The team was founded in 2009 in the Central Hockey League (CHL) where they played for five seasons, winning the Ray Miron President's Cup twice.

[1] The new team was owned by Top Shelf, LLC, a group consisting of EXCO Resources chairman Douglas H. Miller and former National Hockey League (NHL) defenseman Steve Duchesne.

[3] The first game on home ice was not until November 7, 2009, a 4–1 loss to the Corpus Christi IceRays in front of a sellout crowd of 5,808 people.

They lost in the conference finals to eventual champions, the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, in 2011, and had a disappointing first round exit to bitter rivals the Texas Brahmas in 2012.

[5][6] On May 4, 2012, the Allen Americans announced that former Dallas Stars players Mike Modano, Craig Ludwig, and Ed Belfour partnered up to become minority owners of Top Shelf, LLC.

[10] On May 10, 2014, the Allen Americans became only the third CHL team to win back-to-back Ray Miron President's Cup championships, and the first since the Memphis RiverKings achieved the feat in 2003.

Allen scored four second period goals to defeat the Denver Cutthroats 5–2, winning the finals series four games to one in front of a sold out crowd.

[12] On October 7, 2014, soon before the 2014–15 CHL season was set to begin, it was announced that the Central Hockey League ceased operations and the Americans, along with the Brampton Beast, Quad City Mallards, Missouri Mavericks, Rapid City Rush, Tulsa Oilers and Wichita Thunder, were all approved the expansion membership application into the ECHL for the 2014–15 season.

[15] The Americans finished its inaugural ECHL season atop the Central Division which encompassed the former CHL members, having the second-best overall regular-season performance and the best offense in the league, with 192 goals.

[16] During the 2015 playoffs, they beat both the Tulsa Oilers and Rapid City Rush to reach the Western Conference Finals against the Ontario Reign.

[17] Allen finished its second season in the ECHL in second place in the newly reorganized Central Division, behind the Brabham Cup champions Missouri Mavericks, earning the number four seed in the Western Conference.

After trailing 3-games-to-2 in the opening series with the Idaho Steelheads, Allen forced a game seven at home, with Tristan King scoring the series-winning goal in overtime.

[22] On February 23, 2017, the ECHL announced that the Americans had been sold by the Stevens brothers to Allen Hockey Team, LLC, led by Reading Royals' owner Jack Gulati.

[36] A search for a new head coach began immediately following the release of Costello, and B. J. Adams of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) was officially hired on June 12, 2024.