Changes Happening Everyday in Allen's Training Camp
ALLEN, Texas – With training camp finally here and more players arriving each day it is time for me to crank up the keyboard and start writing about the team on a more regular basis.
This season will be a challenge with all of the COVID protocols in place. I am used to spending practice days and game days in the coach's office and locker room and they are now off-limits.
Fans that attend practice are also impacted. Due to restrictions in place as a result of the ECHL's COVID-19 protocols, all practice sessions during training camp and the 2020-21 season will be closed to the public. The good news is coach Martinson and the players have always been more than willing to help in any way they can so it will just be in a different way this season. It will be an opportunity to try getting and telling the story using new ways of communicating.
The official training camp roster hasn't been released but here is what is known and expected:
– Defenseman Cody Corbett has been released, this was in the ECHL transactions yesterday.
– Players from AHL teams have started to be assigned to ECHL teams. You can expect announcements soon of players being assigned to Allen. When Iowa sends players to Allen for training camp they would come from the group of players that signed two-way AHL/ECHL contracts. Based on the Iowa Wild press releases the players that signed two-way contracts are two defensemen (Matt Register, Phil Beaulieu) and three forwards (Tyler Sheehy, Jesse Mychan, Kameron Kielly).
– Steve Martinson has signed a forward that has not been announced. A rookie last season who had 46 points (20G, 26A) in 58 ECHL games.
– I have heard but cannot confirm that in addition to the five players that can be assigned to ECHL teams an additional three NHL/AHL contracted players are allowed that don't count against the roster numbers or salary cap for the first month of the season. I do know that Martinson has been fielding calls from AHL teams trying to place players. I would expect these three "extra" spots to be filled if Martinson can get the right players.
– Look for the transaction list from the ECHL this afternoon as several of the players referred to above should be on the list.
The Roster
Here is the roster of signed and announced players with jersey numbers. The only change today is the deletion of Cody Corbett. Olivier Archambault is on the list but Martinson says he will not be in Allen for the start of the season. There will be many changes to this list this week.
#31 C.J. Motte
#39 Chris Nell
#4 Turner Ottenbreit
#14 Les Lancaster
#20 Ben Carroll
#23 Cole Fraser
#25 Nolan Kneen
#9 Braylon Shmyr
#10 Corey Durocher
#17 Jared Van Wormer
#18 Colton Heffley
#21 Jared Bethune
#26 Spencer Asuchak
#27 Zane Franklin
#40 Josh Lammon
#44 Olivier Archambault
#47 Patrick Watling
#71 Dyson Stevenson
#?? Alex Lavoie
Former Player Update
– Bryan Moore signed with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits this week. If you include loans to AHL teams over the years, Greenville will be the 10th team Bryan has played for since 2015-16.
– Jack Sadek, who led Allen in plus/minus (+25) last season as a rookie defenseman, signed a two-way AHL/ECHL deal with the Ontario Reign at the end of September. The Reign just assigned Jack to the Greenville Swamp Rabbits.
– Dalton Thrower was just released by the Jacksonville Icemen.
– Four former Allen players are playing in the top league in Norway. Chad Costello plays for Stavanger and has 14 points (5G, 9A) in 10 games. Dante Salituro plays for Narvik and has 12 points (6G, 6A) in 16 games. Daniel Leavens plays for Stjernen and has 20 points (9G, 11A) in 15 games. Defenseman Travis Brown also plays for Stjernen and has three assists in 15 games.
– Alex Breton is playing in Slovakia and already has eight points (3G, 5A) in just nine games.
– There have been numerous schedule changes among the Mountain Division teams primarily because the Wichita Thunder is dealing with more restrictive arena capacity through January 9. The change for Allen has them traveling to Rapid City rather than Kansas City in early January. Here is the revised schedule for the Americans. There are no games scheduled after January 9 as the league awaits a decision from five teams whether they will play this season. Allen's schedule (home games in bold):
December 12 at Tulsa
December 18 vs Rapid City
December 26 vs Tulsa
December 31 vs Wichita
January 1 at Wichita
January 6 at Rapid City
– The top pro league in Great Britain (EIHL) has been given over five million dollars by the government to resume play. The teams in the league are looking at the possibility of a January start date. If the EIHL does resume, some of the North American players that signed in the ECHL when the EIHL suspended may return to Great Britain. Goalie C.J. Motte is the only Allen player that was signed in the EIHL (Coventry Blaze) so he could decide to return if they resume play.
Norway is a long and narrow country. Chad Costello is playing in Stavanger which is in the southwestern part of the country. Dante Salituro is playing in Narvik which is 1200 miles to the north and 140 miles inside the Arctic Circle.
To give you an idea of the difference, in Dallas today there will be 10:09 hours of daylight and a high temperature of 52. In Stavanger with the Costello family, the high was 44 with 6:50 hours of daylight. Dante Salituro enjoyed a high temp of 38 with 2:18 hours of daylight. Sunrise was 10:30 am and sunset was 12:48 pm. If you wonder why temps that far north are so mild it is because the warm ocean currents (an extension of the Gulf Stream) help keep the temperature up.
Related TopicsAlex BretonAllen AmericansBryan MooreChad CostelloCody CorbettDalton ThrowerDaniel LeavensDante SalituroECHLFeaturedJack SadekJesse MychanKameron KiellyMatt RegisterOlivier ArchambaultPhil BeaulieuSteve MartinsonThe Sin BinTravis BrownTyler Sheehy