2015-16 griffiti - issue #1

O F F I C I A L M A G A Z I N E O F T H E G R A N D R A P I D S G R I F F I N S

BLAST FROM THE PASTEx-Griffins Players Return to Coach Their Former Team

2015-16 SEASON ISSUE NO. 1

Fox Motors is proud to support the Grand Rapids Griffins. Here’s to a remarkable 2015-2016 season.

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CADILLAC CHARLEVOIX CHICAGO GRAND RAPIDS MARQUETTE NEGAUNEE TRAVERSE CITY

Ambitious goals make forremarkable achievements.

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Vol. 20, No. 1

STARTING LINEUP

24 ALL FOR ONE & ONE FOR ALL Todd Nelson, the first player ever signed by the Griffins, wants to build a culture that encourages players to put the team ahead of individual accomplishments.

30 EXPERIENCE COUNTS Jeff Blashill hopes to put his

time with the Griffins to good use in Detroit.

32 CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS Twelve different captains have

led the Griffins during the organization’s first 20 years.

42 LIVING THE DREAM Tyler Bertuzzi is thrilled to be

playing professional hockey, but you can bet he won’t

sleep until he reaches the next level.

50 WORKING MEN As Part 1 of a season-

long series celebrating the organization’s 20th anniversary, Griffiti caught up with a hat trick of former Griffins now making their marks in other professions.

60 NEW SEASON, NEW LOOK The majority of teams are

taking a fresh approach into the American Hockey League’s 80th season.

2 ...........Chalk Talk4 ...........Opposing Forces6 ...........Coming Soon9 ...........Griffins Schedule12 ........AHL Tradition15 ........AHL Team Directory19 ........Detroit Red Wings21 ........Promotional Calendar40 ........Meet the Griffins

59 ........Griffins Records68 ........Griffins All-Stars69 ........Penalty Calls74 ........Arena Map/Ticket Info75 ........Social Media76 ........It All Starts Here79 ........Kids Page80 ........Parting Shot

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

ON THE BENCH

COVER:Former defenseman Todd Nelson (center), who has come full circle with the Griffins by becoming the 10th head coach in franchise history, is joined by ex-Griffins forwards Ben Simon (left) and Bruce Ramsay, who will serve as his assistant coaches for the 2015-16 season.

Photo by Mark Newman

Griffiti magazine is published four times a year by the Grand Rapids Griffins, Van Andel Arena, 130 W. Fulton St., Grand Rapids, MI 49503. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in

part without permission is prohibited. All contents ©2015 Grand Rapids Griffins. For advertising information, contact Griffins Sales & Marketing, (616) 774-4585; fax (616) 336-5464. Unsolicited manuscripts and other materials will not be returned.

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Fox Motors is proud to support the Grand Rapids Griffins. Here’s to a remarkable 2015-2016 season.

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CADILLAC CHARLEVOIX CHICAGO GRAND RAPIDS MARQUETTE NEGAUNEE TRAVERSE CITY

Ambitious goals make forremarkable achievements.

Before the Griffins even stepped onto the ice for their 20th anniversary season, head coach Todd Nelson already had his sights on the playoffs.

“It’s not a goal; it’s an expectation,” said Nelson as he prepared for his first season as the bench boss in Grand Rapids. “That’s the philosophy in Detroit and it’s the same in Grand Rapids. For me, it’s a huge expectation.”

From an organizational standpoint, Nelson points to the fact that the Red Wings have made the Stanley Cup playoffs every season since 1990-91 – that’s 24 consecutive seasons, matching the fourth-longest streak in NHL history. From a personal perspective, Nelson says that “missing the playoffs doesn’t sit well.”

“Since I was five years old, I’ve only missed the playoffs four times as a player or coach: last year with Edmonton, twice in Atlanta and once in Germany,” he said. “I expect to play into May and June every year.”

Of course, there is a long road from expectation to execution, and whether the Griffins make the playoffs next spring will all depend on what happens from the time the team started its 2015-16 schedule in Bakersfield, Calif., on Oct. 9 to when it completes its campaign next April 16 against the same Bakersfield Condors at home.

Nelson likes his team’s chances.Based on the play of his team at the 2015

NHL Prospects Tournament in Traverse City in mid-September, he saw plenty of encouraging signs. The team recorded three straight victories

in the eight-team field before dropping the championship game to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

“All in all, it was a solid effort,” said Nelson, who called it the most talented group he had coached in similar events over the years. “Playing four games in five nights, our group really competed hard. They played the tournament like it was the playoffs.”

When the Griffins opened their training camp two weeks before the team’s season opener, Nelson was finally getting a better read on the talent that will be playing in

Grand Rapids. “I’ve been getting a feel for all the players and getting to know them better,” he said.

If there is any worry at the start of the season, it’s how the Griffins coach will keep everyone happy when there might not be enough room on the bench. Some very good players could find themselves sitting in the stands some nights.

“Quite honestly, my challenge will be to find ice time for everyone,” Nelson said. “It’s up to me to put the best team forward, and we have a lot of talent and everyone is very capable. Of course, that’s the everyday challenge of managing an American Hockey League team.”

Too much talent is a good problem to have. Conversely, injuries can change that dynamic rather quickly.

“Injuries can deplete your roster,” said Nelson, who was forced to use nine different goaltenders during the 2013-14 season in Oklahoma City. “During those times, you try to keep your head above water. You do your best to maintain your place in the standings until players come back. Almost every American Hockey League team

WITH GRIFFINS

HEAD COACH TODD

NELSON

“It’s up to me to put the best team forward, and we have a

lot of talent and everyone is very

capable.”

2 Grand Rapids GRIFFINS

goes through it at some point in the season.”If the Griffins have a full, healthy roster, players

will have to earn their playing time.“We live in a world where there is entitlement,

and as a staff, we’re going to combat that and make sure players understand that you get rewarded for what you’ve done,” he said. “The Red Wings want people to earn the right to wear that crest on the front of their jersey, and the same thing will apply in Grand Rapids.”

At the same time, Nelson and his coaching staff will do their best to make sure players who don’t play stay positive. “If a player sits out a game or two, we cannot lose sight of the fact that we’re here to help them develop and get better,” Nelson said.

Every season is important in a player’s career, but it’s especially critical for second-year pros to build on their rookie campaigns. Expectations will be high this year for Andreas Anthanasiou, Anthony Mantha, Marek Tvrdon and Mark Zengerle, among others.

“The biggest thing for young players is consistency,” Nelson said. “Successful NHL players, for the most part, do everything right 99 percent of the time. Players in the AHL have to learn that they must bring it every night – it’s not just a cliche, it’s a fact.”

Nelson’s arrival in Grand Rapids means that every player has a new opportunity to impress the coaching staff.

“We’re a brand new coaching staff, and we’re hoping to see what players can do,” Nelson said. “It’s a great opportunity for players who thought that things could have gone better last season. It’s up to them to showcase their abilities. We’re approaching everyone with an open mind.”

Nelson said he has held discussions with Blashill about how to approach this season. “We’re sharing ideas,” he said. “Nowadays, nobody knows it all. We have to help each other to be successful.”

The two men engaged in “epic battles” during the past three seasons as opposing coaches in the AHL, including the 2013 playoffs when the Griffins edged the Barons in seven games during the Western Conference Finals on the way to their Calder Cup championship.

“What’s best for the organization is that we have the same messaging and teach the same philosophy,” Nelson said. “It’s important that we play the same style, so when players get called up, they feel comfortable with the systems of play and all they have to worry about is competing hard and outworking their opponent.

“But Detroit also wants us to win hockey games, so we have the latitude to make adjustments. When the game is not going in our direction, we can juggle things systematically. We want to win. Ultimately, though, we’re here to serve Detroit and help them win a championship.”

2015-16 GRIFFINS COACHING AND TRAINING STAFF

Head Coach: Todd Nelson

Video Coach: Bill LeRoy

Assistant Coach: Bruce Ramsay

Athletic Trainer:John Bernal

Assistant Coach:Ben Simon

Equipment Manager: Brad Thompson

Assistant Coach:Mike Knuble

Assistant Equipment Manager: Andrew Stegehuis

Goaltending Coach:Jeff Salajko

Strength & Conditioning Coordinator: Marcus Kinney

Grand Rapids GRIFFINS 3

CHARLOTTE (Oct. 21, Oct. 23)

Checkers defenseman Keegan Lowe is in his third season in the Carolina organization after getting his first taste of the NHL last season, when he appeared in two games with the Hurricanes. A third-round pick (73rd overall) in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Lowe has an NHL pedigree: he is the son of Edmonton Oilers vice chair Kevin Lowe, who played 1,254 NHL games and was a member of six Stanley Cup-winning teams.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “He’s a full-time player for us, playing some big situations… and is a hard guy to play against,” said ex-Checkers coach Jeff Daniels, who is now a Carolina Hurricanes scout. “He’s a competitive kid who wants it.”

ROCKFORD (Nov. 6, Nov. 18)

IceHogs center Dennis Rasmussen likes to drive the net and battle along the boards, using his size (6-foot-3, 205-pounds) to create room for his linemates. Signed by the Blackhawks as an undrafted free agent, Rasmussen tallied 27 points (13 goals, 14 assists) in 73 games last season in Rockford, his first in North America after three full seasons in the Swedish Hockey League. With good size and good wheels, he is expected to develop into a checking role in the NHL.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “(Rasmussen) is a responsible guy, a two-way type of center man. He’s strong, has a nice shot,” said Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville.

SAN ANTONIO (Oct. 16, Oct. 17)

Rampage forward Rocco Grimaldi displays dynamic puck skills that allow him to to excel in tight areas despite his small 5-foot-6 frame. A product of the U.S. National program, the Auburn Hills, Mich., native played three years at the University of North Dakota after the Florida Panthers chose him in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Grimaldi tallied 42 points (14 goals, 28 assists) in 64 games with San Antonio last season.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “He is a hard-working forward who possesses speed along with great vision on the ice,” said Florida general manager Dale Tallon.

The Griffins welcome the San Diego Gulls for their first-ever visit to Grand Rapids and Van Andel Arena during a heavy home slate that will

quickly test head coach Todd Nelson’s ability to prepare his new team.

OPPOSING FORCES


IOWA (Nov. 11, Nov. 25)

Wild forward Kurtis Gabriel is a late-bloomer who was chosen by Minnesota in the third round (81st overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft after scouts had earlier overlooked his potential. A hard worker willing to claw for every opportunity, the 6-foot-4, 212-pound right winger showed he wasn’t afraid to drop the gloves during his first full season in the AHL, when he notched seven goals and nine assists in 67 games.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “We (first) noticed him because of his size and physical presence in games, and he just got better and better throughout the year,” said Minnesota assistant general manager Brent Flahr.

SAN DIEGO (Nov. 20)

Gulls forward Kenny Ryan is with his third organization in three years after beginning his pro career with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. A native of the village of Franklin near Southfield, Mich., Ryan enjoyed his best season a year ago when he tallied 12 goals and 17 assists in 73 games with the Lake Erie Monsters. He was originally a second-round pick (50th overall) of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “He’s worked hard and has come a long way,” said Warren Rychel, general manager of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, where Ryan played his junior hockey.

LAKE ERIE (Nov. 28, Dec. 5)

Monsters center Alex Broadhurst begins his first season in the Columbus Blue Jackets’ organization after he was included in the Brandon Saad trade by the Chicago Blackhawks last summer. At 5-foot-11, Broadhurst is a bit undersized, but he possesses excellent offensive creativity and quickness. In April 2012, Broadhurst recorded the first shorthanded hat trick in the history of the United States Hockey League.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “He refocused his whole commitment to his career… he’s learned to work hard and take care of his body,” said Ted Dent, head coach of the Rockford IceHogs, Broadhurst’s former team.

CHICAGO (Dec. 4)

Wolves goaltender Jordan Binnington established himself as Chicago’s No. 1 option in net during his first full AHL season, posting a 25-15-4 record with a 2.35 goals-against average. Chosen in the third round (88th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, the 22-year-old St. Louis Blues prospect spent most of the 2013-14 season with the ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings. Binnington played for Team Canada at the 2013 World Junior Championship.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “He’s very calm. He doesn’t get rattled very easily and I think it gives everybody a good feeling,” said Wolves head coach John Anderson, who gave Binnington a franchise-record 18 consecutive starts.


OCT. 16 OPENING NIGHT PRESENTED BY HUNTINGTON BANK

A magnet schedule giveaway kicks off a full slate of 2015-16 promotions as the Griffins start the home portion of their 20th anniversary season with the first of back-to-back games against the visiting San Antonio Rampage.

Opening Night will mark the initial $2 Beers and $2 Hot Dogs promotion, the first of 14 such offerings on Fridays at Van Andel Arena. A post-game open skate is scheduled while the team auctions off the players’ Wednesday jerseys from the 2014-15 season.

OCT. 21 BUDWEISER CLYDESDALES PRE-GAME APPEARANCE PRESENTED BY WEST SIDE BEER DISTRIBUTING

The world-famous Budweiser Clydesdale horses will appear outside of Van Andel Arena prior to the first Winning Wednesday promotion of the season, when a Griffins’ victory means a free ticket to the next Wednesday game.

NOV. 28 TEDDY BEAR TOSS PRESENTED BY J&H FAMILY STORES

Fans are encouraged to bring new, store-tagged stuffed animals to the game and throw them onto the ice when the Griffins give the signal – the first goal scored against the Lake Erie Monsters.

A post-game open skate will accompany a Griffins team poster giveaway presented by Eikenhout Inc.

DEC. 4 ‘90S NIGHT

Nirvana and the sound of Seattle grunge will mix with boy bands like the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC as the Griffins play ‘90s music to celebrate the nostalgia of the Gen-X decade, best known for Seinfeld, Beavis and Butt-head, The Matrix and The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Another $2 Beers and $2 Hot Dogs promotion is also in the cards when the Griffins host their arch-nemesis, the Chicago Wolves.

DEC. 5 CALENDAR GIVEAWAY PRESENTED BY FOX MOTORS

The first 2,000 fans entering Van Andel Arena will receive a 2016 Griffins wall calendar celebrating the team’s 20th anniversary, presented by the friendly folks at Fox Motors.

Roses are red, but so are Wings and kettles.Few people could tell you that the Detroit entry

in the National Hockey League was known first as the Cougars and then as the Falcons before Chicago millionaire James Norris bought the team in 1932 and rechristened the club as the Red Wings in honor of the Winged Wheelers, a famed amateur team from his youth in Montreal.

The team’s blood-red jerseys – a holdover from the team’s days as the Cougars (a feline fit with the baseball Tigers) – featured a logo that matched the town’s Motor City image. To combat any confusion on the ice when the team visited the similarly attired Montreal Canadiens, the league mandated that the Wings had to wear white pullovers over their red sweaters until Norris eventually issued white jerseys for road games.

Red kettles, meanwhile, have an even more timeworn history. In 1891, Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee pledged to feed 1,000 of San Francisco’s poorest individuals on Christmas Day, but he had one major hurdle to overcome. He needed to figure out a way to fund the project.

Thinking back to his sailor days in Liverpool, England, he remembered a large, iron kettle in which passersby tossed a coin or two to help the poor. Placing a similar pot at the Oakland Ferry Landing at the foot of Market Street, he added a sign that read “Keep the Pot Boiling,” thus launching a tradition that has spread not only across he United States but throughout the world.

Today, the Salvation Army assists more than four-and-a-half million people during the holidays in just the U.S. alone, and it’s that generosity that the Griffins will celebrate with their first Red Kettle Game on Friday, Nov. 20 when Grand Rapids welcomes the San Diego Gulls to Van Andel Arena for the first time ever.

The Griffins will wear special Red Kettle jerseys, which will be available to the highest bidders during a post-game auction. Proceeds will benefit the Salvation Army and its ongoing mission to provide programs and services to West Michigan residents in need.

PAINT THE TOWN REDThe Griffins will celebrate their 20th anniversary season

not only by offering a number of premium giveaways, but also by calling attention to another crimson-themed organization that has been giving back to communities for more than a century.


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BAK - BakersfieldCHA - CharlotteCHI - ChicagoIA - IowaLE – Lake ErieMB - ManitobaMIL - Milwaukee

RCH - RochesterRFD - RockfordSA – San AntonioSD – San DiegoTEX - TexasTOR - TorontoUTI - Utica

Post-Game Open SkateHuntington BankPost-Game Autograph SessionFriends & Family 4-Pack Home GamePepsi Reading Goals Redemption Date

2015-16 SEASON SCHEDULE

TO PURCHASE TICKETS OR FOR MORE INFO, VISIT GRIFFINSHOCKEY.COM OR CALL 1.800.2.HOCKEY.

@GRIFFINSHOCKEY

All times Eastern. Dates, opponents and times subject to change.

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PRIMARY AFFILIATE OF THE DETROIT RED WINGS


Griffins Chief Executive Officer

Dear Griffins Fans,

Michigan’s favorite musical son, Bob Seger, once sang “Twenty years now, where’d they go?...I sit and I wonder sometimes where they’ve gone.”

As the Griffins enter our 20th anniversary season, I look back upon all the memories we’ve shared and am grateful to all the people and partners who have been so integral to our remarkable success. Van Andel Arena’s staff and the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority ensure that our home remains a world-class arena, making continual investments in amenities such as the HD video board and LED ribbon that enhance your enjoyment at a game.

We enjoy rich relationships with our Pillar Partners – Amway, Fox Motors, Huntington, Meijer, Spectrum Health and West Side Beer Distributing – and dozens of other sponsors, several of whom have been with us since our inaugural 1996-97 season.

Most crucial, though, has been the unwavering support of the best fans in hockey. After first setting sellout records in our early years, we’ve witnessed attendance increases in eight of the last nine seasons and led the AHL in total attendance during the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs.

Such stability has been a hallmark of our organization, a welcome attribute in a sport in which change often seems to be the only constant. After three seasons of unprecedented success behind the Griffins’ bench, Jeff Blashill is now the head coach for the Detroit Red Wings. He undoubtedly left behind big shoes to fill, but fortunately we found a man with large feet: Todd Nelson, who comes full circle as the first player ever signed by the Griffins in 1996 and, now, the 10th head coach in franchise history.

After winning several cups during his playing and coaching careers and serving as interim head coach of the Edmonton Oilers last season, Nelson heads up a staff comprised of fellow former Griffins Bruce Ramsay, Ben Simon and Mike Knuble, all of whom are focused on defending our seventh division title and making a run at our second Calder Cup.

We’re proud of the new logo and colors that our players will be sporting on the ice this year and enthused about what’s happening off the ice as well. Under the leadership of new Griffins president and original employee Tim Gortsema, our staff is planning an exciting array of promotions and events in celebration of 20 seasons of Griffins Hockey.

A new era is taking flight. I hope you enjoy everything that this landmark season has to offer.

Sincerely,

Dan DeVosGriffins Chief Executive Officer

Dear Fans,

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the 2014-15 American Hockey League season, our 79th year of play. We are proud to be entering what is sure to be another exciting season, continuing our tradition of excellence and bringing an entertaining, physical and highly skilled level of professional hockey to more than 6 million fans in arenas across North America.

The 2014-15 season will once again feature 30 teams who will be competing for the AHL’s historic Calder Cup championship, and 30 National Hockey League clubs who will be developing their top prospects and future stars in our cities. Last season alone, more than 240 first- and second-round NHL draft picks competed in the American Hockey League, and 347 players took the ice in both the AHL and the NHL.

We take great pride in our tradition of developing the best hockey talent in the world, with over 88 percent of today’s NHL players, coaches and officials having honed their skills in the American Hockey League. Through the years, our loyal and passionate fans have enjoyed cheering for more than 100 future Hockey Hall of Famers, and have witnessed the triumphs of more than 100 Calder Cup champions who would go on to have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup as well.

We’re pleased to continue to deliver professional hockey to the great fans of Glens Falls, N.Y., and we welcome Allentown, Pa., to the league as the Adirondack Flames and Lehigh Valley Phantoms hit the ice this season. The AHL’s two newest entries will join the rest of the league in looking to dethrone the defending Calder Cup champion Texas Stars in the chase for the AHL’s 2015 title.

On behalf of all of our teams, players and staff, thank you again for your continuing support of the AHL. I wish you the utmost enjoyment of all the excitement that our 2014-15 season has in store.

Sincerely,

David A. AndrewsPresident & Chief Executive OfficerAmerican Hockey League

PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER,AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE

DAVID A. ANDREWS

American Hockey LeagueOne Monarch Place – Springfield, MA 01144Phone: (413) 781-2030 Fax: (413) 733-4767

@TheAHLtheahl.com/TheAHL

Dear Fans,

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the historic 2015-16 American Hockey League season, onethat is sure to be one of the most memorable campaigns ever.

We are celebrating our 80th anniversary season literally from coast to coast: From the shores of the Atlantic to our five new members in California, all 30 teams will hit the ice to continue a tradition of excellence that has been the hallmark of the American Hockey League since 1936.

The AHL remains proud of its role in developing more than 88 percent of today’s National Hockey Leagueplayers, as well as the vast majority of the NHL’s coaches, managers, training staffs, broadcasters andofficials. In total, nearly 350 AHL players were recalled to the NHL last season alone, and more than250 former first- and second-round NHL draft picks developed their skills in the AHL. And through the years, our loyal and passionate fans have enjoyed cheering for more than 100 future Hockey Hall of Famers, and have witnessed the triumphs of more than 100 Calder Cup champions who would go on to have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup as well.

To our new fans in Bakersfield, Ontario, San Diego, San Jose and Stockton; to our returning fans inManitoba; to all of you who cheer for AHL teams across North America -- We are excited to have you joinus from the excitement of opening weekend, to the 2016 AHL All-Star Classic in Syracuse, and through the thrills and emotion of the Calder Cup Playoffs.


Sincerely,


American Hockey LeagueOne Monarch Place – Springfield, MA 01144Phone: (413) 781-2030 theahl.com


DAVID A. ANDREWS

Dear Fans,

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the historic 2015-16 American Hockey League season, one that is sure to be one of the most memorable campaigns ever.


The AHL remains proud of its role in developing more than 88 percent of today’s National Hockey League players, as well as the vast majority of the NHL’s coaches, managers, training staffs, broadcasters and officials. In total, nearly 350 AHL players were recalled to the NHL last season alone, and more than 250 former first- and second-round NHL draft picks developed their skills in the AHL. And through the years, our loyal and passionate fans have enjoyed cheering for more than 100 future Hockey Hall of Famers, and have witnessed the triumphs of more than 100 Calder Cup champions who would go on to have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup as well.

To our new fans in Bakersfield, Ontario, San Diego, San Jose and Stockton; to our returning fans in Manitoba; to all of you who cheer for AHL teams across North America -- We are excited to have you join us from the excitement of opening weekend, to the 2016 AHL All-Star Classic in Syracuse, and through the thrills and emotion of the Calder Cup Playoffs.


Dear Fans,

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the historic 2015-16 American Hockey League season, onethat is sure to be one of the most memorable campaigns ever.


The AHL remains proud of its role in developing more than 88 percent of today’s National Hockey Leagueplayers, as well as the vast majority of the NHL’s coaches, managers, training staffs, broadcasters andofficials. In total, nearly 350 AHL players were recalled to the NHL last season alone, and more than250 former first- and second-round NHL draft picks developed their skills in the AHL. And through the years, our loyal and passionate fans have enjoyed cheering for more than 100 future Hockey Hall of Famers, and have witnessed the triumphs of more than 100 Calder Cup champions who would go on to have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup as well.

To our new fans in Bakersfield, Ontario, San Diego, San Jose and Stockton; to our returning fans inManitoba; to all of you who cheer for AHL teams across North America -- We are excited to have you joinus from the excitement of opening weekend, to the 2016 AHL All-Star Classic in Syracuse, and through the thrills and emotion of the Calder Cup Playoffs.


Sincerely,


American Hockey LeagueOne Monarch Place – Springfield, MA 01144Phone: (413) 781-2030 theahl.com


DAVID A. ANDREWS



Photo: Dan Hickling

The American Hockey League is celebrating its 80th season of play in 2015-16, continuing a tradition of excellence that began in 1936 when the Canadian-American Hockey League merged with the International Hockey League to form what is today known as the AHL. Eight teams hit the ice that first season, playing in Buffalo, Cleveland, New Haven, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, Springfield and Syracuse.

Frank Calder, the National Hockey League’s president at the time, was instrumental in the forming of the new league, and his name would be given to its championship trophy. The first Calder Cup was won by the Syracuse Stars in 1937; the 79th championship was captured by the Manchester Monarchs last spring.

From those roots, the American Hockey League has grown into a 30-team league that provides fans with exciting, high-level professional hockey while preparing thousands of players, coaches, officials, executives, trainers, broadcasters and more for careers in the NHL.

In today’s National Hockey League more than 88 percent of the players are AHL alumni, including 2015 Hart and Vezina Trophy recipient Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens. The 2015 Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks were stocked with AHL graduates as well, among them Conn Smythe Trophy winner Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Patrick Sharp, Brandon Saad, Kris Versteeg, Corey Crawford, Andrew Shaw, and head coach Joel Quenneville.

During the 2014-15 season, a total of 865 AHL alumni played in the National Hockey League, including 341 who skated in both leagues last year alone. Forty of the 49 players who skated in the 2015 Stanley Cup Final were AHL graduates, including Tampa Bay’s Ben Bishop, Ryan Callahan, Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn, and Ondrej Palat.

More than 250 former first- and second-round draft picks developed their skills in the AHL last season, including Teuvo Teravainen, David Pastrnak, William Nylander, Derrick Pouliot, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Ryan Hartman, Matt Dumba, and Julius Honka.

At the start of the 2015-16 season, the National Hockey League featured 21 head coaches who were former AHL bench bosses, including former Calder Cup champions Jon Cooper, Peter Laviolette, Barry Trotz, Todd McLellan, Bruce Boudreau, Bob Hartley, Willie Desjardins, and Jeff Blashill. Stanley Cup winners Joel Quenneville, Claude Julien, Dan Bylsma, and Mike Babcock also spent time in the AHL before making the jump.

“The time I spent in the American Hockey League was essential in my preparation to become head coach of the Detroit Red Wings. Without question, the AHL is just as valuable as a proving ground for future coaches as it is for young players.”-- Jeff Blashill, Head Coach, Detroit Red Wings2014 AHL Coach of the Year2013 Calder Cup Champion

At the start of the 2015-16 season, the National Hockey League featured 21 head coaches who were former AHL bench bosses, including former Calder Cup champions Jon Cooper, Peter Laviolette, Barry Trotz, Todd McLellan, Bruce Boudreau, Bob Hartley, Willie Desjardins, and Jeff Blashill. Stanley Cup winners Joel Quenneville, Claude Julien, Dan Bylsma, and Mike Babcock also spent time in the AHL before making the jump.

THE COACHES

THE PLAYERS

THE BEGINNINGS

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCEsince 1936

Carey Price2015 Hart, Vezina Trophy winner

2007 Calder Cup Playoffs MVP


For the past eight decades, the American Hockey League has been home to some of the greatest players in the history of our sport. In fact, more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame have been affiliated with the AHL during their careers. All-time greats like George Armstrong, Toe Blake, Gump Worsley, Terry Sawchuk, Glenn Hall, Brad Park, Ken Dryden, and Brett Hull came through the AHL ranks and now find themselves enshrined in Toronto, and the coveted Calder Cup is inscribed with the names of legendary AHL alumni like Patrick Roy, Larry Robinson, Gerry Cheevers, Andy Bathgate, Tim Horton, Al Arbour, Emile Francis, Doug Harvey, and Billy Smith.

The American Hockey League has created its own legends as well, and in 2006 began honoring them with the formation of the AHL Hall of Fame. The 10th class of inductees, recognized in 2015, included Frederic Cassivi, James C. Hendy, Bronco Horvath, and Art Stratton. They join the likes of Johnny Bower, Fred Glover, Jody Gage, Mitch Lamoureux, Willie Marshall, Frank Mathers, Eddie Shore, Bruce Boudreau, Tim Tookey, Zellio Toppazzini, and others as distinguished members of the American Hockey League Hall of Fame.

For the 14th consecutive season, American Hockey League teams drew more than 6.2 million fans to games across North America in 2014-15. The Hershey Bears led the league for the ninth year in a row, averaging 9,700 fans per home game, while the Utica Comets followed up their inaugural season with 27 sold-out regular season crowds at the Utica Memorial Auditorium, plus 13 more in the playoffs. And Syracuse set a new U.S. indoor pro hockey record when 30,715 fans packed the Carrier Dome for a Crunch game on Nov. 22, 2014.Fans are also continuing to follow their teams and the league in record numbers digitally. Last season, the AHL Internet Network -- featuring TheAHL.com and the official Web sites of all 30 clubs -- got nearly 90 million page views from fans worldwide. Meanwhile, more than one million fans follow the AHL and its teams on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

In their first-ever Calder Cup playoffs appearance, theUtica Comets sold out all 13 postseason games at the Aud.

Photo: Getty Images

Phot

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Photo: AHL Archives

“Everywhere I’ve been, the American Hockey League has been an important part of my career. It has been the biggest part of our success in developing our players in Chicago, first with the

Norfolk Admirals and now with the Rockford IceHogs.”-- Scotty Bowman, Honored Member, Hockey Hall of Fame

14-Time Stanley Cup Champion2-Time Jack Adams Award Winner

THE LEGENDS

THE FANS

Eddie ShoreHonored Member, Hockey Hall of Fame

Honored Member, AHL Hall of Fame

Percentage of all NHL players in 2014-15

who were graduatesof the AHL

Former AHL playerswho skated in the National Hockey

League last season

AHL players whoalso playedin the NHLin 2014-15

Former 1st- and 2nd-round NHL draft picks who skated in the AHL

in 2014-1

AHL alumni whoplayed for the 2015

Stanley Cup championChicago Blackhawks

88.8 865 341 254 519

UNLEASHYOUR MVP

5 LOCATIONS!VISIT MVPSPORTSCLUBS.COM TODAY!


ALBANY DEVILS NHL AFFILIATION: New Jersey DevilsHOME ICE: Times Union Center (6,691)GENERAL MANAGER: Ray SheroHEAD COACH: Rick KowalskyENTERED AHL: 2006-07 (as Lowell Devils)CALDER CUPS: NoneSEASONS IN PLAYOFFS: 2 of 92014-15 RECORD: 37-28-5-6, 85 pts.WEBSITE: thealbanydevils.com

BINGHAMTON SENATORSNHL AFFILIATION: Ottawa SenatorsHOME ICE: Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena (4,696)GENERAL MANAGER: Randy LeeHEAD COACH: Luke RichardsonENTERED AHL: 2002-03CALDER CUPS: One (2011)SEASONS IN PLAYOFFS: 6 of 132014-15 RECORD: 34-34-7-1, 76 pts.WEBSITE: binghamtonsenators.com

BRIDGEPORT SOUND TIGERSNHL AFFILIATION: New York IslandersHOME ICE: Webster Bank Arena (8,412)GENERAL MANAGER: Garth SnowHEAD COACH: Brent ThompsonENTERED AHL: 2001-02CALDER CUPS: NoneSEASONS IN PLAYOFFS: 7 of 142014-15 RECORD: 28-40-7-1, 64 pts.WEBSITE: soundtigers.com

HARTFORD WOLF PACKNHL AFFILIATION: New York RangersHOME ICE: XL Center (15,635)GENERAL MANAGER: Jim SchoenfeldHEAD COACH: Ken GernanderENTERED AHL: 1997-98CALDER CUPS: One (2000)SEASONS IN PLAYOFFS: 15 of 182014-15 RECORD: 43-24-5-4, 95 pts.WEBSITE: hartfordwolfpack.com

HERSHEY BEARSNHL AFFILIATION: Washington CapitalsHOME ICE: Giant Center (10,500)GENERAL MANAGER: Doug YingstHEAD COACH: Troy MannENTERED AHL: 1938-39CALDER CUPS: 11 (1947, 1958, 1959, 1969, 1974, 1980, 1988, 1997, 2006, 2009, 2010)SEASONS IN PLAYOFFS: 65 of 772014-15 RECORD: 46-22-5-3, 100 pts.WEBSITE: hersheybears.com

LEHIGH VALLEY PHANTOMSNHL AFFILIATION: Philadelphia FlyersHOME ICE: PPL Center (8,420)GENERAL MANAGER: Ron HextallHEAD COACH: Scott GordonENTERED AHL: 1996-97 (as Philadelphia Phantoms)CALDER CUPS: Two (1998, 2005)SEASONS IN PLAYOFFS: 10 of 192014-15 RECORD: 33-35-7-1, 74 pts.WEBSITE: phantomshockey.com

PORTLAND PIRATESNHL AFFILIATION: Florida PanthersHOME ICE: Cross Insurance Arena (6,157)GENERAL MANAGER: Eric JoyceHEAD COACH: Tom RoweENTERED AHL: 1993-94CALDER CUPS: One (1994)SEASONS IN PLAYOFFS: 16 of 222014-15 RECORD: 39-28-7-2, 87 pts.WEBSITE: portlandpirates.com

PROVIDENCE BRUINSNHL AFFILIATION: Boston BruinsHOME ICE: Dunkin’ Donuts Center Providence (11,075)GENERAL MANAGER: Don SweeneyHEAD COACH: Bruce CassidyENTERED AHL: 1992-93CALDER CUPS: One (1999)SEASONS IN PLAYOFFS: 18 of 232014-15 RECORD: 41-26-7-2, 91 pts.WEBSITE: providencebruins.com

ROCHESTER AMERICANSNHL AFFILIATION: Buffalo SabresHOME ICE: Blue Cross Arena at the Rochester War Memorial (10,662)GENERAL MANAGER: Tim MurrayHEAD COACH: Randy CunneyworthENTERED AHL: 1956-57CALDER CUPS: Six (1965, 1966, 1968, 1983, 1987, 1996)SEASONS IN PLAYOFFS: 44 of 592014-15 RECORD: 29-41-5-1, 64 pts.WEBSITE: amerks.com

SPRINGFIELD FALCONSNHL AFFILIATION: Arizona CoyotesHOME ICE: MassMutual Center (6,784)GENERAL MANAGER: Darcy RegierHEAD COACH: Ron RolstonENTERED AHL: 1994-95CALDER CUPS: NoneSEASONS IN PLAYOFFS: 8 of 212014-15 RECORD: 38-28-8-2, 86 pts.WEBSITE: falconsahl.com

ST. JOHN’S ICECAPSNHL AFFILIATION: Montreal CanadiensHOME ICE: Mile One Centre (6,287)GENERAL MANAGER: Marc BergevinHEAD COACH: Sylvain LefebrveENTERED AHL: 2011-12CALDER CUPS: NoneSEASONS IN PLAYOFFS: 2 of 42014-15 RECORD: 32-33-9-2, 75 pts.WEBSITE: stjohnsicecaps.com

PORTLAND PIRATESPRIMARY MARK

PANTONE186 C

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ST. JOHN’S ICECAPSPRIMARY MARK

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PANTONECOOL GRAY 11C

2 0 1 5 - 1 6 A H L D I R E C T O R Y

EASTERN CONFERENCEATLANTIC DIVISION:

Bridgeport, Hartford, Hershey, Lehigh Valley, Portland, Providence, Springfield, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

NORTH DIVISION: Albany, Binghamton, Rochester, St. John’s,

Syracuse, Toronto, Utica


SYRACUSE CRUNCHNHL AFFILIATION: Tampa Bay LightningHOME ICE: War Memorial Arena (6,010)GENERAL MANAGER: Julien BriseBoisHEAD COACH: Rob ZettlerENTERED AHL: 1994-95CALDER CUPS: NoneSEASONS IN PLAYOFFS: 12 of 212014-15 RECORD: 41-25-10-0, 92 pts.WEBSITE: syracusecrunch.com

TORONTO MARLIESNHL AFFILIATION: Toronto Maple LeafsHOME ICE: Ricoh Coliseum (7,851)GENERAL MANAGER: Kyle DubasHEAD COACH: Sheldon KeefeENTERED AHL: 2005-06CALDER CUPS: NoneSEASONS IN PLAYOFFS: 7 of 102014-15 RECORD: 40-27-9-0, 89 pts.WEBSITE: marlies.ca

UTICA COMETSNHL AFFILIATION: Vancouver CanucksHOME ICE: Utica Memorial Auditorium (3,855)GENERAL MANAGER: Pat ConacherHEAD COACH: Travis GreenENTERED AHL: 2013-14CALDER CUPS: NoneSEASONS IN PLAYOFFS: 1 of 22014-15 RECORD: 47-20-7-2, 103 pts.WEBSITE: uticacomets.com

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON PENGUINSNHL AFFILIATION: Pittsburgh PenguinsHOME ICE: Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza (8,050)GENERAL MANAGER: Jason BotterillHEAD COACH: Mike SullivanENTERED AHL: 1999-00CALDER CUPS: NoneSEASONS IN PLAYOFFS: 14 of 162014-15 RECORD: 45-24-3-4, 97 pts.WEBSITE: wbspenguins.com

BAKERSFIELD CONDORSNHL AFFILIATION: Edmonton OilersHOME ICE: Rabobank Arena (8,751)GENERAL MANAGER: Bill ScottHEAD COACH: Gerry FlemingENTERED AHL: 2015-16WEBSITE: bakersfieldcondors.com

CHARLOTTE CHECKERSNHL AFFILIATION: Carolina HurricanesHOME ICE: Bojangles’ Coliseum (8,300)GENERAL MANAGER: Derek WilkinsonHEAD COACH: Mark MorrisENTERED AHL: 2010-11CALDER CUPS: NoneSEASONS IN PLAYOFFS: 2 of 52014-15 RECORD: 31-38-6-1, 69 pts.WEBSITE: gocheckers.com

CHICAGO WOLVESNHL AFFILIATION: St. Louis BluesHOME ICE: Allstate Arena (16,692)GENERAL MANAGER: Wendell YoungHEAD COACH: John AndersonENTERED AHL: 2001-02CALDER CUPS: Two (2002, 2008)SEASONS IN PLAYOFFS: 10 of 142014-15 RECORD: 40-29-6-1, 87 pts.WEBSITE: chicagowolves.com

GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINSNHL AFFILIATION: Detroit Red WingsHOME ICE: Van Andel Arena (10,834)GENERAL MANAGER: Ryan MartinHEAD COACH: Todd NelsonENTERED AHL: 2001-02CALDER CUPS: One (2013)SEASONS IN PLAYOFFS: 9 of 142014-15 RECORD: 46-22-6-2, 100 pts.WEBSITE: griffinshockey.com

IOWA WILDNHL AFFILIATION: Minnesota WildHOME ICE: Wells Fargo Arena (8,162)GENERAL MANAGER: Brent FlahrHEAD COACH: John TorchettiENTERED AHL: 2013-14CALDER CUPS: NoneSEASONS IN PLAYOFFS: 0 of 22014-15 RECORD: 23-49-2-2, 50 pts.WEBSITE: iowawild.com

LAKE ERIE MONSTERSNHL AFFILIATION: Columbus Blue JacketsHOME ICE: Quicken Loans Arena (19,665/10,025 lower bowl)GENERAL MANAGER: Bill ZitoHEAD COACH: Jared BednarENTERED AHL: 2007-08CALDER CUPS: NoneSEASONS IN PLAYOFFS: 1 of 82014-15 RECORD: 35-29-8-4, 82 pts.WEBSITE: lakeeriemonsters.com

MANITOBA MOOSENHL AFFILIATION: Winnipeg JetsHOME ICE: MTS Centre (8,812)GENERAL MANAGER: Craig HeisingerHEAD COACH: Keith McCambridgeENTERED AHL: 2001-02 (played through 2010-11; re-entered 2015-16)CALDER CUPS: NoneSEASONS IN PLAYOFFS: 9 of 10WEBSITE: moosehockey.com

BAKERSFIELD CONDORSPRIMARY MARK

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WESTERN CONFERENCECENTRAL DIVISION:

Grand Rapids, Charlotte, Chicago, Iowa, Lake Erie,

Manitoba, Milwaukee, Rockford

PACIFIC DIVISION: Bakersfield, Ontario,

San Antonio, San Diego, San Jose, Stockton,

Texas

MANITOBA MOOSEPRIMARY MARK

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PANTONECOOL GRAY 11

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2 0 1 5 - 1 6 A H L D I R E C T O R Y


MILWAUKEE ADMIRALSNHL AFFILIATION: Nashville PredatorsHOME ICE: BMO Harris Bradley Center (17,845)GENERAL MANAGER: Paul FentonHEAD COACH: Dean EvasonENTERED AHL: 2001-02CALDER CUPS: One (2004)SEASONS IN PLAYOFFS: 12 of 142014-15 RECORD: 33-28-8-7, 81 pts.WEBSITE: milwaukeeadmirals.com

ONTARIO REIGNNHL AFFILIATION: Los Angeles KingsHOME ICE: Citizens Business Bank Arena (9,491)GENERAL MANAGER: Rob BlakeHEAD COACH: Mike StothersENTERED AHL: 2015-16WEBSITE: ontarioreign.com

ROCKFORD ICEHOGSNHL AFFILIATION: Chicago BlackhawksHOME ICE: BMO Harris Bank Center (5,895)GENERAL MANAGER: Mark BernardHEAD COACH: Ted DentENTERED AHL: 2007-08CALDER CUPS: NoneSEASONS IN PLAYOFFS: 4 of 82014-15 RECORD: 46-23-5-2, 99 pts.WEBSITE: icehogs.com

SAN ANTONIO RAMPAGENHL AFFILIATION: Colorado AvalancheHOME ICE: AT&T Center (6,374, lower bowl)GENERAL MANAGER: Craig BillingtonHEAD COACH: Dean ChynowethENTERED AHL: 2002-03CALDER CUPS: NoneSEASONS IN PLAYOFFS: 4 of 132014-15 RECORD: 45-23-7-1, 98 pts.WEBSITE: sarampage.com

SAN DIEGO GULLSNHL AFFILIATION: Anaheim DucksHOME ICE: Valley View Casino Center (12,920)GENERAL MANAGER: Bob FergusonHEAD COACH: Dallas EakinsENTERED AHL: 2015-16WEBSITE: sandiegogulls.com

SAN JOSE BARRACUDANHL AFFILIATION: San Jose SharksHOME ICE: SAP Center (8,000, curtained)GENERAL MANAGER: Joe WillHEAD COACH: Roy SommerENTERED AHL: 2015-16WEBSITE: sjbarracuda.com

STOCKTON HEATNHL AFFILIATION: Calgary FlamesHOME ICE: Stockton Arena (9,737)GENERAL MANAGER: Brad PascallHEAD COACH: Ryan HuskaENTERED AHL: 2015-16WEBSITE: stocktonheat.com

TEXAS STARSNHL AFFILIATION: Dallas StarsHOME ICE: Cedar Park Center (6,863)GENERAL MANAGER: Scott WhiteHEAD COACH: Derek LaxdalENTERED AHL: 2009-10CALDER CUPS: One (2014)SEASONS IN PLAYOFFS: 5 of 62014-15 RECORD: 40-22-13-1, 94 pts.WEBSITE: texasstarshockey.com

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PANTONE 152 C 2015-16PROCESS BLACK WHITE

SAN DIEGO GULLSPRIMARY MARK

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PANTONEMEDIUM BLUE C 2015-16PROCESS BLACKPANTONE

5455 CWHITE

ONTARIO REIGNPRIMARY MARK

PANTONE429 C

PROCESS BLACK WHITE 2015-16

STOCKTON HEATPRIMARY MARK

PANTONE186 C

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PANTONE 425 C 2015-16PROCESS BLACK WHITEPANTONE

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TEXAS STARSPRIMARY MARK

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WHITE 2015-16METALLICSILVER 877

PANTONE877 C

PROCESSBLACK

2015-16 PLAYOFF FORMATEight teams in each conference will qualify for the 2016 Calder Cup Playoffs.

The top four teams in each division, ranked by points percentage (points earned divided by points available), will qualify for the postseason, with one possible exception in each conference. If the fifth-place team in the Atlantic or Central Division finishes with a better points percentage than the fourth-place team in the North or Pacific Division, respectively, it will cross over and compete in the other division’s bracket.

The division semifinals will be best-of-five series; the division finals, conference finals and Calder Cup Finals will be best-of-seven series.

2 0 1 5 - 1 6 A H L D I R E C T O R Y

THE ROAD TO THE CALDER CUP

RAISE YOUR EXPECTATIONS.

When it’s time, come to Comerica.

When was the last time you felt celebrated?

Proud Sponsor of the

MEMBER FDIC. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY LENDER.CBP-5151 08/15

CBP-5151 GRGriffins Ad-MM.pdf 1 8/26/15 4:41 PM

GRIFFINS WHO HAVE EARNED THEIR WINGS

* not including conditioning stints for Curtis Joseph (2003-04), Chris Osgood (2005-06), Manny Legace (2005-06), Chris Chelios (2008-09), Andreas Lilja (2009-10), Jonas Gustavsson (2012-13), Carlo Colaiacovo (2012-13) and Stephen Weiss (2014-15).

During the 2014-15 season, 24 of the 31 players who saw action with the Red Wings had previously worn a Griffins uniform. Those Grand

Rapids alumni are now guided by their new head coach, former Griffins bench boss Jeff Blashill, who tutored many of them during his remarkable

three-year tenure (2012-15) in Hockeytown West.

DETROIT RED WINGS

TOP AFFILIATEGrand Rapids Griffins

14th Season / Through 2016-17

ARENAJoe Louis Arena

Seating Capacity: 20,066

CONTACT(313) 394-7000

detroitredwings.com

STANLEY CUPS1936, 1937, 1943, 1950, 1952,

1954, 1955, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2008

MANAGEMENTExecutive VP/General Manager:

Ken Holland

Assistant General Manager: Ryan Martin

COACHING STAFFHead Coach: Jeff Blashill

Assistant Coaches: Tony Granato, Pat Ferschweiler

Goaltending Coach: Jim Bedard

Video Coach: Dave Noel-Bernier

Strength and Conditioning Coach: Mike Kadar

Justin Abdelkader, 2008-09Adam Almquist, 2013-14Joakim Andersson, 2011-12Sean Avery, 2002-03Ryan Barnes, 2003-04Patrick Boileau, 2002-03Darryl Bootland, 2003-04Fabian Brunnstrom, 2011-12Mitch Callahan, 2013-14Ty Conklin, 2011-12 Chris Conner, 2011-12Danny DeKeyser, 2013-14Aaron Downey, 2008-09Patrick Eaves, 2013-14Matt Ellis, 2006-07Cory Emmerton, 2010-11Jonathan Ericsson, 2007-08Landon Ferraro, 2013-14Valtteri Filppula, 2005-06Luke Glendening, 2013-14Mark Hartigan, 2007-08

Darren Helm, 2007-08Jimmy Howard, 2005-06Jiri Hudler, 2003-04Matt Hussey, 2006-07Doug Janik, 2009-10Tomas Jurco, 2013-14Jakub Kindl, 2009-10Tomas Kopecky, 2005-06Niklas Kronwall, 2003-04Marc Lamothe, 2003-04Josh Langfeld, 2006-07Brian Lashoff, 2012-13Brett Lebda, 2005-06Ville Leino, 2008-09Joey MacDonald, 2006-07Donald MacLean, 2005-06Alexey Marchenko, 2013-14Darren McCarty, 2007-08Tom McCollum, 2010-11Derek Meech, 2006-07Kevin Miller, 2003-04

Mark Mowers, 2003-04Petr Mrazek, 2012-13Jan Mursak, 2010-11Anders Myrvold, 2003-04Andrej Nestrasil, 2014-15Kris Newbury, 2009-10Gustav Nyquist, 2011-12Xavier Ouellet, 2013-14Teemu Pulkkinen, 2013-14Kyle Quincey, 2005-06Mattias Ritola, 2007-08Jamie Rivers, 2003-04Nathan Robinson, 2003-04Stacy Roest, 2002-03Riley Sheahan, 2011-12 Brendan Smith, 2011-12Ryan Sproul, 2013-14Garrett Stafford, 2007-08Tomas Tatar, 2010-11Jordin Tootoo, 2013-14Jason Williams, 2002-03


*


2015-16 GRIFFINS PROMOTIONAL SCHEDULE

Oct. 16: Opening Night presented by Huntington Bank/Magnet Schedule Giveaway/2014-15 Wednesday Jersey Auction

Oct. 21: Budweiser Clydesdales Pre-Game Appearance presented by West Side Beer Distributing

Oct. 27: Tip-A-Griffin at Uccello’s Restaurants, benefiting the Griffins Youth Foundation

Nov. 20: Red Kettle Game presented by The Salvation Army/Red Kettle Jersey Auction

Nov. 28: Teddy Bear Toss presented by J&H Family Stores/Post-Game Poster Giveaway presented by Eikenhout Inc.

Dec. 4: ‘90s Night

Dec. 5: 2016 Calendar Giveaway presented by Fox Motors

Dec. 19: Lego Night presented by Flagstar Bank/Anthony Mantha Blockhead Giveaway (kids 12 and under)/Skyline Jersey Auction

Dec. 31: 19th Annual New Year’s Eve Celebration presented by Farm Bureau Insurance/Post-Game Fireworks

Jan. 9: 20th Anniversary Blanket Giveaway presented by DTE Energy

Jan. 17: Bring Your Dog to the Game presented by Nestlé Purina/$1 Pepsi Drinks and $1 Ice Cream from 3-5 p.m

Jan. 23: Youth Jersey Giveaway presented by Comerica Bank (kids 12 and under)/Fan-Designed Jersey Auction #1

Jan. 23-24: 14th Annual Great Skate Winterfest at Rosa Parks Circle

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

CHECK OUT OUR SEASON-LONG

PROMOTIONS ON THE NEXT PAGE!


$2 Beers and $2 Hot Dogs: Every Friday, enjoy $2 domestic drafts and $2 hot dogs from 6-8 p.m., while supplies last.

Get in the D-ZONE: Every Friday night is a Griffins D-Zone night. Avoid the concession lines and get your $2 beers and $2 hot dogs served to you in your seats. Call (616) 774-4585 ext. 2 or visit griffinshockey.com/dzone today! Fans can purchase a package of four or more D-ZONE tickets for any Friday night game, or customize their own ticket package with the D-Zone seven-game pack or purchase the 14-pack, which includes all Friday games this season.

Military Nights: Every home game, current members of our military can purchase up to four Upper Level tickets for $14 each or four Lower Level Faceoff tickets for $18 each with a valid military ID. The offer also extends to veterans who present a VA ID or discharge papers.

College Nights: Presented by Michigan First Credit Union, college students can show their ID at every Friday game to purchase an Upper Level ticket for $14 (or $13 in advance at The Zone). Limit one ticket per ID.

Free Ride Friday on The Rapid: Ride the Rapid to and from any Friday game and enjoy a complimentary fare by showing your ticket to that night’s game. Visit ridetherapid.org for schedule information, routes and maps.

Wednesday is Hockey Night: For select Wednesday home games, show your Griffins ticket at participating Arena District restaurants and bars to enjoy Happy Hour specials before the game and Hockey Night specials afterward. Wednesday is Hockey Night specials are available on the following dates: Nov. 18, Dec. 9, Feb. 17, March 2 and April 13. Visit griffinshockey.com/hockeynight for a list of participating establishments.

Winning Wednesdays: Presented by Farm Bureau Insurance, every time the Griffins win at home on Wednesday, each fan in attendance will receive a free ticket to the next Wednesday game.

Fox Motors Fast Lane: An owner of a Fox Motors vehicle has the ability to bypass normal ticket lines on game nights by showing their keychain at the designated “Fox Motors Fast Lane” ticket window, located at Van Andel Arena’s main box office. Once presented, the keychain owner may purchase their tickets, subject to availability, at the window and proceed into the game.

Post-Game Parties at Peppino’s: After every Wednesday game, join Griffins players and staff for the official post-game party at Peppino’s Sports Grille downtown.

Library Nights: For every Sunday and Wednesday game, fans can present their Grand Rapids Public Library card or Kent District Library card at the Van Andel Arena box office on the night of the game or at The Zone anytime during the store’s regular business hours to purchase either an Upper Level ticket for $14 (regularly $16 advance and $19 day of game) or a Lower Level Faceoff ticket for $18 (regularly $20 advance and $23 day of game). Limit four tickets per card per person, subject to availability.

Friends & Family 4-Packs: Available for all Saturday games, each pack incudes four tickets and $12 in concession cash for a great low price. Visit griffinshockey.com/f4p or call (616) 774-4585 ext. 2. New this season, fans may use their concession cash to purchase healthy choice menu options at the stand located outside of section 125, including low-fat yogurt, apples, oranges, granola bars and smoothies.

Popcorn Packs: Enjoy all of the popcorn you can eat with this special offer that includes four or more upper or lower level tickets and a Griffins popcorn bucket good for unlimited popcorn refills throughout the game. Popcorn packs are only available by calling 616-774-4585 ext. 2 or at griffinshockey.com/popcorn.

Pepsi Reading Goals: Children with Griff’s Reading Goals bookmarks who have completed the required three hours of reading can redeem their bookmark for two free Upper Level tickets to any of the following games: Bookmark #1 – Nov. 25 and 28; Dec. 9; and Jan. 17; Bookmark #2 – Feb. 17 and 28; March 2; and April 13.

Post-Game Open Skates: Presented by Arby’s – Oct. 16; Nov. 28; Dec. 31; Jan. 9; Feb. 27; March 12; and April 16.

Huntington Bank Post-Game Autograph Sessions: Oct. 17; Dec. 5; Jan. 9; Feb. 6 and 20; and March 26.

MOS Corner Office: Presented by Michigan Office Solutions, this section, located on the terrace level above section 118, provides the best seats in the house for groups of up to 30 people, with La-Z-Boy chairs and an array of unprecedented amenities. Call (616) 774-4585 ext. 4.

J. Gardella’s Burger and Beer Special: Take your used Griffins ticket to J. Gardella’s Tavern to enjoy a burger and beer for $6. Refer to the back of your ticket for details.

Bagel on the Board: Whenever the Griffins “put a bagel on the board” – i.e. shut out their opponent – you have one week to take your ticket to any Bagel Beanery location to receive one free bagel and a gourmet coffee.

Jan. 27: 15th Annual Matinee Game presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (11 a.m. start)

Jan. 29: ‘80s Night

Feb. 6: Teemu Pulkkinen Bobblehead Giveaway presented by Lake Michigan Credit Union

Feb. 9: Griffins & Sled Wings Game at Griff’s IceHouse

Feb. 19: Fifth Annual Purple Community Game presented by Van Andel Institute/Purple Jersey Auction

Feb. 20: Baseball Cap Giveaway presented by Option 1 Credit Union

Feb. 27: Tom McCollum Bobblehead Giveaway/Social Media Night presented by Michigan Office Solutions

Feb. 28: Pennant Giveaway presented by Centennial Securities/$1 Pepsi Drinks and $1 Ice Cream from 3-5 p.m.

March 2: Brain Injury Awareness Game presented by Brain Injury Association of Michigan

March 8: Corks, Pucks & Brews at the Goei Center, benefiting Easter Seals Michigan

March 12: Star Wars Night presented by DTE Energy

March 26: Team Sock Giveaway/ Superhero Night presented by Eikenhout Inc./Fan-Designed Jersey Auction #2

April 6: Griffins Booster Club Awards Banquet

April 16: Season Finale presented by Huntington Bank/20th Anniversary Jersey Auction

ALL PROMOTIONS AND DATES SUBJECT TO CHANGE. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT GRIFFINSHOCKEY.COM.

SEASON-LONG PROMOTIONS

Todd Nelson, the first player ever signed by the Griffins, wants to build a culture that encourages players to put the team ahead of individual accomplishments.

ALL FOR ONE & ONE FOR ALL


Story and photos by Mark Newman

Todd Nelson had officially been named the 10th head coach in Griffins history for less than two hours this summer when he was asked if there was any slogan he planned to endorse in the Grand Rapids locker room when he returned this fall.

“We Not Me,” he said almost reflexively, reacting as though he were poke-checking the question like the seasoned defensemen he once was. “It’s simple but it says it all in terms of team philosophy.”

As the first-ever player signed by the Griffins before the team’s inaugural 1996-97 season, Nelson was a consummate team guy, a blue-collar defenseman who was dedicated, disciplined and dependable. He was the ultimate “D” man.

Indeed, many felt that Nelson, having distinguished himself as one of the game’s top young coaches, was the perfect choice to succeed Jeff Blashill, who replaced Mike Babcock as the head coach of the Detroit Red Wings after serving three years at the helm of the Griffins.

“I know I have big shoes to fill in following Jeff, but I’m very confident going forward,” Nelson said. “I’m here to do a great job for the organization. I want to piggyback on the great job that Jeff did in Grand Rapids.”

Nelson is ready to embrace the challenge, excited that he is getting not only an opportunity with a new organization but also joining a talent-rich organization that has reached the Stanley Cup playoffs every season since 1990-91.

“When you look at organizations in the National Hockey League, the Detroit Red Wings represent the gold standard,” Nelson said. “I like the way they do things, their philosophy in terms of earning the right to play. Much of what they do falls in line with the things that I believe.

“When they contacted me to be the head coach in Grand Rapids, I jumped at the opportunity. It just seemed like a really good fit.”

Ironically, Nelson had hoped to be in a situation similar to Blashill this fall, looking forward to coaching his first full season in the NHL.

After five successful seasons in Oklahoma City, Nelson became the interim head coach of the Edmonton Oilers last December, replacing the fired Dallas Eakins. By all accounts, the young Edmonton team showed marked improvement under Nelson’s direction, and it looked likely that he would lose the interim tag.

That is until the Oilers hired Peter Chiarelli as their new president of hockey operations and general manager, replacing Kevin Lowe and Craig MacTavish, in late April.

Chiarelli, whose nine-year tenure in Boston included a Stanley Cup in 2011 and another finals appearance in 2013, decided he wanted a different Todd – former Red Wings assistant Todd McLellan, who had been the head coach of the San Jose Sharks the past seven seasons.

“Things were looking pretty good for me in terms of staying on as the head coach,” Nelson said. “But a new general manager usually wants to put his stamp on the organization, so he went ahead and hired McLellan as the new head coach.”

To say that Nelson was disappointed would be putting it mildly. He had joined the Oilers organization in 2010 when the club moved its AHL affiliate from Springfield to Oklahoma City, following back-to-back seasons in which the team had finished dead last in the league.

In his four full seasons in Oklahoma, Nelson built winning teams that topped the 90-point mark and qualified for the playoffs each year. The Barons twice reached the conference finals, most notably in 2013 when Nelson’s team was eliminated in seven games by the eventual Calder Cup champion Griffins.

Nelson interviewed with McLellan regarding the possibility of joining his coaching staff but ultimately decided to seek a new opportunity elsewhere.

“From a professional point of view, I wasn’t sure which direction I should go – I felt like I was on an island by myself,” Nelson said. “I discussed options with Todd and we had a great conversation. I thought about it really hard for a couple of days. It was a very tough decision. In the end, it came down to the fact that I wanted to stay a head coach.”

Nelson received permission from the Oilers to talk to other teams, and after having talks with the Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins about leading their AHL affiliates in Charlotte and Wilkes-Barre, respectively, he accepted the Red Wings’ offer.

“The situation in Grand Rapids really intrigued me because of my ties here,” he said. “I have a lot of fond memories of playing here. Needless to say, I’m very excited, and very hungry to re-establish myself at this level with a new organization.”


Nelson doesn’t expect that he will need to alter his coaching style, which relies on creating a winning atmosphere that is built on a culture of camaraderie and cohesiveness.

“When I went up to Edmonton, people asked me if I was going to change and I said I was going to coach the same way that I always have coached,” he said. “I’m going to provide a good atmosphere for the players to come to work every day and encourage a positive, upbeat attitude.

“For me, the biggest thing is just being myself. Because when you speak from the heart, you speak the truth.”

Like Blashill, Nelson is considered a players’ coach, a teacher who is tough but fair and honest at all times, a mentor with an open door policy, a bench boss who is just as interested in the player as a person as he is in the player as an athlete.

“Everywhere I go, I try to build a family atmosphere,” he said. “This is their family away from home. The way I look at it, coaching is part parenting and part teaching. You’re trying to educate your players on what they need to do to make it to the next level, but you’re also trying to provide a sense of comfort and that discipline that a parent gives their child. With every team I’ve coached, I’ve treated every player as if they were my own.”

During the course of a season, there are always hard decisions to be made, but tough love is part of parenting. “Those are the bad days when you have to cut someone or send someone down or trade somebody who’s been part of your family,” he said.

“On the other side, there’s no better gratification for a coach at the AHL level than getting that phone call from the parent club because they want to call up somebody and then you see the smile on the kid’s face before their first NHL game. That’s the greatest thing.”

He confessed that he never really thought about coaching until 2001-02, his final season as a player. Danton Cole became the head coach of the Muskegon Fury after two years as an assistant coach in Grand Rapids (under Guy Charron and Bruce Cassidy) and Cole convinced both Nelson and Bruce Ramsay to become player-assistants.

Nelson drew on the men he had as coaches, most notably, Barry Trotz, the longtime Nashville Predators head coach and current Washington Capitals coach, who led the Portland Pirates to


Nelson began his full-time coaching career as an assistant with the Griffins in 2002-03.

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the 1994 Calder Cup (besides Nelson, the team included Todd’s brother Jeff and future Griffins all-time leading scorer Michel Picard).

Not only was Trotz an innovator with video, a nascent technology two decades ago, but Nelson said Trotz also made good use of interpersonal skills that were often untapped by some of the game’s greatest coaches.

“Barry provided a culture that was conducive to success,” Nelson said. “He was a good communicator. He wasn’t just a coach, he was our friend. You could talk to him about situations; whether it was hockey or personal life, it didn’t matter. He showed that he cared. He built a culture and a strong family atmosphere.”

Nelson returned to Grand Rapids as a full-time assistant coach when Cole was named the head coach of the Griffins for the 2002-03 season. “Danton helped groom me as a coach,” Nelson said. “He came from an organization (New Jersey) that was really structured, and he was very organized and very detail-oriented, qualities that helped train me as a coach.”

One year later, Nelson was back in Muskegon, where he took his first head coaching job, leading the Fury to back-to-back United Hockey League

championships in 2004 and 2005. “Muskegon was a great place to learn because at that level, you’re doing everything,” Nelson said. “You’re also the general manager – you’re handling all the logistics, from the salary cap to housing.

“It’s a great training ground for a young coach because you get to build your own team. Winning back-to-back championships is very difficult in this day and age, but I was fortunate to get good players who wanted to come there and play for me. We had three great years.”

Nelson’s success in Muskegon led to an offer to join the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, where he served as an assistant coach under John Anderson for two seasons. Winning the Calder Cup in 2008 earned the pair a promotion to the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers.

“John Anderson was very creative offensively,” Nelson said. “I learned that it was OK to deviate from your plan as long as you have buy-in from the players. If you have their trust and respect, it doesn’t matter what you want to do tactically, they will follow you.”

Anderson and his staff were eventually relieved of their duties in Atlanta after the 2009-10 season, which opened up the opportunity for

Nelson played 236 games in a Grand Rapids uniform, which puts him sixth all time among Griffins defensemen.


Anywhere, Anytime, Anyplace. We’re there for you!

Nelson to take the job in Oklahoma City and become a head coach at the AHL level.

Coaching the talent-laden Barons fortified Nelson’s belief that coaching breaks down into two categories: arts and science. The latter covers tactics and systems of play – the proverbial X’s and O’s – while the former deals more with the mental aspects of the game.

“What you see today is that the arts portion is more important than ever,” Nelson said. ”As a coach, you want to create an atmosphere where players do what they are asked to do. You’ve got to get people to believe in themselves and in the group. If they are selfless, if they care more for each other than they do themselves, you’ll be successful.”

It’s that close-knit environment that Nelson will do his best to foster in Grand Rapids. “Team-building, for me, is not going out to play laser tag. Anybody can do that. It’s about creating a culture that is conducive to success.”

One event that Nelson does embrace is a team pig roast, a tradition from his playing days. “It’s important for the guys to get away from the rink and get to know each other,”

he said. “I think guys care more about their teammates when they know more about each other.”

Coming into the Red Wings organization, Nelson feels like half of the battle has already been won since the club seems to truly understand the process of player development.

“Everybody loves a winner and Detroit obviously has been very good at it by building a really good track record of playoff hockey,” Nelson said. “We want players to develop in a winning atmosphere.”

Helping Nelson guide the Red Wings’ top prospects this season as assistant coaches will be a pair of fellow former Griffins: Ramsay, who played in Grand Rapids from 1996-99, and Ben Simon, who was a member of the 2006-07 team.

Nelson contends he will do everything in his power to make sure that the Griffins’ 20th anniversary season is one of their best. “Being part of a winning team provides the opportunity to go on to bigger and better things,” he said. “I’m here to do a great job for the organization.”Nelson played 236 games in a Grand Rapids uniform, which puts him sixth all time among Griffins defensemen.

EXPERIENCE COUNTS

Jeff Blashill hopes to

put his time with the

Griffins to good use in

Detroit.


When Detroit general manager Ken Holland introduced Griffins coach Jeff Blashill as the 27th head coach in Red Wings history on June 9, 2015, Blashill proclaimed that he felt fortunate to land “one of the most coveted jobs in the National Hockey League.”

As a Motor City native who grew up in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., as a diehard Red Wings fan after his father had been a Detroit cop for 10 years, Blashill was grateful to be given the opportunity to guide the only Original Six team that he ever followed.

“It’s a neat thing to become the head coach of an organization that was a big part of your life growing up,” Blashill said. “That’s pretty cool.”

Blashill came to Grand Rapids before the 2012-13 season following one year as an assistant for head coach Mike Babcock in Detroit. The

Griffins, who made the playoffs all three seasons under Blashill after missing the postseason the prior three, won the 2013 Calder Cup under his guidance. Moreover, Grand Rapids’ 50 playoff games played during his tenure set an AHL record for the most ever by a team during a three-year span.

Several teams inquired about securing Blashill’s services after that championship, but the young coach opted to stay put as the heir apparent to Babcock.

“I loved my job in Grand Rapids,” Blashill said. “I loved the city and I had a great experience with the ownership and staff of the Griffins. When you’re in a great situation, I don’t think you’re in a rush to go anywhere.”

Blashill will look back fondly at his time in the AHL, which he called “an unbelievable


experience.” He said the experience of coaching the Red Wings’ top prospects will be beneficial to his work in Detroit.

“(Grand Rapids) has had a huge impact on my career,” Blashill said. “I think the American Hockey League is a great, great league for coaches to learn in. They say it’s a great development league for players, but I think it’s just as important for coaches, and I think it’s shown by the number of NHL coaches who are AHL graduates.”

Blashill is the latest in a long line of AHL-trained coaches, a list that includes fellow Calder Cup winners Barry Trotz (Portland, 1994), Bob Hartley (Hershey, 1997), Peter Laviolette (Providence, 1999), Todd McLellan (Houston, 2003), Bruce Boudreau (Hershey, 2006), Jon Cooper (Norfolk, 2012) and Willie Desjardins (Texas, 2014).

“There’s no question that I’ve learned a ton in Grand Rapids,” he said. “As someone who wants to get better at his craft, you learn to adapt. I think my time in Grand Rapids has been paramount to my development as a coach.”

It’s the very nature of the AHL as the top developmental league of the NHL that provides coaches with the opportunity to improve themselves in the same way that players practice and play games to get better.

“During the course of a single season, you’re presented with more challenges than at any other level because of player movement,” Blashill said. “You face so many different situations that you have to learn to adapt. It forces you to find different ways to win.”

Blashill gives credits to his players in Grand Rapids for making him look good.

“Coaches are ultimately a reflection of their players and I’ve been really fortunate to coach great people and great players,” he said. “You only win championships with great talent and great character. You can’t have just one or the other. You’ve got to have both.”

He is especially grateful for the veteran leadership of captain Jeff Hoggan and defensemen Nathan Paetsch and Brennan Evans and credited their work ethic for developing a culture that bred success.

“They were a huge part of our success and a huge reason for the acceleration of development of many of the Red Wings’ prospects who are either members of the team now or knocking on the door,” he said. “I don’t spend a lot of time with rah-rah speeches and other motivational tactics because I believe the guys motivate themselves.”

In that sense, Blashill said he looks forward to working with

Red Wings veterans Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Niklas Kronwall.

“The No. 1 factor that will influence a team’s success is having players who embody the characteristics of winners: inner drive, competitiveness, selflessness,” he said. “If you have guys with those qualities, it gives you a chance to win. If you don’t, you have no chance to win.”

The fact that Blashill will be coaching many players in Detroit who played for him in Grand Rapids should help with his transition to the NHL.

“I know what makes a lot of the guys tick,” he said. “You have to motivate people in different ways, and the fact that there is familiarity will allow that to happen in a more efficient manner. You can’t treat every guy the same.”

While he will employ many of the same systems used by Babcock, Blashill will not be a carbon copy of his former boss, now the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs. “I’ll have my own approach, and with my own approach will come change,” he said.

At the same time, Blashill plans to adhere to the same process that he followed in Grand Rapids, like breaking the season into segments in an effort to get the team to compete at a playoff level throughout the year.

“The message will stay consistent,” he said. “The one thing I’ve learned is (good) habits are just as important in the NHL as they are in the AHL. The difference between winning and losing is so minimal that the edge often goes to the team that pays closer attention to details.”

“I can’t wait to go to work with this group and try to work to win a Stanley Cup.”

“Coaches are ultimately a reflection of

their players and I’ve been really

fortunate to coach great people and

great players.”

CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS


CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS

Twelve different captains have led the Griffins during the organization’s first 20 years.

This season will be Jeff Hoggan’s fourth as the captain of the Grand Rapids Griffins, the longest tenure in the 20-year history of the organization, but he shares many of the characteristics that have distinguished the 11 men who came before him.

“Hoggie is an outstanding captain, mostly because of his character,” said new Detroit Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill, who counted on the leadership of the veteran forward for all three of his seasons behind the bench in Grand Rapids.

“Hoggie is an unbelievable example of someone who has great work ethic, who has great attention to detail, who is always selfless, and I think he really helped accelerate the growth of our hockey team every year. When you have a leader like Hoggie, you have no choice but to follow.”

To be a leader, one must have others who are willing to follow, and there is no greater responsibility in hockey than being the team captain and convincing guys with different personalities, different backgrounds and different skills to sacrifice themselves for the good of the unit.

Hoggan, of course, led the Griffins to their only Calder Cup championship in 2013, but he was following the same philosophy and moral code that has driven every team captain, starting with Don McSween, who served as the club’s first captain during the inaugural season in 1996-97.

McSween, who first became a captain as a sophomore at Michigan State University, was a 32-year-old veteran defenseman when he came to Grand Rapids after seeing


spotty action in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres and Anaheim Mighty Ducks.

To his teammates, McSween was a well-respected leader who put others ahead of himself.

“He was exactly what you want in a captain,” said Travis Richards, a member of that first Griffins team and a player who would later become a captain himself. “We all had the utmost respect for him. He was quiet, but he played hard. He was a true professional.

“He was outstanding,” said Danton Cole, who joined the Griffins midway through the first s eason but had played with McSween at MSU. “He was a real genuine guy who set a good example by caring about everybody on the team more than he did himself.”

A selfless attitude is often a hallmark of a strong captain. “When you’re captain, it’s about putting your teammates above yourself,” McSween said. “It’s almost biblical: he who will be first will be last. If you want to be recognized as a team leader, you

have to be willing to serve others.”

Although he didn’t fully grasp the import of his appointment back then, McSween now treasures his moment in the organization’s history. “When I look back at my time with the Griffins, I’m

really pleased and honored that I was chosen to be the first captain,” he said.

Twenty years ago, the Griffins were not affiliated with any NHL club, so the team pulled talent from many different organizations, which made the job of being team captain just a little more challenging.

“There were no incumbent players as is usually the case,” McSween said. “We were all coming from different places so we had to jell quickly in order for us to play as a team. We had our rough spots, but by the end of the year, we came together pretty well.”

As the second-oldest player on a veteran-laden team, McSween was responsible for establishing the tone for the rest.

“(Don McSween) was a real genuine guy who set a good

example by caring about everybody on the team more

than he did himself.” – Danton Cole

Don McSween


“When you wear the ‘C,’ it’s a badge of honor and a nice recognition of your position on the team, but it also bears a lot of responsibility,” McSween said. “You can’t really fly under the radar because wearing the ‘C’ makes you a marked man.”

McSween did his best to lead by example.“Eighty games is a long season,” he said. “It

might be a Tuesday night in San Antonio, it’s game 56, and you’re kind of beat up and it’s the second game in two nights, or third in four nights, and even though you’re a little weary, you can’t take the night off. You have to make sure that you’re pushing hard, you’re leading by example.

“If you’re not leading by example, your words become pretty hollow, and it doesn’t do you any good to be piping up on the bench or speaking out in the locker room. Nobody is going to listen to the words of someone who isn’t putting it all out on the line.”

Cole, who served as the Griffins’ captain during the 1998-99 season following Kerry Huffman, said the role requires a

player to make sacrifices for the betterment of the team, a responsibility that hopefully will be shared by the rest of the players.

“As captain you have to be cognizant of what you’re doing at all times,” Cole said. “If you are going to ask other guys to work hard, sacrifice or assume a role on the team that they’re not comfortable with, you certainly have to be willing to do those things yourself.”

Many of the men who have served as Griffins captains have been on the more reserved side, but Cole was a little more fiery than the others, according to teammate Richards.

“Danton was more boisterous, but he backed it up,” Richards said. “He played hard and he expected you to do the same, and if you didn’t, he let you know. You can challenge other guys if

you’re doing it yourself, and he always did.”

Cole won a Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils two seasons before joining the Griffins, an accomplishment that would certainly have

“(Danton Cole) played hard and he expected you to do

the same, and if you didn’t, he let you know.” – Travis Richards

Danton Cole

Phot

o C

redi

t: To

m S

oren

sen


earned players’ respect if Cole hadn’t also been one of the team’s hardest workers. That attribute came naturally to Cole, who had more drive and determination than most.

“When you’re a player put into a leadership position, you don’t really need to change,” Cole said. “You just need to stay true to yourself.”

That philosophy was certainly embraced by Richards, whose low-key personality served the team well when he was team captain for three seasons (2001-04) following Ed Patterson.

“To me, it’s what you do on the ice that matters,” he said. “I don’t really care if you talk in the locker room or if you’re the funny guy; to me it’s how you handle yourself in the game. If you’re the guy working hardest in practice, everyone has to follow. Because how can they not? You set the tone for everything.”

Richards played 10 seasons with the team before the organization retired his number in 2006.

Griffins head coach Todd Nelson, who played with Richards during four different seasons (1996-98, 1999-2000, 2001-02), thinks his one-time defensive partner made an excellent captain because of qualities that went beyond the way he played.

“I think the reason that Richie had such a long tenure here was not only was he a steady, consistent hockey player, but he also was a leader and a glue-guy in the room. He had great character and a lot of players looked up to him. There’s a reason that only one jersey is hanging in the rafters.”

Richards suggests that he may have worn the ‘C’ but it was really NHL veteran Derek King who ran the team for two of his three seasons as captain. King, who came to the Griffins after 830 games with the New York Islanders, Hartford Whalers, Toronto Maple Leafs and St. Louis Blues, scoffed at the notion.

“That’s just Travis being Travis, wanting to stay under the radar and not taking all the

Travis Richards

“(Travis Richards) was not only a steady, consistent hockey player, but he also was a leader

and a glue-guy in the room.” – Todd Nelson


credit,” King said. “If people respected me, they respected him just as much. I know I respected him and I definitely looked at him as a leader. Everybody followed his footsteps in the way he worked. He was definitely a big part of the franchise.”

If there was one player that Richards looked up to as a great leader, it was the player known as The Captain, Steve Yzerman, the longtime Red Wings favorite.

“The captain I admired and watched was Steve Yzerman,” Richards said. “I think he was kind of a quiet guy, but he would block a shot with his face and then he would go score a goal. He backchecked harder than anyone and he just did all the right things.”

Cole played with Scott Stevens, the rock-solid defenseman who built his reputation in New Jersey after playing in Washington and St. Louis. Like Yzerman, Stevens was another quieter captain who led by example. “But he also knew the right time to step up his presence in the room and say something,” Cole said.

Of course, both Yzerman and Stevens were Hall of Fame players. Most captains are not. Many times they are overachievers – like the Griffins’ Matt Ellis, who served as team captain during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons.

Ellis worked his way up from the ECHL and overcame the odds to become captain. When he first joined the Griffins, some scouts said he lacked the talent to ever play in the NHL. Ellis eventually played more than 350 games with the Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres.

Cole, who coached Ellis during his first two seasons in Grand Rapids, said he wasn’t surprised when Ellis was named captain a couple of years later.

“Matt had all the qualities,” Cole said. “In terms of his work ethic and approach to the game, Matt was a pro from the first day. You don’t always see it in a young player, but he embodied a lot of what you would want in a young man. He wasn’t

Matt Ellis

“In terms of his work ethic and approach to the game, Matt (Ellis) was a pro from

the first day.” – Danton Cole


going to be discouraged, he was going to keep working, and he kept getting better and better. You look for guys with that determination because it is contagious.”

It’s that drive that distinguishes the best captains, and the Griffins have had no better captain than Hoggan.

“The thing that makes Hoggie really special is his competitiveness,” Blashill said. “We saw that every year in the playoffs. Every time we needed to raise our competitive level, whether it was being down two games to none against Toronto last year or going to Syracuse for Game 1 of the finals in 2013, Hoggie’s competitiveness is so high, the rest of the team just follows.”

Hoggan said he has taken cues from some of the captains that he has encountered during his career, now in its 15th season.

“I’ve been fortunate to watch captains like Shane Doan, Dallas Drake and Zdeno Chara, as well as other guys who guided me when I was younger,” he said. “I was able to watch them in terms of the things that contribute to a working dressing room. I think making everyone feel a part of the team is key. I’ve learned that you’ve got to respect that every guy is different, but you try to connect them to the unit as much as you can.”

For Hoggan, being a good captain doesn’t happen overnight. “Becoming a captain is one thing, but becoming an even better captain is a growth process,” he said.

And it never stops. Now, at age 37, Hoggan is making sure that he does all the right things more than ever.

“As the old guy, all eyes are on you,” he said. “Even management looks at your birth certificate, so there’s a little bit of having to prove your worth and that you can still do it. You want the younger guys to notice that you’re not just the old guy, that you’re still capable of competing just as hard as anyone. That’s what I take pride in doing.”

Jeff Hoggan

“When you have a leader like (Jeff Hoggan), you have no

choice but to follow.” – Jeff Blashill


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ZACH NASTASIUKForward

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RICHARD NEDOMLELDefenseman6-5, 228 lbs.Born: 7/1/93

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19

5

7 26 913RYAN SPROULDefenseman6-3, 205 lbs.

Born: 1/13/93Mississauga, Ont.

ERIC TANGRADIForward

6-4, 233 lbs.Born: 2/10/89

Philadelphia, Pa.

MAREK TVRDONForward

6-2, 217 lbs.Born: 1/31/93Nitra, Slovakia

MARK ZENGERLEForward

5-10, 185 lbs.Born: 5/12/89

Rochester, N.Y.

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303

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LIVING THE DREAM

Tyler Bertuzzi is thrilled to be playing professional hockey, but

you can bet he won’t sleep until he reaches the next level by earning a

job with the Detroit Red Wings.42 Grand Rapids GRIFFINS 42 Grand Rapids GRIFFINS

LIVING THE DREAM

Story and photos by Mark Newman


Bertuzzi is the nephew of former Detroit Red Wings forward Todd Bertuzzi.

Tyler Bertuzzi is loving every minute. His grin is as wide as McCharles Lake is long.There are 330 lakes within the city limits of his hometown, Greater Sudbury in northern Ontario,

but there is only one – McCharles Lake, where his family still lives – that gave birth to Bertuzzi’s dream of someday playing professional hockey.

As an avid fisherman, Bertuzzi has spent countless hours on the lake, fishing for bass. But it’s the countless hours skating, stickhandling around real and imaginary defenders, and firing thousands of pucks into the net that have made all the difference in overcoming the odds and making his dream a reality.

Now in his first full season in Grand Rapids, he is looking to build his resume in hopes of someday earning a job in Detroit, where his uncle Todd Bertuzzi toiled for the better part of six seasons late in his career after he had established himself as one of the game’s top power forwards.

It’s been Tyler’s dream for as long as he can remember.

He started skating when he was four, playing throughout his childhood on the outdoor rinks of his hometown. He was undeterred by sub-zero winter temperatures that are all too common to an area upwind of the chilly waters of Lake Huron’s Georgian Bay.


In 14 Calder Cup Playoff games a year ago, Bertuzzi tallied seven goals, including an

AHL-high four game-winners.


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Nothing – not even strep throat or bumps and bruises – could stop the little engine that could. Often one of the smallest players on the ice, Bertuzzi warmed to the words of wisdom imparted by his coach, the man he called “papa” – Albert Bertuzzi, a tough, window-washing Italian-American who was only too happy to make sure his grandson followed in his formidable footsteps. Little Tyler wasn’t going to be afraid of anyone or anything.

“I loved going to practice every night and games even more,” Tyler said. “I’d be the first one on and the last one off. We had practice three times a week, and in between I’d be playing road hockey or be out on the lake practicing all the time.”

His NHL dreams blossomed with occasional trips to Vancouver to watch his uncle play. “When I was young, I would go see him a couple of times a year,” he recalled. “He was a big deal then. I remember skating with him on the ice and getting to meet guys like (Mark) Messier and (Eric) Lindros. Just being able to grow up and have him behind me, tell me what it is like to go through it all, was a big help.”

By his own admission, Bertuzzi was an

average student at best. He’d rather hit an opponent on the ice than hit the books. “I liked fooling around,” he said. “It seemed like I was always getting into trouble for doing something.”

Frankly, he was a ball of energy. Sitting still in a classroom was not his idea of fun. Playing hockey morning, noon and night was. “My goal was to play hockey, so I guess I let school slide a little bit,” said Bertuzzi, who played minor midget hockey in Sudbury before he was drafted by the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League in anticipation of the 2011-12 season.

Guelph just happened to be the same city where his uncle had played his junior hockey. “When I was drafted by Guelph, it was a big day for me,” Bertuzzi said. “I knew my uncle had played there, but I didn’t know all the history and what he had done there. He called me and told me it was a great organization and that it would be awesome for me.”

An underdog to make the team as a 16-year-old, Bertuzzi scored six goals with 11 assists in 61 games during his first junior season in Guelph. He also had 18 fighting majors, underscoring his reputation as an agitator who



was willing to forecheck hard or drop the gloves when necessary. Bertuzzi, according to Gueph general manager Mike Kelly, was fearless, describing him as having “the heart of a lion.”

During his second season in Guelph, Bertuzzi missed more than two months after suffering a neck injury with concussion-like symptoms. The injury slowed his progress, but not his drive or determination. Bertuzzi was ranked 207th among North American skaters in Central Scouting’s final rankings.

Many observers were surprised when the Red Wings selected Bertuzzi in the second round (58th overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. “I think it surprised me more than anyone,” said Bertuzzi, who stayed home because he wasn’t sure anyone would take him. “But I knew I had it in me to prove everyone wrong.”

Being chosen by the Red Wings was simply icing on the cake. “It was an honor to be selected by them in the second round,” he said, noting that “there is a lot of history there.”

Again, Uncle Todd called to congratulate his nephew (Todd and Tyler’s mom, Angela, are siblings). “He gave me the inside (scoop) on everything,” Bertuzzi said. “He told me things

like ‘Don’t be late. Always be respectful. Say thank you, yes please,’ all those little things that I already knew but needed to be reminded about. I took what he told me to heart.”

Bertuzzi got off to a fast start for eventual OHL champion Guelph in his third season before he was sidelined with the same head and neck issues that shortened his 2012-13 season. He returned for the playoffs, scoring 10 goals with seven assists in 18 games, including five goals in four Memorial Cup games.

The injuries began to take a toll on Bertuzzi’s psyche.

“My skills kept evolving and, due to injuries, I stopped fighting,” he said. “I’ll still fight here and there, lay the big hit or block shots, but I had to change my game. I didn’t want to get hurt anymore, so I just focused a lot on my skill and how to contribute offensively, and it paid off.”

Bertuzzi had a breakout season a year ago, starting with his final season in Guelph and finishing in Grand Rapids, where he joined the Griffins right before the Calder Cup Playoffs. He recorded 98 points (43 goals and 55 assists) in 68 games with the Storm, then tallied seven goals in 14 games with the Griffins.


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Bertuzzi scored 43 goals during the 2014-15 regular season, his final year with the Guelph Storm.


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Four of his playoff goals were game-winners, underscoring then-Griffins head coach Jeff Blashill’s contention that Bertuzzi was a playoff-type player. “He’s hard on the puck, he goes to the net hard and he is good in front of the goalie,” Blashill said. “He is a guy who can really complement a couple of skilled players because he’s got a real high offensive ability.”

Bertuzzi draws comparisons to Abdelkader, another player with high-level offensive ability who is willing to work in the hard areas of the ice.

For his part, Bertuzzi won’t object to such comparisons. “I think I can be a good playoff performer because I’m willing to do whatever it takes to win,” he said. “It’s about blocking shots, getting the puck out when you have to, forechecking hard. You do all the little things you need to do to win. I felt like I was a contributor offensively, but I think my game is going to get better.”

He is quick to give credit to his playoff linemates, Andy Miele and Mark Zengerle, for giving him opportunities to display his playmaking abilities. “Coming up, I didn’t know

what to expect,” he said. “I was hoping to play a few games, maybe play a fourth line role, and there I was on the first line, playing with Miele and Zengerle, scoring goals and making assists and doing everything I could to help us win.”

After a short two-week break to vacation in Cuba with his girlfriend, Bertuzzi got back to business this summer. He worked with his father, Adrian Gedye, on sprints and squats to strengthen his lower body. “My dad was a swimmer and triathlete who never played (hockey), but he understands the game. We worked a lot on foot speed this summer.” Of course, they also found time to go fishing, along with Tyler’s younger brothers, Evan and Matthew.

At age 20, Bertuzzi might not become any taller – he’s now 6-foot-1 – but he recognizes that he still has plenty of room to grow. “I want to be a two-way forward who can contribute offensively and defensively,” he said. “I’m always going 100 percent every shift, working my butt off. I want to build on what I did last year. So far it’s been a pretty good ride.”

Bertuzzi scored 43 goals during the 2014-15 regular season, his final year with the Guelph Storm.

As Part 1 of a season-long series celebrating the organization’s 20th anniversary, Griffiti caught

up with a hat trick of former Griffins now making their marks in other professions.



DANTON COLE: ALL-AMERICAN MENTOR

As a player, Danton Cole may not have been a star, but there were few who could top his intensity. That’s how the former sixth-round draft pick parlayed modest skills into a 10-year pro career that included 318 NHL games and a Stanley Cup with the 1995 New Jersey Devils.

When Cole entered the coaching ranks, first as an assistant with the Grand Rapids Griffins (1999-01) and later as a head coach of the Muskegon Fury (2001-02) and Griffins (2002-05), he brought the same passion for the game that made him excel as a player.

After a year as an assistant coach at Bowling Green State University, Cole spent three seasons (2007-10) as the head coach of the University of Alabama-Huntsville Chargers, the only NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey program located in the South, where he shared his enthusiasm with college players eager to improve.

Cole got his first international coaching opportunity when he served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Under-18 Select Team at the 2009 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup. “I had been a member of three US. Men’s National Teams (1990, 1991, 1994), but coaching at that level was a new experience,” said Cole, who was “intrigued” by the prospect of coaching teenagers full-time. “I really liked the experience.”

When Alabama-Huntsville found itself without a conference following the 2009-10

season, he began to consider pursuing a larger role with USA Hockey. “The more I explored, the more I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to work with some great kids and a great organization like USA Hockey,” he said.

Cole is now in his sixth season as a head coach within USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program (NTDP). He is guiding the U.S. National Under-18 Team in 2015-16 and was recently named an assistant coach for the U.S. National Junior Team that will compete in the 2016 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Championship in Helsinki, Finland.

“It’s a fun place to coach,” Cole said. “We get to coach against teams from junior hockey and college as well as international teams. The kids are outstanding. Their level of talent and abilities make the job a lot of fun, and it’s neat to see how much they grow and move forward in two years.”

Cole has led the Under-18 Team to a pair of gold medals at the IIHF Men’s Under-18 World Championship (2012, 2014), in addition to five other first-place finishes in international competition.

Launched in 1996 as a revolutionary new initiative, the NTDP is a full-time development program that is designed to prepare student athletes under the age of 18 for participation on U.S. National Teams and success in their future hockey careers.

Along with Don Granato, the other head coach in the program, Cole is responsible for developing the future stars of USA Hockey, making sure that the young men in the program excel not only during high-caliber participation on the ice but also in becoming well-rounded individuals off the ice. While enrolled in the NTDP, most players stay with billet families and attend Pioneer High School.

“The program is all-inclusive,” Cole said. “These are young men who are very moldable, so we spend an incredible amount of time on things beyond hockey. Whether it’s a leadership class, life skills or just the experience of traveling internationally, it’s important that they understand the message that we convey as mentors, coaches and leaders.”

Since the NTDP’s inception, the U.S. has won the gold medal at the IIHF World Men’s Under-18 Championship nine times, winning


with a roster comprised primarily of NTDP players. Cole said 16 players from his first U.S. National team have signed NHL contracts.

“Recognizing their age and maturity, we do things as close to NHL-level as possible,” Cole said. “The program functions as a front porch for USA Hockey, and I think it’s done a good job of preparing players to represent the U.S. in various tournaments.”

An example of a recent graduate of the NTDP is Dylan Larkin, the highly touted prospect who was selected in the first round (15th overall) by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2014 NHL Draft and who showed signs of future greatness during the Griffins’ Calder Cup playoff run last season.

“If you talk to anyone around the program, you will hear that everyone has a lot of respect for Dylan, just because of the way he approached things here, how hard he worked and how much better he got, which is a tribute to the time he put in here,” Cole said of Larkin, who spent two years in the program before his freshman year at the University of Michigan.

Cole is looking forward to his participation in the 2016 World Junior Championship tournament. He got his first look at the potential team during a camp in August. The group will reconvene in mid-December and stick together until the end of the tournament in early January.

“I’ve been through it a few times and things go fast,” he said. “You have to take care of the game you’re playing. In a way, it’s like the NCAA basketball tournament. You survive and move on. If things go wrong, it can get away from you rather quickly.”

Seeing many of his past players compete on a world stage should be an eye-opening experience. “You find out a lot about them during the course of a tournament,” he said. “There’s a lot of pressure on these young men. You never know until you get there, but I think we have a good group. It certainly should be fun.”

Cole is looking forward to serving as an assistant coach with Chris Chelios under head coach Ron Wilson. In the past, Cole has crossed coaching paths with a number of former Griffins, including John Gruden and Kelly Miller. Jake Visser, who was the assistant equipment manager in Grand Rapids for three seasons (2007-10), is in his fifth year with NTDP.

“It’s amazing how many guys I see who I either played with or against or coached,” Cole said. “It’s great to see so many guys continuing in the hockey business.”

Based in Ann Arbor since its inception in 1996, the program moved into the old Compuware Arena in Plymouth this fall. The facility, which has been renamed USA Hockey Arena, is being renovated with new locker rooms, a weight room and offices in the works.

After moving more times than he can count due to all the places he played and coached, Cole has been happy to stay in one place with his wife, Debbie, and their three daughters, Ashton, Madeleine and Payton.

With his youngest daughter now a junior in high school, though, Cole admits that he has begun to think about his future, whether it’s staying with USA Hockey or moving to a new opportunity in the pros or college ranks.

“I love where I’m at, so there’s no hurry,” Cole said. “The people here are outstanding. They give us the tools and the freedom to do the job we’re tasked with, which is developing and molding these kids into good hockey players and fine young men. As a coach, it’s all you can ask for.” — Mark Newman

JED FIEBELKORN: FLY FISHING EXPERTJed Fiebelkorn grew up in Minnesota, the

so-called “Land of 10,000 Lakes.” For a boy who grew up to love hockey and fishing, there could hardly have been a more perfect place.


“My dad was a big fisherman,” he recalled. “I got a fly rod when I was fairly young and didn’t know much about fly fishing, but we spent summers at a cabin near the boundary waters of Lake Superior and the Gunflint Trail, and it was there that I got my first taste of trout.”

Northern Minnesota was the type of place that could make an avid outdoorsman out of almost anyone. “It was pretty, rugged, remote, off the grid,” said Fiebelkorn, noting that his grandfather had bought the cabin from a trapper. “No power, no water, but a wild and amazing place for a kid to discover the outdoors.”

Fiebelkorn would grow up and play hockey at the University of Minnesota, where Travis Richards was his teammate for two seasons. Richards, of course, would eventually play 655 games in a Griffins uniform, or 650 more than the number that Fiebelkorn played during his one season (1998-99) in Grand Rapids.

It was just long enough to make an impression on Fiebelkorn, who played professionally for five seasons until a knee injury prematurely ended his career. He remembers the city as being “a super cool town.”

“The thing I remember most about Grand Rapids was the environment there,” said Fiebekkorn, recalling that he joined the Griffins right before the holidays that winter. “It was just a warm, inviting place to play.”

He recalled that the city was hit by a huge snowstorm during his stay, which might not seem that memorable for a Minnesota native, except Fiebelkorn joined the Griffins from the ECHL expansion team in South Florida known as the Miami Matadors.

Actually, Fiebelkorn was already familiar with West Michigan, having played the previous season in Kalamazoo for the Michigan K-Wings. His teammates there included a pair of future Griffins: Aris Brimanis and John Emmons.

Following his brief stint in Grand Rapids, Fiebelkorn decided to go to Germany to play, but he appeared in only 22 games before he wrecked his knee. “I figured I was going to play a few more years in Europe, but when my career ended, I had to figure out what was next.”

Having studied psychology as an undergraduate at the University of Minnesota, Fiebelkorn figured he would pursue sports psychology. “I was drawn to the mental side of

performing and when I looked at schools with programs, there was the University of Montana,” he said.

The idea of attending graduate school in Big Sky Country was just too good for Fiebelkorn to pass up.

He had become acquainted with the West after an uncle and cousin moved to Colorado when he was a boy. “As I got older, my cousin started fly fishing for trout in the rivers out there, so I started visiting him regularly,” he said. “I began to venture out to places like the Green River in Utah and, eventually, to the famed rivers of Montana.”

In Montana, Fiebelkorn saw a unique opportunity.

“I knew the guiding game a bit from my cousin, so I figured I could run a few trips and make a few extra bucks while I was going to graduate school,” he said. “My wife (Shannon) loved the area, too, so when I finished my master’s degree, we just decided to stay.”

And thus, Endless Drift Outfitters was born.Fiebelkorn has been a full-time guide in

western Montana for the better part of a decade, taking anglers of all types – “from raw beginners to people who have fished all over the world” – to his adopted state’s blue ribbon trout streams, including the Blackfoot River, Bitterroot River, Clark Fork River, the Missouri and Rock Creek.

A few years ago, Fiebelkorn was approached to host a fly fishing show for television. He co-hosted an instructional show called “Fly Fisherman” for two seasons, then hosted another show, “Trout Unlimited: On The Rise,” on his own for two more.

“I was never the guy who loved the camera or the spotlight, but when they flipped on the camera, I didn’t have much of a problem with it,” he said. “I think it’s because the teaching aspect came naturally to me. I just did my thing and it worked out.”

Fiebelkorn loves sharing his passion for the sport of fly fishing. In fact, he teaches two courses on the fundamentals of fly fishing at the University of Montana.

“One of my passions is to fish new water, and you can always fish different species, different areas and different parts of the world. You’re constantly learning new intricacies of rivers and bug life and hatches. One thing that I truly love about the sport is that you can continue to learn


and get better. It’s a lifelong endeavor.”The television shows allowed Fiebelkorn to

travel to some of the world’s most beautiful fly fishing destinations, even going as far as the Patagonia region of Chile. Cuba, Mongolia and Kamchatka are a few of the places still on his bucket list.

“I’m keeping my eyes open for new projects,” he said. “If the opportunity arises and I can tie hosting together with writing and field producing, I would definitely be interested.”

He’s hoping to grow his outfitting business beyond the borders of Montana. He has hosted several trips to the Florida Keys, where his wife’s family spends a lot of time, and he’s trying to develop trips to the Bahamas and Alaska. “There’s an adage that trout don’t live in ugly places; they live in beautiful places. And the sport of fly

fishing takes you to amazingly beautiful places.”In the meantime, he’s content spending more

time with his two boys, Oden, 8, and Hatcher, 5.“I’ve introduced them to the outdoors, and

we’ve obviously spent a lot of time on the rivers, the streams and the wilderness of Montana,” he said. “I’m just trying to get them out there and allowing them to have fun. They’re not double-hauling 100 feet of line yet, but they’re on their way to becoming fly fishermen.”

Fiebelkorn misses playing hockey and the joys of being on a team, but he has no regrets.

“I’m doing exactly what I always wanted to do,” he said. “I’m not making millions and millions of dollars, but I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else anywhere else. It’s all about the lifestyle and Montana is it for me.”— Mark Newman

CHRIS BALA: BOARDING SCHOOL AMBASSADOR

Chris Bala has good memories of playing for the Griffins.

“I look back very fondly on Grand Rapids because it was my first season as a pro,” said Bala, a second-round draft pick of the Ottawa Senators who made his pro debut with the Griffins during the 2001-02 season after graduating from Harvard University.

“I was a wide-eyed kid, naive as could be,” Bala said, noting he was one of the few rookies on a team filled with veterans like Kip Miller, Travis Richards, John Gruden and James Black, all of whom were age 31 or older. “To be honest, I had no clue, no sense of what was up from down.”

Bala remembers a moment early in his first season where head coach Bruce “Butch” Cassidy scheduled an optional skate after a couple of rough games.

“I took him at his word; to me, optional meant optional. I thought, ‘This is pretty cool,’” Bala recalled. “So I slept in the next morning, had breakfast and when I showed up at 5 o’clock for the next day’s game, I immediately knew something was wrong.

“I found out I was the only one not to go. Everybody had been there. I wasn’t trying to be a big wheel or do anything of the sort. In my mind,

I took the ‘option’ and in a veteran-laden room, you can imagine, it didn’t go over very well. The guys gave me some serious heat.”

Bala remembers having a sit-down with Cassidy around Thanksgiving that season, a “hey kid, when are you going to figure it out” meeting that may have been his awakening, along with the opportunity to play on the same line with Miller.

Blessed with speed, Bala blossomed under Miller’s wing, scoring 21 goals that season, which tied for second-best on the team next to the 22 tallied by Petr Schastlivy.

“When I look back, the success I had in Grand Rapids might not have been the best thing for me,” he said. “I think I might have gotten pigeonholed as a scorer, and I’m not totally positive that was the best label to bear.”


Bala played six NHL games with the Senators during his rookie campaign, but he spent all of the next season in Binghamton when Ottawa moved its affiliation to upstate New York and the Griffins began their affiliation with the Detroit Red Wings.

He eventually was dealt to the Minnesota Wild and played for Todd McLellan in Houston before bouncing around the AHL for a couple of years with Hershey and Milwaukee. He finished his career with the ECHL’s Reading Royals in 2009.

Once he qualified as a veteran, Bala knew his days were numbered. Not wanting to pursue playing in Europe, he decided to call it a career rather than play out the string.

“I probably could have played a couple of more years, but I walked away from the game on my own volition,” Bala said. “It was not an easy decision but one that I remain comfortable with to this day. I have no regrets.”

Bala considered pursuing a job on Wall Street but decided the financial world was not his thing. He eventually found his way back to The Hill, the private boarding school in Pennsylvania he had once attended.

Today, Bala is the school’s associate director of admissions and director of financial aid, as well as its hockey coach.

“I don’t mean to be corny or cliche, but my time at Hill changed my life,” said Bala, who joined The Hill staff in 2007 and lives in a dormitory on campus with his wife Katie, an elementary school teacher, and their three children, Joshua, 9; Jackson, 7; and Gianna, 3.

Bala decided to attend Hill after he was selected at age 17 to play for a U.S. National Team at a tournament in Japan.

“Colleges started calling and because I had decent grades and scores, there was some Ivy League interest,” Bala said. “At that time, prep schools were seen as a yellow brick road to college, and I was drawn to The Hill by their coach.”

John Micheletto, now coaching at UMass-Amherst after stints at Vermont, Notre Dame and Union College, was considered one of the best young coaches in the prep ranks. “Nothing against my high school at the time, but I figured if I was going to end up matriculating at an Ivy League institution or a good college, I wanted a different setting.”


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Academics aside, Hill helped Bala with his confidence. He served as class president before heading to Harvard where he earned a B.A. in government.

“I felt like I became a different person,” Bala said. “A school like ours places so much responsibility on kids that they’re forced in a good way to step up and be accountable to high expectations. We talk about positive peer pressure, and I very much got swept up in the rising tide. My experience at Hill was crucial to who I became.

“It was a really special two years of my life.”Founded in 1851, The Hill School offers a

liberal arts curriculum that challenges its students to “work hard; think and reason; be fulfilled; serve the common good; and be prepared to lead as citizens of the world.” Patrick Rissmiller, who played for the Griffins during the 2009-10 season, also went to Hill before attending Holy Cross College.

Although Hill was an all-boys school when Bala attended, it is now co-ed with 502 students from 28 states and 27 countries. “We want our students to become critical thinkers, so we still

stress the written word and the importance of becoming effective communicators,” Bala said.

To combat the image of the ivory tower of some boarding schools, he notes that the admission office makes a concerted effort to address socio-economic diversity. It helps that the school is located in the middle of blue-collar Pottstown and offers community service initiatives.

“We’re not a school with 500 kids with straight A’s, and not all of our kids come from families who can afford $55,000 for tuition,” said Bala, noting that 40 percent of the student body receive some sort of financial aid.

The Hill School has been a great place for Bala and his wife to raise their three kids. Both boys play hockey, and Bala has a constant reminder of his time in Grand Rapids. A framed photo of Van Andel Arena hangs over his older son’s bed.

“In some ways, my job is 24/7. There’s no line between my personal and professional life, but I have the ability to have a career and be a full-time dad and husband at the same time,” Bala said. “At the end of the day, I really love what I do.” — Mark Newman


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RECORD BOOK AND LEADERS

(Entering 2015-16 Season)

GAMES PLAYED GOALS ASSISTSALL-TIME: Travis Richards ...................... 655 Michel Picard ...........................158 Michel Picard ................................. 222ACTIVE LEADER: Mitch Callahan (18th) ........... 237 Mitch Callahan (15th) ................59 Nathan Paetsch (T12th) ................... 84SINGLE-SEASON: 5 players tied ........................ *82 Donald MacLean (2005-06) .....*56 Jiri Hudler (2005-06) ....................... 602014-15: Jeff Hoggan/Kevin Porter ...... *76 Teemu Pulkkinen .....................*34 Andy Miele ...................................... 44

POINTS PLUS/MINUS PENALTY MINUTESALL-TIME: Michel Picard ........................ 380 Travis Richards ..................... +131 Darryl Bootland ...........................1,164ACTIVE LEADER: Mitch Callahan (22nd) .......... 111 Nathan Paetsch (6th) ............. +55 Triston Grant (17th) ....................... 299SINGLE-SEASON: Michel Picard (1996-97) ....... 101 Ivan Ciernik (2000-01) ..........*+41 Darryl Bootland (2005-06) ............ 3902014-15: Andy Miele.............................. 70 Nick Jensen/Tomas Nosek .....*+30 Chris Bruton................................... 124

GOALIE GAMES PLAYED GOALS AGAINST AVERAGE WINSALL-TIME: Joey MacDonald .................... 210 Martin Prusek .........................1.83 Joey MacDonald ............................ 109ACTIVE LEADER: Tom McCollum (2nd)............. 196 Jared Coreau (8th) ...................2.46 Tom McCollum (3rd) ........................ 88SINGLE-SEASON: Joey MacDonald (2004-05) ... *66 Martin Prusek (2001-02) .......*1.83 Joey MacDonald (2004-05) ............. 34 Mike Fountain (2000-01) ................*342014-15: Tom McCollum ........................ 37 Jared Coreau ...........................2.20 Tom McCollum ................................. 19

SHUTOUTS SAVES SAVE PERCENTAGEALL-TIME: Joey MacDonald ...................... 20 Joey MacDonald ....................5,362 Martin Prusek ..............................0.930ACTIVE LEADER: Tom McCollum (T6th) ............... 6 Tom McCollum (3rd) ..............4,835 Jared Coreau (T5th) .....................0.919SINGLE-SEASON: 5 players tied ............................ 6 Joey MacDonald (2004-05) ...1,785 Joey MacDonald (2003-04) .........0.9362014-15: Jared Coreau/Petr Mrazek ......... 3 Tom McCollum .........................949 Jared Coreau ................................0.927* Led League

Michel Picard

Martin Prusek

Travis Richards

Tom McCollum

Darryl Bootland

Joey MacDonald


The majority of teams are taking a fresh approach into the American Hockey

League’s 80th season.60 Grand Rapids GRIFFINS


It’s no exaggeration to say that fans will need a scorecard, if not a spreadsheet, to keep up with all of the changes signaled by the start of the American Hockey League’s 2015-16 season.

A full 19 of the 30 AHL teams are either in a new location, have a new NHL affiliate, have a new head coach and/or new logo or jersey.

The Griffins unveiled new uniforms and their first primary logo change in the history of the franchise on Aug. 18 in anticipation of the franchise’s 20th season (see Parting Shot on page 80). The Reebok-designed logo features Griff fiercely protecting the skyline of Grand Rapids, reinforcing the pride that the Griffins have in their city while portraying an aggressiveness that was absent from the original logo.

"Each season we review every aspect of our business and look for ways that we can

improve. This year, as we underwent this process heading into our 20th season, we looked at ways to modernize our logo,” said Griffins president Tim Gortsema. “While the traditional and original Griff has been and always will be a storied part of our team’s history, we desired a fiercer incarnation that also incorporates our amazing city’s skyline.

“Just as Griff protects our city on this striking new jersey, our hockey team must do the same

as we protect home ice, assisted by the loudest and most supportive fans in the American Hockey League,” added Gortsema.

In addition to a redesigned crest, the jersey added black to the team’s color scheme for the first time. The Griffins’ CCM home jerseys are predominantly white, accentuated by black shoulders, striping and numbers, along with silver and red trim and a reverse-color

The new jersey/logo introduction came almost exactly two

months after the Griffins held a press conference at Van

Andel Arena to welcome Todd Nelson

as the team’s new head coach.

After being fired by Edmonton last season, San Diego’s Dallas Eakins was succeeded by Todd Nelson, who served as the Oilers’ interim head coach for their final 51 games.

Phot

o: G

etty

Imag

es


nameplate (white on black). The road jerseys are black with silver striping, white numbers and lettering, and silver and red trim.

Both versions have a lace neck – a first for a standard Griffins jersey – and shoulders that feature a 20th anniversary patch (left) and a Red Wings logo (right).

The new jersey/logo introduction came almost exactly two months after the Griffins held a press conference at Van Andel Arena to welcome Todd Nelson as the team’s new head coach. He replaced Jeff Blashill, who was hired by the Detroit Red Wings as their new coach. Nelson is one of 12 new head coaches in the AHL.

Other new bench bosses for 2015-16 include:• Mark Morris was hired by the Carolina

Hurricanes to replace Jeff Daniels as the head coach of the Charlotte Checkers. Morris, who has 21 seasons of head coaching experience with Clarkson University (1988-2002) and at the AHL level with the Manchester Monarchs (2006-2014), is the only coach to win more than 300 games at both the collegiate and professional levels. He served as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Florida Panthers last

season and ranks 10th in AHL history with 338 victories.

• Former Griffins player Jared Bednar (1998-99) is the new head coach of the Lake Erie Monsters. Bednar and his assistant coaches, retired NHL veterans Nolan Pratt and Toby Petersen, take over as part of the Monsters’ new affiliation with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The coaching staff, which comes intact from the Blue Jackets' previous American Hockey League affiliate in Springfield, will hope to change the Monsters’ postseason fortunes, with only one playoff appearance in the past eight seasons.

• One-time New York Islanders head coach Scott Gordon was introduced as the new head coach of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, replacing Terry Murray, who left for an assistant coaching position with the Buffalo Sabres. Gordon, who helmed the Islanders from 2008-10, was the head coach of the AHL’s Providence Bruins from 2002-08. His teams never finished with a regular season record below .500, and his 2007-08 squad finished with the AHL’s best regular season record.

Lake Erie Monsters coach Jared Bednar racked up 220 penalty minutes as a member of the Griffins in 1998-99.


• Tom Rowe joins the Portland Pirates as the eighth head coach in franchise history, having served as the head coach of the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage for the past two seasons. Rowe, who guided the Rampage to a franchise-record 45 victories and the club’s first-ever West Division title last season, previously served as the head coach of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the Kontinental Hockey League in Russia. The Pirates are the new affiliate of the NHL’s Florida Panthers.

• Randy Cunneyworth is returning to the bench of the Rochester Americans this season after serving as the Buffalo Sabres’ development coach since 2014. Cunneyworth has coached more Amerks games than anyone in franchise history. He had a 306-273-61 record in his eight seasons from 2000-01 through 2007-08. That included an AHL-best 51-19-6-4 record during the NHL lockout of 2004-05, when he was named American Hockey League coach of the year.

• Dean Chynoweth now coaches the San Antonio Rampage, the new affiliate of the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. A former NHL defenseman and assistant coach with the New York Islanders, Chynoweth spent the past three seasons behind the bench in Cleveland with Colorado’s former top farm club, the Lake Erie Monsters.

• Dallas Eakins was named the new head

coach of the San Diego Gulls after the Anaheim Ducks moved their affiliate from Norfolk to closer quarters in California. Eakins, who was most recently the head coach of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, piloted the AHL’s Toronto Marlies for four seasons from 2009-13, compiling a record of 157-114-15-26 in 312 contests.

• Roy Rolston is the new head coach of the Springfield Falcons, who changed their affiliation from Columbus to the Arizona Coyotes. Rolston was the head coach of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres for 51 games during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons after spending two years as the head coach of Buffalo’s AHL affiliate in Rochester. Rolston, who previously spent seven seasons as a head coach with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, guided Rochester to back-to-back berths in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

• Sylvain Lefebvre became the head coach of the St. John’s IceCaps after the organization moved its affiliation from Winnipeg to the Montreal Canadiens. Lefebvre hopes the change of scenery will change his luck. He led the Hamilton Bulldogs to three straight losing seasons, marking first time that the Canadiens’ affiliate has missed the playoffs over three consecutive years.

• Sheldon Keefe succeeds Gord Dineen as the head coach of the Toronto Marlies after Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan

Sheldon Keefe, newly appointed coach of the Toronto Marlies, is the older brother of former Griffin Adam Keefe (2006-08; 10-11).


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began remodeling the front office of the organization with his hiring of longtime Red Wings coach Mike Babcock. Dineen is staying with the organization as an associate coach to work with Keefe, the 2014-15 Canadian Hockey League coach of the year who directed the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds to a franchise-record 110-point season.

• Mike Sullivan takes over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins from John Hynes, now head coach of the New Jersey Devils. Sullivan, who had an 11-year playing career in the NHL, brings 13 years of coaching experience at the NHL, AHL and international levels. He served two seasons as the head coach of the NHL’s Boston Bruins from 2003-06, starting at age 35, after spending two seasons with the AHL’s Providence Bruins.

In addition to the new coaches, the AHL welcomes five new California-based teams and the return of a team in Manitoba.

The previously announced Pacific Division will include the Bakersfield Condors, Ontario Reign, San Diego Gulls, San Jose Barracuda and Stockton Heat, as well as the San Antonio Rampage and Texas Stars. Curiously, the California teams will play 68 games while the rest of the league will continue to play 76. AHL

president and CEO David Andrews said travel costs and limiting the number of three games in three nights scenarios were reasons for the reduced schedule.

Meanwhile, the Winnipeg Jets announced last March that their AHL affiliation, which had resided with the St. John’s IceCaps, would relocate to Manitoba and return to the MTS Centre. The Moose were active from 1996 to 2011 in both the IHL and AHL — when they were the Vancouver Canucks’ affiliate — before relocating to St. John’s when the Atlanta Thrashers became the Jets. With a new team comes a new color scheme, as the team’s new blue-hued Moose logo is a modification of its original green, bronze and black motif.

Besides the Griffins and Moose, other existing AHL teams sporting new looks include the Milwaukee Admirals (a logo featuring a more fierce and determined sailor), the Portland Pirates (new uniforms that bring back the team’s original “Swash” logo), the St. John’s IceCaps (a classic-looking uniform that adopts the design of the Montreal Canadiens’ traditional jersey) and Texas Stars (updated logos and color scheme to match their NHL affiliate in Dallas).

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GRIFFINS ALL-STARS1996-97 Jeff Nelson, Michel Picard, Pokey Reddick1997-98 Ian Gordon, Kerry Huffman, Michel Picard1998-99 Robert Petrovicky, Maxim Spiridonov1999-00 John Gruden, Jani Hurme, Kevin Miller, Petr Schastlivy2000-01 Mike Fountain, Joel Kwiatkowski, Travis Richards, Todd White, Bruce Cassidy (co-coach)2001-02 Chris Bala, John Gruden, Kip Miller, Martin Prusek, Petr Schastlivy, Bruce Cassidy (head coach), Gene Reilly (asst. coach)2002-03 Marc Lamothe, Mark Mowers 2003-04 Jiri Hudler, Niklas Kronwall, Travis Richards, Nathan Robinson2004-05 Niklas Kronwall, Joey MacDonald2005-06 Valtteri Filppula, Jiri Hudler, Donald MacLean2006-07 Derek Meech, Kip Miller 2007-08 Jonathan Ericsson, Jimmy Howard2008-09 Jakub Kindl, Daniel Larsson2009-10 Patrick Rissmiller2010-11 Ilari Filppula, Brendan Smith2011-12 Gustav Nyquist2012-13 Chad Billins, Petr Mrazek, Gustav Nyquist2013-14 Alexey Marchenko, Jeff Blashill (head coach)2014-15 Xavier Ouellet, Teemu Pulkkinen

2012 AHL All-Star Gustav NyquistPhoto by PhotoGraphics Photography/AHL

2013 AHL All-Star Petr Mrazek Photo by Alan Sullivan/AHL

2015 AHL All-Star Teemu PulkkinenPhoto by Lindsay A. Mogle/AHL

2014 AHL All-Star Alexey Marchenko Photo by Jeff Parsons/AHL

2013 AHL All-Star Chad Billins Photo by Alan Sullivan/AHL

2010 AHL All-Star Patrick RissmillerPhoto by Sports Action Photography/AHL

2013 AHL All-Star Gustav Nyquist Photo by Paul Yacovone III/AHL

2011 AHL All-Star Ilari FilppulaPhoto by JustSports Photography/AHL

P E N A LT Y C A L L S

BOARDINGCalled for any action which causes an opponent to be thrown violently into

the boards.

CHARGINGTaking a run at an opposing player

using more than three strides to build up speed.

CROSS CHECKINGA check or block delivered by a player with both hands on the stick and no

part of the stick on the ice.

DELAYED PENALTYReferee extends his arm and points

to the penalized player until the penalized team regains possession

of the puck.

ELBOWINGCalled when a player uses an elbow

to impede an opponent.

HIGH STICKINGMaking contact with an opponent

while carrying the stick above shoulder hight.

HOLDINGClutching an opposing player’s body

with the hands, arms or legs.

HOOKINGThe use of the stick or blade to

impede the progress of an opponent.

INTERFERENCEWhen a player impedes the progress

of an opponent who is not in possession of the puck.

KNEEINGCalled when a player uses a knee to

impede an opponent

MISCONDUCT10-minute or disqualification

penalty for excessive or additional misbehavior on the ice.

ROUGHINGCalled for engaging in fisticuffs

or shoving.

SLASHINGStriking an opposing player with

the stick.

SPEARINGCalled for using the stick like a spear.

TRIPPINGCalled for using the stick, arm or leg to cause an opponent to trip or fall.

UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT

Called for unsportsmanlike actions such as disputing an official’s

decision, grabbing the face mask of a player, etc.

WASH-OUTWhen used by the referee, it means

goal disallowed. When used by linesmen, it means there is no icing

or no offside.



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Since their inception in 1996, the Griffins have sent 147 players to the National Hockey League, 15 of whom have gone on to win the Stanley Cup. In fact, a Griffins alumnus has had his name engraved on Lord Stanley’s chalice in five of the last eight years and in seven of the last 11 seasons. In chronological order, here are the 20 goalies and 127 skaters who have worn an NHL sweater after playing for Grand Rapids, along with the dates of their NHL debuts/returns.1 ...............Pavol Demitra ..............................................3/17/97 STL at PHX2 ...............Kevyn Adams ............................................ 10/1/97 TOR vs. WSH3 ...............Tyler Moss ...................................................10/28/97 CGY vs. PIT4 ...............Michel Picard........................................................1/6/98 STL at SJ5 ............... Jeff Nelson ............................................... 10/10/98 NSH vs. FLA6 ...............Patrick Traverse .......................................10/10/98 OTT at COL7 ...............Mark Greig ........................................................1/7/99 PHI vs. NYI8 ...............Radim Bicanek .............................................2/1/99 OTT at VAN9 ...............Robert Petrovicky ..........................................2/15/99 TB at NYI10 ............Andrei Vasilyev ............................................3/5/99 PHX vs. DET11 ............Todd Hlushko ..................................................4/25/99 PIT vs. NJ12 ............Patrick Lalime...............................................10/2/99 OTT at PHI13 ............Glen Metropolit ........................................10/2/99 WSH at FLA14 ............Kevin Miller ................................................10/31/99 OTT at ATL15 ............Karel Rachunek ........................................10/31/99 OTT at ATL16 ............Erich Goldmann ...................................11/11/99 OTT vs. NSH17 ............Yves Sarault ..................................................11/20/99 OTT at NJ18 ............ John Gruden ............................................11/30/99 OTT vs. CHI19 ............Mike Fountain ...............................................12/3/99 OTT at NJ20 ............Dave Van Drunen ..................................12/13/99 OTT at TOR21 ............Petr Schastlivy .................................................1/3/00 OTT vs. NJ22 ............ John Emmons .............................................1/6/00 OTT vs. PHX

23 ............Slava Butsayev............................................1/28/00 OTT at BUF24 ............Aris Brimanis .................................................2/13/00 NYI at NYR25 ............Dieter Kochan...............................................3/28/00 TB vs. DAL26 ............ Jani Hurme ........................................................4/9/00 OTT vs. TB27 ............Shane Hnidy ...............................................10/5/00 OTT at BOS28 ............Donald MacLean ..................................10/14/00 TOR vs. OTT29 ............David Oliver ................................................11/4/00 OTT vs. CBJ30 ............ Jamie Rivers .............................................11/12/00 OTT at CAR31 ............Sean Gagnon ...........................................11/26/00 OTT at NYR32 ............ Joel Bouchard .........................................11/29/00 PHX at COL33 ............Mike Crowley ............................................12/8/00 ANA at MIN34 ............ Ivan Ciernik ...................................................1/23/01 OTT at NYI35 ............Darren Rumble ................................................2/6/01 STL at COL36 ............ Joel Kwiatkowski ......................................2/19/01 OTT at BUF37 ............Todd White ...................................................2/19/01 OTT at BUF38 .........Chris Neil ...................................... 10/3/01 OTT at TOR39 ............Toni Dahlman .............................................1/3/02 OTT vs. WSH40 ............Steve Martins ..............................................1/11/02 OTT at FLA41 ............Kip Miller ..............................................................1/17/02 NYI at SJ42 ............ Jody Hull ..............................................................2/4/02 OTT at TB43 ............Dmitry Afanasenkov ........................................2/6/02 TB at FLA44 ............Simon Lajeunesse ...........................................3/7/02 OTT at SJ

GRIFFINS IN THE NHL

IT ALL STARTS HERE

KEVYN ADAMS PAVOL DEMITRA TOMAS KOPECKY JIMMY HOWARD JIRI HUDLER

45 ............Martin Prusek.............................................3/23/02 OTT vs. ATL46 ............Chris Bala ........................................................3/27/02 OTT at NYI47 ............Neil Little .........................................................3/28/02 PHI at CAR48 ............ Josh Langfeld................................................3/30/02 OTT vs. TB49 ............Gaetan Royer ...................................................4/1/02 TB vs. NYR50 .........Jason Spezza .............................10/24/02 OTT at BOS51 ............Sean Avery ...................................................10/29/02 DET vs. SJ52 ............ Jason Doig .....................................................12/3/02 WSH at PIT53 ............ Jason Williams ...........................................12/5/02 DET at PHX54 ............Patrick Boileau .......................................12/19/02 DET vs. DAL55 ............Stacy Roest ................................................2/20/03 DET vs. EDM56 ............Wade Brookbank .................................. 10/9/03 NSH vs. ANA57 ............ Julien Vauclair .........................................10/25/03 OTT at MTL58 .........Jiri Hudler .................................... 10/29/03 DET vs. STL59 ............Curtis Joseph ..........................................10/30/03 DET at NSH60 ............Darryl Bootland .......................................11/8/03 DET vs. NSH61 ............Mark Mowers ...........................................11/19/03 DET vs. CBJ62 ............Nathan Robinson ..................................11/28/03 DET vs. NYI63 ............Blake Sloan ......................................................12/4/03 DAL at LA64 .........Niklas Kronwall .......................... 12/10/03 DET at BUF65 ............Ryan Barnes .............................................12/15/03 DET vs. FLA66 .........Chris Kelly ....................................... 2/5/04 OTT vs. TOR67 ............Marc Lamothe ..........................................2/23/04 DET at EDM68 ............Anders Myrvold .......................................2/26/04 DET at CGY69 ............Mathieu Chouinard...................................2/29/04 LA at ANA70 ............Brett Lebda .....................................................10/5/05 DET vs. STL71 ............Mark Eaton .......................................................10/5/05 NSH vs. SJ72 ............Chris Osgood ...............................................10/29/05 DET at CHI73 .........Kyle Quincey ............................11/25/05 DET at ANA74 .........Jimmy Howard ............................11/28/05 DET at LA75 .........Valtteri Filppula ...........................12/15/05 DET at FLA76 ............Rob Collins.................................................12/17/05 NYI vs. COL77 ............Manny Legace ...............................................1/5/06 DET vs. STL78 ............David Gove .................................................1/31/06 CAR at MTL79 .........Tomas Kopecky ................................2/28/06 DET at SJ80 ............Alexandre Giroux ........................................3/25/06 NYR at TB81 ............ Joey MacDonald .........................................10/19/06 DET at SJ82 ............Derek Meech ..................................................12/7/06 DET vs. STL83 .........Matt Ellis .....................................12/18/06 DET at CBJ84 ............Matt Hussey ..................................................1/26/07 DET at STL85 ............Sheldon Brookbank .......................................2/6/07 NSH at PIT86 ............Danny Syvret...........................................2/27/07 EDM vs. PHX87 ............Mark Hartigan ........................................... 11/29/07 DET vs. TB88 ............Drew MacIntyre ..........................................12/13/07 VAN at SJ89 ............Peter Vandermeer .................................2/10/08 PHX vs. NSH90 .........Jonathan Ericsson ...................... 2/22/08 DET at CGY91 ............Garrett Stafford .........................................2/23/08 DET at VAN92 .........Darren Helm ................................ 3/13/08 DET vs. DAL93 ............Mattias Ritola ............................................3/15/08 DET vs. NSH94 ............Clay Wilson ...................................................3/25/08 CBJ at NSH95 ............Darren McCarty ...........................................3/28/08 DET vs. STL96 ............Krys Kolanos ..................................................11/4/0x8 MIN at SJ97 ............Landon Wilson .....................................11/22/08 DAL vs. ANA98 ............Bryan Helmer .......................................11/28/08 WSH vs. MTL99 ............Chris Chelios ............................................12/13/08 DET at PHX

100 .........Aaron Downey ........................................1/29/09 DET vs. DAL101 .......Justin Abdelkader ..................... 1/31/09 DET at WSH102 .........Ville Leino ....................................................1/31/09 DET at WSH103 .........Aaron Gagnon ......................................10/16/09 DAL vs. BOS104 .........Scott Parse ....................................................10/24/09 LA at PHX105 .........Doug Janik .................................................11/3/09 DET vs. BOS106 ..........Ryan Keller ....................................................11/25/09 OTT at NJ107 .......Jakub Kindl ................................12/3/09 DET vs. EDM108 .........Kris Newbury .........................................12/14/09 DET vs. PHX109 ..........Darren Haydar ...........................................2/10/10 COL vs. ATL110 .........Andreas Lilja ..................................................3/1/10 DET at COL111 .......... Jeremy Williams ........................................10/24/10 NYR vs. NJ112 ......... Jan Mursak ................................................12/27/10 DET at COL113.......Chris Mueller ...........................12/28/10 NSH vs. DAL114 .......Tomas Tatar ...............................12/31/10 DET vs. NYI115 .........Cory Emmerton ........................................1/22/11 DET vs. CHI116 ..........Patrick Rissmiller ........................................2/23/11 ATL at BUF 117 .......Tom McCollum ...........................3/30/11 DET vs. STL118 ......Gustav Nyquist .........................11/1/11 DET vs. MIN119 ..........Fabian Brunnstrom .......................................11/5/11 DET vs. ANA120 .......Brendan Smith..............................11/17/11 DET at SJ121 ........Mark Cullen ................................11/29/11 FLA at CAR122.......Chris Conner................................ 12/2/11 DET at BUF123 .......Joakim Andersson ...................12/27/11 DET vs. STL124 .......Ty Conklin ....................................3/21/12 DET at NYR125.......Riley Sheahan ................................4/7/12 DET vs. CHI126 .......Brian Lashoff ................................ 1/21/13 DET at CBJ127 .........Mike Knuble ..................................................1/26/13 PHI at FLA128 ......... Jamie Tardif ....................................................2/2/13 BOS at TOR129 .......Petr Mrazek ....................................2/7/13 DET at STL130....... Jonas Gustavsson ......................2/19/13 DET at NSH131.......Carlo Colaiacovo...........................4/1/13 DET vs. COL132.......Danny DeKeyser ........................10/2/13 DET vs. BUF133.......Luke Glendening ......................10/12/13 DET vs. PHI134.......Xavier Ouellet ..............................10/21/13 DET vs. SJ135 .........Adam Almquist ......................................11/4/13 DET at WPG136 .........Chad Billins ..................................................11/5/13 CGY at MIN137.......Patrick Eaves ..............................12/14/13 DET vs. PIT138.......Tomas Jurco.................................12/15/13 DET vs. TB139.......Jordin Tootoo ...........................12/19/13 DET vs. CGY140.......Alexey Marchenko ........................1/4/14 DET at DAL141.......Teemu Pulkkinen ....................3/14/14 DET vs. EDM142.......Landon Ferraro .......................... 3/18/14 DET vs. TOR143.......Calle Jarnkrok .............................3/21/14 NSH at CGY144 .........Mitch Callahan ............................................3/25/14 DET at CBJ145 .........Ryan Sproul...................................................4/13/14 DET at STL146.......Andrej Nestrasil .........................10/9/14 DET vs. BOS147.......Stephen Weiss..........................11/24/14 DET vs. OTT

Bold = Played in the NHL during the 2014-15 seasonItalics = Had name engraved on the Stanley Cup after playing for Grand Rapids.

All photos by Getty Images.

CHRIS KELLY VALTTERI FILPPULA NIKLAS KRONWALL CHRIS NEIL JASON SPEZZA

The AHL’s western shift brings six new teams to the league this season. Try to identify each team’s location

and learn some fun facts in the process. Good luck!



KIDS PAGEGETTING TO KNOW YOU

LOCATION A B C NICKNAME BARRACUDA CONDORS GULLS

ARENA SAP Center Rabobank Arena Valley View Casino Center

RECENT TEAMS NHL Sharks (1991-Present)ECHL Condors (2003-15)WCHL Condors (1998-03)

WCHL Fog (1995-98)

ECHL Gulls (2003-06)WCHL Gulls (1995-03)

IHL Gulls (1990-95)

HOW THE LOCATION GOT ITS NAME Named in honor of Saint Joseph Named by an early settler,

Colonel Thomas BakerNamed in honor of Saint Didacus

of Alcalá

FAMOUS NATIVE Brandi Chastain (soccer player) Earl Warren (former chief justice of U.S. Supreme Court) Dr. Seuss (author)

LOCALS’ CLAIM TO FAME

City leads the nation in patent generation

No. 1 oil-producing county in the U.S.

City is home to the world’s largest naval fleet

LOCATION D E F NICKNAME HEAT MOOSE REIGN

ARENA (Location) Arena MTS Centre Citizens Business Bank Arena

RECENT TEAMS ECHL Thunder (2005-15)NHL Jets (2011-Present)

AHL Moose (2001-11)IHL Moose (1996-01)NHL Jets (1979-96)

ECHL Reign (2008-15)

HOW THE LOCATION GOT ITS NAME

Named in honor of Commodore Robert F.

Stockton

Derived from Ojibwa manidoobaa, meaning “straits of Manitou, the Great Spirit”

Named by its founders in honor of their home Canadian

province

FAMOUS NATIVE Amos Alonzo Stagg (football coach) Anna Paquin (actress) Prince Fielder

(baseball player)

LOCALS’ CLAIM TO FAME

First community in California to have a name not of Spanish

or Native American origin

First city in the world to develop the 911 emergency

phone numberHome to Southern California’s largest outlet shopping mall

The AHL’s western shift brings six new teams to the league this season. Try to identify each team’s location

and learn some fun facts in the process. Good luck!

SAN JOSE BARRACUDAPRIMARY MARK

PANTONE3155 CPANTONE 429 C

PANTONE 152 C

2015-16

PROCESS BLACK

WHITE

STO

CKTO

N H

EAT

PRIM

ARY

MA

RK

PAN

TON

E18

6 C

PAN

TON

E 11

0 C

PAN

TON

E 42

5 C

2015

-16

PRO

CESS

BLA

CKW

HIT

EPA

NTO

NE

142

C

BAKERSFIELD CONDORSPRIMARY MARK

PANTONE281 C

PANTONE172 C

PANTONE429 C

WHITE 2015-16

MANITOBA MOOSEPRIMARY MARK

PANTONE282 C

WHITE

2015-16

PANTONE2945 C PANTONECOOL GRAY 11 PANTONE429 C

SAN DIEGO GULLSPRIMARY MARK

PANTONE 1655 C

PANTONEMEDIUM BLUE C 2015-16PROCESS BLACKPANTONE

5455 CWHITEONTARIO REIGN

PRIMARY MARK

PANTONE429 C

PROCESS BLACK WHITE 2015-16

ANSWERS A - SAN JOSE B - BAKERSFIELD C - SAN DIEGO D - STOCKTON E - MANITOBA F - ONTARIO

Griffins captain Jeff Hoggan (left) and defenseman Scott Czarnowczan modeled the team’s new home and road uniforms while Griffins president Tim Gortsema unveiled the club’s new primary logo at an invitation-only event on Aug. 18, 2015 at Van Andel Arena. Photo by Mark Newman


PARTING SHOT

PARTING SHOT

2015-16 griffiti - issue #1

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