The Allen Americans are a professional ice hockey team headquartered at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas, which currently plays in the ECHL. The Allen Americans Professional Hockey Club was established in 2009-10, as an expansion team in the former Central Hockey League (CHL). The team’s primary colors are red, white and blue and have worn those colors all twelve seasons of professional hockey.
The Americans play in the 4,400 seat Allen Event Center, located at 200 East Stacy Road in the Village at Allen. Reba McIntyre played the first event at the new building on November 6, 2009.
The team front office phone number is (972) 912-1000.
The opening weekend of the 2010 season saw the introduction of the Americans' mascot, Biscuit the American Bulldog, who wears the jersey number "K9". The Americans are also known for their dance team, the "Allen American Ice Angels". Founded the same year as the team, the group performs at every home game and makes various community appearances.
Let's delve into the rich history and exciting journey of this esteemed hockey club.
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Early Years and CHL Dominance
On April 15, 2009, the Central Hockey League (CHL) announced an expansion team for Allen, to begin play in the 2009-10 season. The new team was owned by Top Shelf, LLC, a group consisting of EXCO Resources chairman Douglas H. Miller and former National Hockey League (NHL) defenseman Steve Duchesne. On April 27, 2009, the ownership group unveiled the team's name, logo, and colors.
On May 12, 2009, the Americans announced Dwight Mullins as their inaugural head coach, along with Bill MacDonald as assistant coach and head of hockey operations. As construction on the Allen Event Center would not be completed in time for the beginning of the CHL season, Allen began the season with a seven-game road streak, winning five, including their first ever game against the Arizona Sundogs 1-0, on a first period Christian Gaudet power play goal.
The first game on home ice was not until November 7, 2009, a 4-1 loss to the Corpus Christi IceRays in front of a sellout crowd of 5,808 people.
Allen advanced to the playoffs as the number two seed in the Southern Conference in their first season, defeating both the Laredo Bucks and number one seed Odessa Jackalopes in seven games. Allen also qualified for the playoffs in the following two seasons, winning the Bud Poile Governors’ Cup regular season title in only their second season in the league.
Prior to the Americans' third season, on September 1, 2011, it was announced that the Americans signed a one-year affiliation deal with the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL and by extension the Lake Erie Monsters of the AHL. This agreement officially made the Americans affiliates of the Avalanche after having a working relationship with the Monsters over the previous two years.
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On May 4, 2012, the Allen Americans announced that former Dallas Stars players Mike Modano, Craig Ludwig, and Ed Belfour partnered up to become minority owners of Top Shelf, LLC. After winning their second Bud Poile Governor's Cup regular season title, the Allen Americans went on to win the Ray Miron President's Cup for the first time on May 11, 2013, in front of a sold out crowd.
After falling behind 2-0 in the first two periods of game seven against the Wichita Thunder, Allen scored two third period goals to tie the game. In 2012-13, Allen defeated Wichita in seven games, winning the deciding contest 3-2 in overtime on a cup-clinching goal by Todd Robinson. Allen Forward Brian McMillin was named the CHL Finals MVP.
On May 10, 2014, the Allen Americans became only the third CHL team to win back-to-back Ray Miron President's Cup championships, and the first since the Memphis RiverKings achieved the feat in 2003. Allen scored four second period goals to defeat the Denver Cutthroats 5-2, winning the finals series four games to one in front of a sold out crowd.
The Americans repeated as CHL Champions in 2013-14, defeating the Denver Cutthroats in five games. Blenheim, ONT native Jamie Schaafsma was named the CHL Finals Most Valuable Player for Allen.
Less than a week later, the Americans were sold by the Top Shelf ownership group to Stevens Brothers Sports Management, LLC.
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Transition to ECHL and Continued Success
The Central Hockey League ceased operations following the 2013-14 season, which allowed for Allen to join the ECHL, the Top AA professional hockey league in North America. Allen, Brampton, Quad City, Tulsa, Wichita, Rapid City and Missouri (now Kansas City) all became members of the ECHL in October of 2014.
The Americans finished its inaugural ECHL season atop the Central Division which encompassed the former CHL members, having the second-best overall regular-season performance and the best offense in the league, with 192 goals. During the 2015 playoffs, they beat both the Tulsa Oilers and Rapid City Rush to reach the Western Conference Finals against the Ontario Reign.
The Americans would win the first game before losing the following three games to the Reign. The Americans would come back to win the following three games in order to clinch the series. They were the fifth team in ECHL postseason history to win a series after trailing 3-games-to-1.
On June 14, 2015, the Americans defeated the South Carolina Stingrays in seven games to win their first Kelly Cup. The Red kept up their winning ways in the new league as Allen won back to back ECHL Kelly Cup Championships in 2014-15 and 2015-16, beating South Carolina and Wheeling respectively.
Allen finished its second season in the ECHL in second place in the newly reorganized Central Division, behind the Brabham Cup champions Missouri Mavericks, earning the number four seed in the Western Conference. After trailing 3-games-to-2 in the opening series with the Idaho Steelheads, Allen forced a game seven at home, with Tristan King scoring the series-winning goal in overtime.
The Americans went on to defeat number one seed Missouri by 4-games-to-2, and retain the Western Conference championship, defeating the number two seed Fort Wayne Komets by 4-games-to-1, becoming the first team to make back-to-back trips to the ECHL finals since 1994, and the first-ever since the switch from the Riley Cup to the Kelly Cup.
Ownership and Leadership Changes
On February 23, 2017, the ECHL announced that the Americans had been sold by the Stevens brothers to Allen Hockey Team, LLC, led by Reading Royals' owner Jack Gulati. As part of the transition, Gulati planned to rebrand the team to be more inclusive of the Dallas-Fort Worth area while keeping the Americans name and keeping the team at the Allen Events Center.
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In the 12-year history of the Americans organization the Club has won league championships four times; CHL President's Cup Champions in both 2012-13 & 2013-14, and then ECHL Kelly Cup Champions during the Red's first two seasons in the league, 2014-15 and 2015-16.
The Americans have had three ownership groups in their 10-year history. Douglas Miller, the former CEO of Exco Resources, formed Top Shelf LLC, and was the team's original owner from October of 2009 through May of 2014. During that time, Miller brought on minority owners Mike Modano, Ed Belfour, Craig Ludwig and Richard Matvichuk, all former Dallas Stars.
In May of 2014, Miller sold the franchise to Steven Sports Group, based in Wichita, Kansas. The club was sold to Jack D. Gulati in February of 2017. Known as the “Serial Entrepreneur, Gulati counts the Americans among more than 45 companies that he has led over the course of his business career.
Gulati acquired his first business in 1968 at the age of 26, and in the ensuing years he bought, sold, or created forty businesses. Among his companies have been Fidelity Technologies Corporation, TeleAlarm Group, Fidelity Investment Corporation, SafetyCare Technologies, and Stokesay Castle, located in USA and Europe.
Coaches and Captains
The Allen Americans have had two Head Coaches in their existence. Dwight Mullins was hired on to coach the then expansion team in 2009 and remained the coach through the 2011-2012 season. Steve Martinson was hired to replace Mullins in the 2012-2013 season.
A native of Minnetonka, Minnesota, Martinson played professionally for 12 years, spanning from 1981-1996 at several different levels. He played in 50 games in the National Hockey League, for parts of four seasons, with the Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadians and Minnesota North Stars.
Over the years, Allen has had a stable of strong leadership to wear the C as the team's captain. Jarret Lukin in 2009-10, Tobias Whelan in 2010-11, Jason Deitsch for two seasons in 2011-12 & 2012-13, Mike Berube in 2013-14 and Jamie Schaafsma in 2014-15.
Chad Costello and Gary Steffes served as Co-Captains in 2015-16 and 2016-17. Joel Chouinard was named the new captain in 2017-18. The current captains of the AMERICANS are Spencer Asuchak and Dyson Stevenson.
Recent Seasons
Following the 2018-19 season, the Americans missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. In July 2019, owner Gulati also announced that the team for sale before the 2019-20 season due to health issues in his family at the time and thought it would be better for the team to have local owners instead of an absentee owner.
The Americans were again leading the division in the 2019-20 season with a 40-14-0-6 record before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Steve Martinson was named General Manager of the Year, while defenseman Alex Breton and forward Tyler Sheehy were named to the All-ECHL First Team.
The Americans were one of 14 ECHL teams to elect to play the pandemic-delayed 2020-21 season. The Red played up to their potential, returning to the postseason, having won a league-best 45 games during the delayed season, which began in December 2020. Allen captured the ECHL Western Conference Regular Season Championship but lost to Fort Wayne in the Western Conference Finals, 3 games to 1. Defenseman Les Lancaster was named the 2020-21 ECHL Defenseman of the Year.
The 2022-23 ECHL season was the first for head coach for Chad Costello and President Jonny Mydra. Americans forward Jakov Novak during Round 1 of the 2023 Kelly Cup PlayoffsOn October 4, 2023, it was announced that the team was sold to Myles Jack and his mother LaSonjia Jack, becoming the first ever African-American majority owners in ECHL history.
The Americans finished the 2023-24 season third in the Mountain Division, falling to the Idaho Steelheads in the first round of the playoffs. The organization dismissed Costello as head coach in May 2024. A search for a new head coach began immediately following the release of Costello, and B. J.
In total, the Americans have made the playoffs in 10 of their 12 seasons, missing the postseason in 2018-19, and in 2019-20, when the ECHL cancelled the season in March due to the outbreak of the global pandemic.
NHL Alumni
The Americans have had two players in their nine-year history that have moved up to the National Hockey League. Jordie Benn, who was on the Americans inaugural roster in 2009-10, and Aaron Dell, who won a CHL Presidents' Cup with Allen in 2013.
Broadcasting and Communications
Vice President & Broadcasting & Communications, Tommy Daniels is the team's longest tenured employee, having been with the team since the day it was founded back in 2009.
Allen Americans: Season-by-Season Record
The table below summarizes the season-by-season record of the Allen Americans, showcasing their performance in the CHL and ECHL.
| Season | League | Regular Season Record | Playoff Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-10 | CHL | 37-23-4 (82 points) | Lost in Semifinals |
| 2010-11 | CHL | 41-16-9 (91 points) | Lost in Quarterfinals |
| 2011-12 | CHL | 42-16-8 (92 points) | Lost in Semifinals |
| 2012-13 | CHL | 48-13-5 (101 points) | Won Championship |
| 2013-14 | CHL | 43-17-6 (92 points) | Won Championship |
| 2014-15 | ECHL | 48-14-10 (106 points) | Won Kelly Cup |
| 2015-16 | ECHL | 46-23-3 (95 points) | Won Kelly Cup |
| 2016-17 | ECHL | 41-25-6 (88 points) | Lost in Quarterfinals |
| 2017-18 | ECHL | 37-27-8 (82 points) | Lost in Quarterfinals |
| 2018-19 | ECHL | 31-36-5 (67 points) | Did not qualify |
| 2019-20 | ECHL | 40-14-6 (86 points) | Season Cancelled |
| 2020-21 | ECHL | 45-20-7 (97 points) | Lost in Conference Finals |
| 2021-22 | ECHL | 31-35-6 (68 points) | Did not qualify |
| 2022-23 | ECHL | 36-33-3 (75 points) | Lost in Quarterfinals |
| 2023-24 | ECHL | 34-33-5 (73 points) | Lost in Quarterfinals |