Americans begin anew

ALLEN, Texas – Teams across the Central Hockey League kicked off their two week training camps this Monday as the clubs begin the compressed race to prep their squads for the 2012-13 campaign.
The teams have just two weeks of practices and a pair of pre-season matches to judge and pare down the two dozen plus skaters on each of their rosters before regular season play begins on October 19th.
The scene was reminiscent of the prior three seasons in Allen as 26 players took to the ice, vying for one of the limited 19 roster slots for the Americans. One of the major differences this year are the famous, yet familiar faces leading the charge, as the new minority ownership have been on hand daily assisting with preparations.
Former Dallas Stars players and Stanley Cup Champions Mike Modano, Craig Ludwig, Ed Belfour and Richard Matvichuk have been very instrumental with getting the team ready both on and off the ice since coming on board earlier this year. While the balance of the ownership will primarily work behind the scenes, Matvichuk will be behind the bench taking on the role of Defensive Coach and Assistant General Manager alongside new Head Coach and General Manager Steve Martinson.

Aside from the new faces, the new ownership is injecting a distinct attitude change in Allen this season, one that they reaffirm at every turn. Their goal is to make the Americans a very tough team to play against, a message they plan on sending to their opponents each and every game while taking the team to the next level and winning a championship.
With breakout success their first two years, enjoying a Ray Miron Presidents Cup run in their inaugural season followed by a Governor’s Cup title, the Americans winning ways made them a high value target for their opponents every night.
This season, the team is not only embracing that challenge but plans to rush at it headlong, becoming a red menace to all comers. New Head Coach Steve Martinson explained the organizations balanced approach in selecting players for this year’s team.
“We’ve got a real good blend between skill, speed, size and toughness,” Martinson said. “Guys that are really hard to play against. I have a philosophy that we want to be big, we want to be strong, we want to be fast, we want to be talented and we want to be hard to play against but you can’t put one too far ahead of the other and we’ve got a real good mix of all of that.”
Craig Ludwig reiterated Martinson’s comments with his own.
“We’re not going to be an easy team to play against, so we find those kinds of players,” Ludwig pointed out. “We’re looking for a team guy, a guy that’s going to stand up for his team mates. Our goal here is going to be a team that’s going to compete every night; you don’t want to beat us because you will pay the price if you do and we’re going to play with that style all year.”
Defensive Coach Richard Matvichuk declared the new attitude succinctly.
“We’ve all won championships; we know what it takes to win,” Matvichuk said. “When we came in here we knew anything less than a championship wasn’t going to be acceptable.”
Both Ludwig and Matvichuk noted the praise they received from Dallas Stars forward Ray Whitney, one of several Stars players skating with the Americans in training camp. The Stars players are working out with Allen, keeping themselves in shape as the National Hockey League struggles through the current lockout. Whitney said he was shocked at the amount of talent the organization had assembled on the ice for camp.
A look at the Americans training camp roster bears out Whitney’s observation as there is a great mix of speed, scoring and toughness keenly evident. Former ECHL MVP Scott Howes, Jamie Schaafsma from Europe, AHL veteran Adam Pineault join returning Americans veteran forwards Jason Deitsch and Jarret Lukin to name only a few.
Kip Brennan returns to Allen this season along with fellow NHL veteran Darryl Bootland and Ryley Grantham to bolster the team’s grit and toughness.
The defensive corps looks solid as Trevor and Tyler Ludwig along with Mike Berube return on the backline to pair off with newcomers Mike Montgomery, Andrew Randazzo and Matt Cohen.
Goaltending for Allen should prove to be an interesting battle to watch, with fan favorite Chris Whitley returning for his third season with the Americans and Steve Silverthorn, Mark Schacker and Shane Madolora all battling for the pair of netminder positions.
At the start of every season, each team in the Central Hockey League embarks on the new campaign with high hopes and dreams of raising the Cup and in taking their programs to new heights. In listening to Allen’s new ownership and coaching staff speak this season, Allen fans should be very enthused by the renewed sense of vigor and determination to not only win, but to build a lasting hockey legacy that matches the impressive pedigree of all who are engineering it for the Americans.
Contact the writer at maurice.fitzgerald@prohockeynews.com 
Contact the photographer at robert.keith@prohockeynews.com