The Allen Americans obtained the rights to David Simoes today in a trade with the Mississippi RiverKings. In exhange, they sent the rights to Tyler Wooddisse to Mississippi. (Photo Credit: John Coffin)

The Allen Americans made a move they feel will strengthen their blue line for the 2010-2011 season, sending the rights to defenseman Tyler Wooddisse to Mississippi in exchange for the rights to defenseman David Simoes.

Here is the press release from Allen, which has some good quotes from Coach Mullins, as well as info on Simoes and Wooddisse:

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ALLEN, Texas – The Allen Americans acquired the rights to former Mississippi defenseman David Simoes for the 2010-11 season in exchange for Tyler Wooddisse’s rights.

“David is a solid individual. He will be a great guy in our locker room and community,” Americans Head Coach and General Manager Dwight Mullins said. “As a player, he brings an unbelievable amount of grit and attitude that is hard to play against. Like Britt Dougherty, he is sure to be a fan favorite.”

Simoes hails from Vanderhoof, British Columbia. The 25-year-old has three CHL seasons under his belt after playing for New Mexico, Youngstown and Mississippi. He had 15 points (2g-13a=15) in 58 games last year while racking up 171 penalty minutes.

In his three professional seasons, the five-foot-10-inch, 205-pound blueliner has spent 601 minutes in the sin bin over the course of 177 games. Simoes played Junior A hockey in the British Columbia Hockey League for five years before a brief stint at the South Alberta Institute of Technology prior to his professional career.

“[My wife and I] are very excited to be coming to Allen. After playing there last year, it seemed like a great city. I know the organization is top notch, and I’ve heard great things about Coach Mully and Coach Macker,” Simoes said Tuesday.

Simoes pointed to the returning players’ desire to win the Ray Miron Presidents’ Cup as the primary factor for wanting to be in Allen. “The main reason that we’re excited is from reading the other players’ quotes about coming back to win. We want to win a championship.”

The Americans sent defenseman Tyler Wooddisse’s rights to Mississippi in the trade.

“It’s always difficult in a situation like this because in order to get a player of value, you have to give up value,” Mullins said. “Tyler contributed a lot to the success we had last year, and it was a touch decision to make this move. But in return, we are getting a player that we felt we needed to have to continue to move forward.”

Wooddisse had 34 points (11g-23a=34) in 62 games during the regular season. He had seven assists in the Americans’ 20-game playoff run.

Individual tickets go on sale Sept. 3, but season tickets and partial plans for Allen’s second season are on sale now. Ticket prices start as low as $9 per game. As always, there is free parking at every game. For more information, call 972-912-1000.

The Americans made three trades on Monday, including one for the rights to Ryan Garbutt, shown above playing for Corpus Christi against the Allen Americans on January 29, 2010. (Photo Credit: John O'Neill)

The Allen Americans had a busy day today, completing some trades for “future considerations” that were made earlier this season.  One of these deals gave them the rights to rookie all-star forward Ryan Garbutt.  Earlier in the season, the Americans swapped Kurtis Dulle to the Corpus Christi IceRays for future considerations.  The acquisition of Garbutt’s rights complete that transaction.

In addition to Garbutt’s rights, the Americans also acquired the rights to Andrew Davis from the Rio Grande Killer Bees.  In November, Allen sent defensman Jason Seerey to the Bees.

The Americans did lose a player from their roster today, though, to complete a future considerations deal on their part.  Last offseason, the Americans got veteran defenseman Erik Adams from the Colorado Eagles.  Today they sent defensman George Bradley’s rights to Colorado to complete the trade.

Here is the press release from the Americans:

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ALLEN, Texas – The Allen Americans completed three trades today to wrap up the 2009-10 season that included acquiring the rights of rookie sensation Ryan Garbutt from the Corpus Christi IceRays.

Earlier in the season, Allen traded All-Star defenseman Kurtis Dulle to Corpus Christi in exchange for future considerations. Allen acquiring Garbutt’s rights completes the transaction.

Garbutt recently finished his first professional season leading all rookies in scoring with 50 points in 64 games. He also led first-years in goals, netting 22, and in the plus/minus category, going +24. The gritty forward also racked up 204 penalty minutes. He tied Americans forward Tobias Whelan for most shorthanded goals among rookies with three and led first-years in game-winning goals with four.

The Winnipeg native is pleased to have the opportunity to play for the Southern Conference Champions. “I had a lot of fun in Texas. It’s nice to have that option,” Garbutt said today. “Obviously Allen has a good franchise. They established themselves this year and had a good run in the finals. I’m sure they’ll be looking to win it next year.”

He was selected to the All-Rookie Team and finished second in voting for CHL Rookie of the Year. In the annual “Best of the Best” poll, Garbutt’s peers voted him best rookie. Prior to that, the 24-year-old played four seasons at Brown University.

“We’re excited to be able to add a player of his caliber to our roster,” Allen Head Coach and General Manager Dwight Mullins said Monday afternoon.

The Americans also completed trades with the Colorado Eagles and Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees. The Americans sent George Bradley’s rights to Colorado and the club received the rights of Andrew Davis from Rio Grande Valley.

Last offseason, the Americans received veteran Erik Adams from the Eagles. Adams finished the year with 17 points in 40 games with a +3 plus/minus rating. Before the 2009-10 season, the veteran had racked up 387 career games. With this experience, the defenseman helped guide Allen to uncharted depths in the club’s inaugural season as it won its first Southern Conference Championship. Bradley played in six games for the Americans at the end of the regular season.

In return for sending defenseman Jason Seerey to Rio Grande Vally in November, the Americans receive the rights to Andrew Davis. Davis played four seasons for Concordia University before launching his professional career in 2005 with the Memphis Riverkings. His career consists of 238 games with the majority being in the CHL. In 2009-10, he played 41 games for the Missouri Mavericks before being traded to the Killer Bees. He had 19 points in 62 games last year.

The defenseman was born June 11, 1981 and hails from Nepean, Ontario. He stands at six-foot-two and clocks in at 195 pounds.

The Allen Americans traded goaltender Charlie Effinger to the Missouri Mavericks on Monday, completing the trade made last year for former defenseman Sean Perkins. (Photo Credit: John O'Neill)

On Monday, the Allen Americans shipped goalie Charlie Effinger to the Missouri Mavericks to complete the trade they made at the end of last year to bring in defenseman Sean Perkins.  The Americans waived Perkins at the end of last month, but still needed to complete the trade with the Mavs.  Although I wasn’t surprised to hear that Effinger was traded to another team (Chris Whitley has certainly cemented himself as the Americans #1 netminder), I was a bit surprised to hear that it was to complete a “future considerations” deal that Allen had previously made.  Effinger has twice been called up to the AHL, and has played strongly for Allen when called upon.  Missouri certainly ended up with a great player coming back their way.

Allen also signed a goaltender to backup Whitley now that Effinger is gone.  David McKee will join the Americans in time for their Thursday night game against the Tulsa Oilers, and will surely be on the bench if needed.  McKee, a native of Irving, TX, is the first native Texan on the Americans’ roster. He had a solid collegiate career at Cornell, and went on to play in the ECHL and AHL. McKee’s stats are at the bottom of this article, but here is Allen’s press release about the day’s transactions:

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ALLEN, Texas – The Allen Americans announced that the club traded goalie Charlie Effinger to Missouri and signed netminder David McKee today.

Earlier this season, Missouri sent defenseman Sean Perkins to Allen in exchange for future considerations. The Effinger trade today completed the earlier transaction.

Effinger had an 8-3-1 record with the Americans, posting two shutouts. He was the first player in club history to be sent up to the American Hockey League. The Texas Stars, the Dallas Stars’ AHL affiliate, called up Effinger Oct. 30 and Nov. 25.

McKee is the first native Texan on the Americans with the hometown of Irving. The 6-foot-1 goaltender attended Cornell University, where he played 102 games over three seasons. From 2006-2009, the 26-year-old played in the ECHL for the Augusta Lynx, Phoenix Roadrunners and the Bakersfield Condors with two stints in the AHL.

On Wednesday, the Laredo Bucks traded goaltender Kyle Gajewski to the Colorado Eagles for future considerations. (Photo Credit: Melissa Guzman)

The Laredo Bucks announced today they have traded reserve goaltender Kyle Gajewski to the Colorado Eagles for future considerations.  Gajewski appeared in 13 games for Laredo, posting a 5-5-2 record, a 3.96 GAA and a .883 save percentage.  The writing appeared to be on the wall, to a certain extent, when the Bucks signed former Corpus Christi goalie Kevin Desfosses to a five-game contract on January 14th.  In the five games he played, Desfosses went 3-1, with a 2.00 G.A.A and a .948 save percentage.  On Tuesday, Desfosses signed a contract for the remainder of the season, and it was only a matter of time until the Bucks moved Gajewski.

Gajewski will join a Colorado squad that currently sits in 2nd place in the Northern Conference, with a 25-9-3 record.  The Eagles lost their number one goalie, Andrew Penner, when he was called up to the AHL.  It’s likely that Gajewski will back up current Eagles number two goalie, Mike Mole, but there’s also a possibility they will let him compete for starting time. Apparently, Eagles President and General Manager Chris Stewart has been sold on Gajewski for a while, and may want to see him between the pipes.

“We believe Kyle is a very good goalie and, in fact, this is not the first time we’ve had interest in him,” said Stewart. “We were in discussions over the summer with his agent and we’re happy to finally welcome him to Northern Colorado.”

Here is the release the Laredo Bucks put out:

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LAREDO, TX - The Laredo Bucks of the Central Hockey League announced Wednesday that they have traded goaltender Kyle Gajewski to the Colorado Eagles in exchange for future considerations.

The 22-year-old Gajewski (pronounced gah-JOO-ski) appeared in 13 games for the Bucks this season posting a 5-5-2 record with a 3.96 G.A.A and a .883 sv. %. Gajewski picked up the Bucks only shutout win of the season on December 17th when he set aside all 33 shots he faced in Laredo’s 2-0 win at Corpus Christi.

Gajewski, a native of London, Ontario, stopped 30 or more shots in seven of his 13 appearances this season while giving up five or more goals five times this season.

Gajewski was an OHL All-Star in 2007-08 with Sault-Ste Marie, where he set career highs in wins (39), and goals against average (2.44), while going 39-16-4.

Last season the 22-year-old Gajewski (pronounce GA-JU-ski) split time between three teams in his rookie year in the ECHL, playing with Cincinnati, Johnstown, and Florida.

Gajewski, 5’10, 155 pounds, went a combined 12-11-2 in 29 games last season. He spent the majority of the campaign with Cincinnati, playing in 21 games with a 7-10-1 record, to go along with a 3.82 G.A.A, and a .874 sv. %. Gajewski went 1-1 with Johnstown (3.40 G.A.A, .917 sv. %), and 4-0 with Florida (2.67 G.A.A, .905 sv. %).

The London, Ontario native had a stellar four-year junior career with Sault-Ste Marie, where went a combined 114-71-31 with 12 shutouts, three in each of his four seasons.

JR Bria

Paul Kelly

Troy Ofukany

The Odessa Jackalopes sent forward Paul Kelly and defenseman JR Bria to the Wichita Thunder today, in exchange for forward Troy Ofukany.  Ofukany will go from a team that has struggled all season to the top-ranked team in the league.  Odessa is likely hoping that the forward, who was struggling in Wichita, will find his groove on a winning organization.  Ofukany has had several successful offensive years in the WHL, and plays a strong physical game at the CHL level.  Here is the press release from Odessa:

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(Odessa, TX) – The Central Hockey League’s Odessa Jackalopes announced Tuesday that forward Paul Kelly and defenseman JR Bria have been traded to the Wichita Thunder in exchange for forward Troy Ofukany.

Ofukany (oh-FOO-kuh-nee), a Kamloops, British Columbia native, currently has nine points (five goals, four assists) in 31 games this season for Wichita. Last season the 22-year-old forward recorded 36 points (17 goals, 19 assists) in 62 games for the Thunder, his rookie year in the league, while also accumulating 122 penalty minutes. The 6’2”, 205-pound winger is a product of the WHL (Western Hockey League), where he played for Kelowna, Regina and Red Deer (Alberta).

Paul Kelly joined the Jackalopes for the final nine games of the 2008-09 season, contributing 17 goals and nine assists in 40 total games. Bria signed with Odessa during the offseason and had one assist in five games for the Jacks this year.

The Allen Americans announced they had aquired defensemen Kurtis Dulle from the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees in exchange for future considerations. Dulle has played with the Killer Bees and the Colorado Eagles this season.

The Allen Americans announced a trade and a signing today.  The Americans traded defenseman Jason Seerey to the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees for future considerations.  They also signed defenseman Kurtis Dulle.  Here is the release out of Allen:

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ALLEN, Texas – The Allen Americans announced the signing of defenseman Kurtis Dulle (pronounced DOO-lee) and traded defenseman Jason Seerey to the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees today. In exchange for Seerey, the Americans will receive future considerations.

Seerey played in 11 games for the Americans this season and tallied one goal and four assists.

Dulle, 30, is an offensive defenseman and hails from Craik, Saskatchewan, in Canada. He weighs 196 and stands at 5-foot-11. The gritty player graduated from the University of Regina and has played in the CHL since 2005 with a six-game stint in Sweden in 2007. Dulle’s CHL teams include Rio Grande Valley, Tulsa, Youngstown (now defunct) and Colorado.

During the 2006-07 season, he was selected as a CHL All-Star and was named the Tulsa Oilers’ Best Offensive Defenseman following the season. In 2007-08, he was an assistant captain and was named the Youngstown SteelHounds Most Valuable Defenseman.