Chad Costello (born July 22, 1986) is an American professional ice hockey player and coach. He is the former head coach of the Allen Americans in the ECHL.[1]

Chad Costello
Born (1986-07-22) July 22, 1986 (age 38)
Johnston, Iowa, U.S.
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Right
Played for Lake Erie Monsters
Springfield Falcons
Worcester Sharks
Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Iserlohn Roosters
Krefeld Pinguine
Stavanger Oilers
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2008–2022

Playing career

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Costello played junior hockey with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders where he scored 76 points to be the leading scoring in the United States Hockey League for the 2005–06 season.[2] He then attended Northeastern University where he played NCAA Division I college hockey with the Northeastern Huskies men's ice hockey team where he scored 14 goals and 21 assists for 35 points in 59 games.

In 2008–09, Costello played 65 games with the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the International Hockey League. In the following season, Costello signed with the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League. In leading the Oilers in scoring and finishing ninth in the CHL league scoring, Costello was loaned to their affiliate and made his AHL debut with the Lake Erie Monsters.

Costello was signed to a one-year contract, alongside Oilers linemate Jack Combs, by the Colorado Eagles of the ECHL on August 18, 2011, for the 2011–12 season.[3] Costello was leading the Eagles and the ECHL in scoring with 76 points in 47 games before he suffered a season-ending knee injury on March 10, 2012.[4] Despite his injury, Costello finished fourth in league scoring and was selected to the First All-Star Team and chosen as the ECHL's Most Valuable Player.[5][6]

Costello returned to the Eagles the following season and repeated his success scoring 49 points in 27 games. His offensive partnership with Combs was signified when they were both signed to try-out contracts with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on December 18, 2012. With the conclusion of the NHL lockout inducing significant roster movement, Costello was signed again alongside Combs, to an AHL deal with the Sound Tigers for the remainder of the season on January 9, 2013.[7] In 21 games for the Sound Tigers, Costello produced 12 points, but was unable to find a constant role on the team. He was subsequently released from his AHL contract with the Sound Tigers and rejoined the Colorado Eagles on March 9, 2013.[8]

On August 13, 2013, Costello returned to the CHL as a free agent, signing a one-year contract for the inaugural season of the St. Charles Chill.[9] After only six games with the Chill, Costello was placed on waivers and claimed by the Arizona Sundogs. Costello opted not to report and signed a contract to the ECHL with the Ontario Reign on November 17, 2013.[10]

By the end of 2014, Costello signed with the Allen Americans. He was the ECHL's top scorer with 125 points in 72 games, and went all the way to the Kelly Cup title, scoring two goals and an assist in the decisive game against the South Carolina Stingrays. He renewed with Allen for the following season,[11] being named co-captain with Gary Steffes.[12] Costello again led the league scoring in the 2015–16 season with 103 points, 24 goals and 79 assists.[13]

On May 21, 2017, he signed a try-out contract with the German team Iserlohn Roosters from the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), rejoining friend and former linemate, Jack Combs. In departing the Americans, Costello left as Allen's franchise leader in goals, assists and points.[14] He left the ECHL after leading the league in scoring for three straight seasons and back-to-back MVPs.[15] In the 2017–18 season, Costello adapted quickly to the European ice posting 27 points in 37 games with the Roosters.

On March 23, 2018, with the conclusion of his contract with Iserlohn, Costello signed as a free agent continuing in the DEL on a one-year deal with Krefeld Pinguine.[16] Following two seasons with the Pinguine, Costello continued his European career by playing on a shortened contract with Norwegian club, Stavanger Oilers of the Eliteserien.

Enjoying four seasons abroad, Costello opted to return to North America for the 2021–22 season, in agreeing to re-join former club, the Allen Americans of the ECHL on September 30, 2021.[17]

On May 18, 2022, Costello announced his retirement from pro hockey, and was announced as the head coach of the Allen Americans

Career statistics

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2003–04 Des Moines Buccaneers USHL 49 5 10 15 16 2 0 0 0 2
2004–05 Wichita Falls Wildcats NAHL 56 29 34 63 32 3 5 1 6 0
2005–06 Cedar Rapids RoughRiders USHL 59 31 45 76 15 8 3 3 6 2
2006–07 Northeastern University HE 32 11 11 22 20
2007–08 Northeastern University HE 27 3 10 13 12
2007–08 Texas Wildcatters ECHL 2 0 0 0 0
2008–09 Muskegon Lumberjacks IHL 65 17 29 46 20
2009–10 Corpus Christi IceRays CHL 57 13 42 55 33
2010–11 Tulsa Oilers CHL 54 34 50 84 17 10 5 14 19 0
2010–11 Lake Erie Monsters AHL 8 0 1 1 2
2011–12 Colorado Eagles ECHL 47 29 47 76 26
2011–12 Springfield Falcons AHL 4 0 0 0 2
2011–12 Worcester Sharks AHL 7 0 4 4 2
2012–13 Colorado Eagles ECHL 36 17 41 58 30 6 3 4 7 2
2012–13 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 21 3 9 12 4
2013–14 St. Charles Chill CHL 6 4 5 9 12
2013–14 Ontario Reign ECHL 8 2 3 5 6
2014–15 Allen Americans ECHL 72 41 84 125 36 25 9 19 28 12
2015–16 Allen Americans ECHL 72 24 79 103 36 24 7 29 36 4
2016–17 Allen Americans ECHL 72 33 89 122 42 11 3 9 12 6
2017–18 Iserlohn Roosters DEL 37 8 19 27 6 1 0 0 0 0
2018–19 Krefeld Pinguine DEL 52 17 35 52 20
2019–20 Krefeld Pinguine DEL 52 20 34 54 28
2020–21 Stavanger Oilers Norway 11 5 9 14 6
2021–22 Allen Americans ECHL 66 26 46 72 4 5 2 2 4 0
2022 Team Trottier 3ICE 16 15 14 29
2023 Team Johnston 3ICE 6 3 3 6
AHL totals 40 3 14 17 10

Awards and honours

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Award Year
USHL
Most Points (76) 2005–06 [2]
College
All-HE Rookie Team 2006–07
ECHL
First All-Star Team 2011–12, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17
MVP 2011–12, 2015–16, 2016–17 [6]
Kelly Cup 2014–15, 2015–16 [11]
Top Scorer 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17 [13]
Kelly Cup MVP 2015–16
3ICE
Patrick Cup Champion 2022
Bryan Trottier League MVP Award 2022

References

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  1. ^ Americans, Allen. "Front Office Directory". Allen Americans Hockey Club. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Johnston native led USHL in scoring". RadioIowa.com. March 27, 2006. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
  3. ^ "Colorado Eagles add Costello". Colorado Eagles. August 18, 2011. Archived from the original on August 28, 2012. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
  4. ^ "ECHL leading scorer and former RoughRider placed on season ending I.R". Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. March 12, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  5. ^ "All-ECHL Team announced". ECHL. March 29, 2012. Archived from the original on June 9, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  6. ^ a b "Colorado's Costello named CCM ECHL Most Valuable Player". ECHL. April 6, 2012. Archived from the original on June 7, 2012. Retrieved April 6, 2012.
  7. ^ "Tigers ink Combs and Costello to AHL deals". Bridgeport Sound Tigers. January 9, 2013. Archived from the original on June 16, 2015. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  8. ^ "Costello returns to Eagles after AHL contract release". Coloradoan. March 9, 2013. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  9. ^ "Chill signs former MVP Costello". St. Charles Chill. August 13, 2013. Archived from the original on August 15, 2013. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  10. ^ "ECHL MVP signs with Ontario". Ontario Reign. November 17, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  11. ^ a b "Americans re-sign leading scorer Costello". Allen Americans. July 3, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  12. ^ "Americans name co-captains". Allen Americans. October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  13. ^ a b "Americans' Costello wins ECHL scoring title again". Allen Americans. April 15, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  14. ^ "ECHL topscorer Chad Costello changes to Iserlohn" (in German). Iserlohn Roosters. May 21, 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  15. ^ "IN MY WORDS: MOVING ON". ECHL. July 7, 2017. Archived from the original on July 7, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  16. ^ "Hanson stays, Costello arrives" (in German). Krefeld Pinguine. March 23, 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  17. ^ "Costello rejoins Americans". ECHL. September 30, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
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