ALLEN SEES MAJOR OPPORTUNITY WITH THE WILD
Apr 4, 2016By Tom Witosky | Follow @toskyAHLWild
When Conor Allen got the news he’d been traded from first place Milwaukee to last place Binghamton in January, he couldn’t believe it.
“I had no idea it was coming,” the 26-year-old Chicago native said recently. “I never expected to be traded.”
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But when the AHL Senators traded Allen to the Iowa Wild just six weeks and 17 games later – he was ready to go. Instead of having to deal with furniture and other things one collects daily, Allen had only his clothes, golf clubs and other essentials to pack in the back of his SUV.
“It had been talked about some so it wasn’t a big surprise,” one of the Wild’s most recent addition to the club’s backline said. “I was on the road in 20 minutes. I shoved everything in my car and was gone.”
Allen said he drove back west quickly because he also saw great advantage in getting traded into the Minnesota Wild organization where defensive hockey is a point of emphasis. The fact that Iowa would not be making the playoffs disappointed him, but didn’t concern him all that much.
“It is something I really want to do again,” said Allen, who scored five goals and had four assists in 15 playoff games with Hartford last season in the Wolfpack’s drive to the Eastern Conference finals. “But that’s the thing about the AHL – winning is good and really helps your career, but the real goal is to make it to the NHL. So if it means more opportunity to make it to the big leagues, I’d give up playing in the playoffs. “
And, he said, Minnesota’s system has intrigued him for a long time.
“I was excited to go to Minnesota,” Allen said, adding he had talked with Minnesota last summer when he was a free agent. “It was nice to know that they still liked me and were willing to give me the opportunity.”
David Cunniff, Iowa’s head coach, has been pleased with what he has seen from Allen so far. Cunniff had paired him with Christian Folin, who has split his season this year between Iowa and Minnesota.
“Since he came along and Folin had come down, we are playing a lot less in our own end,” Cunniff said recently. “He competes very hard. We have to show him when and how to at times.”
Like most young defensemen, Cunniff said, Allen has to learn patience and how to simplify the game.
“You learn in this league what you can and can’t do,” Cunniff said. “He has had some good games and has done a good job of defending and getting the puck out.”
Allen, who has scored two goals and had 10 assists in 58 games, acknowledged he’s had a subpar year compared to last season’s 33 points with Hartford. But he said that he expects that to improve as he becomes more accustomed to the system used by Minnesota.
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“There is a totally different strategy or mindset here about how to defend than I have ever done or been taught,” he said. “I honestly think it is a good one. It is going to help my game.”
Asked to describe the system, Allen said that Cunniff emphasizes simplicity almost to the point of boredom.
“He’s got a saying he uses a lot,” Allen said, referring to a Detroit Red Wings Hall of Fame defenseman. “Nick Lidstrom never got bored making an easy play.”
For Allen, his climb to the AHL began in Chicago where he played for a combined team of several private schools including his own, the Latin School of Chicago while living in the city’s Lincoln Park area. “It wasn’t the best of leagues, but we had a good team and had a lot of fun,” he said.
From there, Allen played one season in the North American Hockey League and one season for Sioux Falls in the USHL. He then attended the University of Massachusetts-Amherst where he played three seasons while majoring in political science.
After three years at Amherst, Allen signed a free agent contract with the New York Rangers who assigned him to play at Hartford, but also gave him the opportunity to play seven games with the Rangers including several at Madison Square Garden.
“It is pretty special,” Allen said. “The history of the building, the city and the organization is what makes it special. It was cool to get a chance to play there.”
He added that he knows he has to improve his game if he wants to make it back to the NHL.
“My game has to get better, more consistent for me to make it upstairs,” Allen said adding that Cunniff’s record of developing defensemen is remarkable. ”That is what is important to me. It would be great to make a playoff run, but if I can get better at this then that is more important.”
As for next season, Allen said that he would like to remain with Minnesota and play in Iowa.
“I’d like to come back. I think it would be a good spot for me here,” he said. “It’s been great so far.”