competitive team when training camp gets underway. When you win four straight championships and make it to the second round of the playoffs in your fifth year in Allen there are a lot of players that want to be part of this team. Sixteen players have been signed and announced thus far and here is that list.

Goalie
Riley Gill

Defense
Joel Chouinard
Mike Gunn
Miles Liberati
Jaynen Rissling
Eric Roy
Dalton Thrower
Josh Thrower

Forwards
Olivier Archambault
Marcus Basara
Tanner Eberle
Zach Hall
Jonathan Lessard
Kyle Neuber
Casey Pierro-Zabotel
Zach Pochiro


- Look for coach Martinson to add some additional scoring power to the list of forwards above. I know he is talking to some veteran players as well as some high scoring younger guys. Of the list above only Chouinard and Pierro-Zabotel count as veterans (260 professional games) and the ECHL rule is four veterans on the roster so look for at least one and possibly two more veterans to be added.


- Coach Martinson may be considering right shot versus left shot as he fills out the roster. Just two of the seven defensemen (Thrower brothers) are right shot and three of the eight forwards (Basara, Neuber & Pochiro) are right shot. In Canada most players are left shot (65%) while US born players are most often (65%) right shot. If you have never read about the entire issue of left vs right shot, here is a fascinating story that covers the issue in great detail. Very interesting: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/hockey/righty-lefty-don-shooting-nhl-puck-article-1.2655568



- Joel Chouinard was recently named captain of the team for the upcoming season. No matter who you talk to they will tell you this is a great choice. Joel is experienced with over 200 AHL games to his credit and has been a leader on and off the ice since he arrived in Allen last season.


- Allen's home opener (October 21) will be against the Orlando Solar Bears. As mentioned above a lot of players from last season will not be on the Allen roster this year. Two Allen players from last season that should be playing for Orlando that night are former Americans Chris Crane and Tristan King. In addition, former Allen forward John Snowden is in his third season as assistant coach of the Solar Bears.



DID YOU KNOW: Former Americans forward Kale Kerbashian took a little vacation to Australia this summer as he was brought in by the Newcastle Northstars of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) for a few games. The AIHL is not a very strong league and getting a player of Kale's caliber is something special. Kale played 10 games for Newcastle and averaged a smooth 2.50 points per game. That's right, in 10 games Kale had 25 points (7G, 18A). According to the website eliteprospects.com, Kale has not been signed for the upcoming season. He is a veteran for the first time (281 pro games) and with each ECHL team allowed just four vets it can take a little longer to find a job.