| Allen Americans | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Allen, Texas |
| League | ECHL |
| Conference | Western |
| Division | Mountain |
| Founded | 2009 (in theCHL) |
| Home arena | Credit Union of Texas Event Center |
| Colors | Red, white, navy |
| Owner(s) | Myles Jack LaSonjia Jack |
| President | Jonny Mydra |
| Head coach | Steve Martinson |
| Captain | Brayden Watts |
| Media | CW33 Dallas (Television) +, Allen American-Star (Print) |
| Affiliates | Ottawa Senators (NHL) Belleville Senators (AHL) |
| Website | allenamericans |
| Franchise history | |
| 2009–present | Allen Americans |
| Championships | |
| Regular season titles | 2 (2010–11,2012–13) |
| Division titles | 3 (2009–10,2010–11,2014–15) |
| Conference titles | 5 (2009–10, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16) |
| Ray Miron President's Cup | 2 (2012–13,2013–14) |
| Kelly Cups | 2 (2014–15,2015–16) |
 Current season | |
TheAllen Americans are a professionalice hockey team headquartered at theCredit Union of Texas Event Center inAllen, Texas, which currently plays in theECHL. The team was founded in2009 in theCentral Hockey League (CHL) where they played for five seasons, winning theRay Miron President's Cup twice. The CHL folded in 2014 and the ECHL accepted the remaining CHL teams as members for the2014–15 season. In their first two seasons in the ECHL, Allen advanced to theKelly Cup finals, winning the championship in both years. The Americans are affiliated with theNational Hockey League'sOttawa Senators and theAmerican Hockey League'sBelleville Senators.
On April 15, 2009, theCentral Hockey League (CHL) announced an expansion team for Allen, to begin play in the 2009–10 season.[1] The new team was owned by Top Shelf, LLC, a group consisting of EXCO Resources chairman Douglas H. Miller and formerNational Hockey League (NHL) defensemanSteve Duchesne. That same day, the team announced an affiliation with the NHL'sDallas Stars.[1] Through this affiliation, they also affiliated with the Austin-basedAmerican Hockey League (AHL)'sTexas Stars.[citation needed]
On April 27, 2009, the ownership group unveiled the team's name, logo, and colors. On May 12, 2009, the Americans announcedDwight Mullins as their inaugural head coach, along with Bill MacDonald as assistant coach and head of hockey operations.[2] 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 theArizona Sundogs 1–0, on a first periodChristian Gaudetpower play goal.[3] The first game on home ice was not until November 7, 2009, a 4–1 loss to theCorpus Christi IceRays in front of a sellout crowd of 5,808 people.[4] Allen advanced to the playoffs as the number two seed in the Southern Conference in their first season, defeating both theLaredo Bucks and number one seedOdessa Jackalopes in seven games. In theRay Miron President's Cup finals, they took a 2–1 series lead over theRapid City Rush, but lost three straight games, losing the series 4–2.[citation needed]
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. They lost in the conference finals to eventual champions, theBossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, in 2011, and had a disappointing first round exit to bitter rivals theTexas Brahmas in 2012.[citation needed]
Prior to the Americans' third season, on September 1, 2011, it was announced that the Americans signed a one-year affiliation deal with theColorado Avalanche of the NHL and by extension theLake 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. The affiliation ended after Colorado and Lake Erie moved their affiliation to the now defunctDenver Cutthroats organization.[5][6]
On May 4, 2012, the Allen Americans announced that former Dallas Stars playersMike Modano,Craig Ludwig, andEd Belfour partnered up to become minority owners of Top Shelf, LLC. Shortly after, the Allen Americans announced that they would not retaingeneral manager and head coach Dwight Mullins, along with associate coach Bill McDonald.[7]Richard Matvichuk was then announced as the assistant general manager and defensive coach.[8] A month later, the Americans announcedSteve Martinson as their new head coach.[9]
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 theWichita Thunder, Allen scored two third period goals to tie the game. In overtime,Todd Robinson scored the winner to give Allen their first championship win.[10]
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 theMemphis 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.[11] Less than a week later, the Americans were sold by the Top Shelf ownership group to Stevens Brothers Sports Management, LLC. The Stevens Brothers also owned the CHL'sTulsa Oilers and[Wichita Thunder.[12]
On October 7, 2014, soon before the 2014–15 CHL season was set to begin, it was announced that the Central Hockey League ceased operations and the Americans, along with theBrampton Beast,Quad City Mallards,Missouri Mavericks, Rapid City Rush,Tulsa Oilers and Wichita Thunder, were all approved the expansion membership application into theECHL for the2014–15 season.[13][14] On October 14, 2014, the Americans announced their affiliation with theSan Jose Sharks andWorcester Sharks (and later theSan Jose Barracuda).[15]
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.[16] During the2015 playoffs, they beat both the Tulsa Oilers and Rapid City Rush to reach the Western Conference Finals against theOntario 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.[17][18] On June 14, 2015, the Americans defeated theSouth Carolina Stingrays in seven games to win their firstKelly Cup. They are the first team to advance to and win the Kelly Cup in their first ECHL season since theIdaho Steelheads accomplished the feat in 2004.[17]
Allen finished its second season in the ECHL in second place in the newly reorganized Central Division, behind theBrabham 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, withTristan King scoring the series-winning goal in overtime.[19] The Americans went on to defeat number one seed Missouri by 4-games-to-2,[20] and retain the Western Conference championship, defeating the number two seedFort Wayne Komets by 4-games-to-1,[21] 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. Allen then became the first team since theToledo Storm in 1994 to win consecutive ECHL championships, by defeating theWheeling Nailers 4-games-to-2, celebrating their fourth consecutive championship across two leagues on home ice on June 9, 2016.[22]
On February 23, 2017, the ECHL announced that the Americans had been sold by the Stevens brothers to Allen Hockey Team, LLC, led byReading Royals' owner Jack Gulati.[23][24] 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. The organization held a name-the-team contest from March 31 to June 30, 2017,[25] but nothing further was announced as of the end the2017–18 season.
Following the2018–19 season, the Americans missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.[26] 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. He also stated that if the team was not sold before the start of the season, he would not sell it during the season.[27]
The Americans were again leading the division in the2019–20 season with a 40–14–0–6 record before the season was cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. Steve Martinson was named General Manager of the Year, while defensemanAlex Breton and forwardTyler Sheehy were named to the All-ECHL First Team. The Americans were one of 14 ECHL teams to elect to play the pandemic-delayed2020–21 season. They finished with the top seed in the Western Conference, but were eliminated by the Fort Wayne Komets in the conference finals of the2021 Kelly Cup playoffs.
In the2021–22 season, the Americans became the first ECHL affiliate of the NHL expansion team, theSeattle Kraken.[28]
The2022–23 ECHL season was the first for head coach forChad Costello and President Jonny Mydra. On August 24, 2022, the Americans announced they had reached a deal to become the new ECHL affiliate of theOttawa Senators of the NHL and their AHL affiliate, theBelleville Senators.[29] Later that offseason, they announced the first major television deal in franchise history, agreeing to terms with Dallas TV stationCW33.[30] With a reach of over 2.5 million households, it became one of the largest television deals in minor league sports.[31] The Americans finished the 2022–23 season second in the Mountain Division, defeating theKansas City Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs.[32] Rookie Hank Crone won the ECHL regular season MVP,[33] and the team set their franchise record for season ticket sales.
On October 4, 2023, it was announced that the team was sold toMyles Jack and his mother LaSonjia Jack, becoming the first ever African-American majority owners in ECHL history.[34] The Americans finished the 2023–24 season third in the Mountain Division, falling to the Idaho Steelheads in the first round of the playoffs.[35] The organization dismissed Costello as head coach in May 2024.[36] A search for a new head coach began immediately following the release of Costello, and B. J. Adams of theOntario Hockey League (OHL) was officially hired on June 12, 2024.[37] On July 31, the Americans announced a new affiliation with theUtah Mammoth of the NHL and theTucson Roadrunners of the AHL.[38]
Despite breaking their franchise attendance record in the 2024-25 season with 4,573 fans per game,[39] the team missed the playoffs for just the third time in franchise history, finishing last in the Mountain Division.[40] The Americans subsequently dismissed their coaching staff and began the search for new on-ice leadership.
On May 12, 2025, the team announced the return of Steve Martinson as Head Coach and General Manager.[41]
On August 27, 2025, it was announced that the Allen Americans have reached a deal to, once again, be the official affiliate of theOttawa Senators in the NHL, and theBelleville Senators of the AHL starting with the2025–26 season.[42]
At the opening weekend of the 2010 season, the Americans introduced their mascot, Biscuit theAmerican Bulldog, who wears the jersey number "K9". Biscuit has remained the Americans mascot ever since.
The Americans are also known for theirdance 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. The group is considered a high-level feeder team forNational Football League and NHL dance teams.
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | Standing | Year | 1st round | 2nd round | 3rd round | Finals | ||||
| Central Hockey League | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–10 | 64 | 42 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 89 | 210 | 183 | 1,229 | 2nd; Southern Conference | 2010 | BYE | W, 4–3,LAR | W, 4–3,ODE | L, 2–4,RC | ||||
| 2010–11 | 66 | 47 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 97 | 271 | 211 | 1,184 | 1st; Berry Conference | 2011 | W, 3–1,TEX | W, 3–2,ODE | L, 1–4,BS | — | ||||
| 2011–12 | 66 | 39 | 18 | 3 | 6 | 87 | 212 | 175 | 1,336 | 2nd; Berry Conference | 2012 | — | L, 2–4,TEX | — | — | ||||
| 2012–13 | 66 | 39 | 18 | 4 | 5 | 87 | 210 | 176 | 1,571 | 1st; CHL | 2013 | — | W, 4–1,DEN | W, 4–3,MO | W, 4–3,WIC | ||||
| 2013–14 | 66 | 39 | 22 | 1 | 4 | 83 | 249 | 214 | 1,498 | 3rd; CHL | 2014 | — | W, 4–1,BRM | W, 4–2,QC | W, 4–1,DEN | ||||
| ECHL | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–15 | 72 | 48 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 106 | 292 | 203 | 1,644 | 1st; Central Division | 2015 | W, 4–1,TUL | W, 4–2,RC | W, 4–3.ONT | W, 4–3,SC | ||||
| 2015–16 | 72 | 41 | 24 | 3 | 4 | 89 | 222 | 204 | 1,189 | 2nd; Central Division | 2016 | W, 4–3,IDH | W, 4–2,MO | W, 4–1,FW | W, 4–2,WHL | ||||
| 2016–17 | 72 | 49 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 104 | 294 | 203 | 1,432 | 1st; Mountain Division | 2017 | W, 4–1,UTA | L, 2–4,COL | — | — | ||||
| 2017–18 | 72 | 35 | 29 | 6 | 2 | 78 | 235 | 232 | 1,411 | 3rd; Mountain Division | 2018 | L, 3–4,IDH | — | — | — | ||||
| 2018–19 | 72 | 25 | 41 | 4 | 2 | 56 | 208 | 269 | 1,691 | 7th; Mountain Division | 2019 | did not qualify | |||||||
| 2019–20 | 62 | 40 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 88 | 247 | 195 | 745 | 1st; Mountain Division | 2020 | Season cancelled | |||||||
| 2020–21 | 72 | 45 | 23 | 3 | 1 | 94 | 236 | 196 | 996 | 1st; Western Conference | 2021 | — | W, 3–0,UTA | L, 1–3,FW | — | ||||
| 2021–22 | 72 | 35 | 28 | 8 | 1 | 79 | 240 | 244 | 1,000 | 3rd; Mountain Division | 2022 | L, 1–4,RC | — | — | — | ||||
| 2022–23 | 72 | 37 | 32 | 2 | 1 | 77 | 260 | 263 | 1,172 | 2nd; Mountain Division | 2023 | W, 4–2,KCM | L, 1–4,IDH | — | — | ||||
| 2023–24 | 72 | 33 | 35 | 3 | 1 | 70 | 233 | 276 | 1,211 | 3rd; Mountain Division | 2024 | L, 1–4,IDH | — | — | — | ||||
| 2024–25 | 72 | 16 | 45 | 8 | 3 | 43 | 175 | 311 | 941 | 8th; Mountain Division | 2025 | did not qualify | |||||||
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