Allen gets an All-Star for an All-Star, completes three trades
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.
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.
Season tickets 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.
Photo by Amy Gutierrez.
