The Allen Americans have announced that they have signed twin brothers, forward Rylan Van Unen and defenseman Mike Van Unen for the 2024-25 ECHL season. The brothers are both 6’1″ and from Kamloops, British Columbia.
Rylan’s Junior and Collegiate Career
Both brothers spent their junior careers in the BCHL with the Merritt Centennials. Rylan started his junior career in the 2016-17 season and spent four seasons with Merritt. In his 212 games played, he had 47 goals and 42 assists for 89 points. He had 203 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of 0. Rylan played in the postseason in three of the four seasons. He played in 16 playoff games, where he had three goals and three assists for six points. He had ten penalty minutes and a plus/minus of 0. Rylan captained the team in the 2019-20 season.
After completing his junior career, Rylan joined his brother at Northern Michigan University, where he has played the last four seasons. Rylan played in 84 games at Northern Michigan, where he had 13 goals and seven assists for 20 points. He had 111 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -8.
Mike’s Junior and Collegiate Career
Mike also started his junior career in the 2016-17 season but only spent three seasons with Merritt. He played in 145 games with the Centennials, where he had seven goals and 39 assists for 46 points. He had 186 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of 0. Mike played in the playoffs all three seasons with the Centennials. In his 16 playoff games played, Mike had two goals and two assists for four points. He had 12 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of 0.
After three years in juniors, Mike decided to take the next step and start his collegiate career playing Division I hockey at Northern Michigan University. In his five seasons with Northern Michigan, Mike played in 150 games where he had nine goals and 28 assists for 37 points. He had 181 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -27.
Mike’s Professional Career
After completing his collegiate career at Northern Michigan, Mike signed with the Adirondack Thunder in the ECHL to finish off his 2023-24 season. He played in 11 games where he had one assist. He had 17 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -1. The 2024-25 season will be both Mike and Rylan’s rookie seasons.
