As part of the American Hockey League’s 70th anniversary this season, theahl.com will be taking a look at some of the legendary careers that have been carved in the AHL over the last seven decades.
A consistent scorer throughout his 10 AHL seasons, Glenn Merkosky made his pro debut with the Binghamton Whalers in 1980-81 and finished second on the team in scoring with 61 points while skating in all 80 games. The following season, he upped his totals to 29 goals and 69 points and helped the Whalers reach the Calder Cup Finals.
Merkosky moved on to the New Jersey Devils organization and following another successful regular season in 1983-84, he erupted for 11 goals and 21 points in 17 postseason contests as the Maine Mariners captured the Calder Cup championship. He had a 38-goal season for Maine in 1984-85, and was named a Second Team AHL All-Star.
The reliable forward signed with Detroit in the summer of 1985, and in his first season with the Adirondack Red Wings, Merkosky put up 24 goals and 57 points in 59 games before helping the club to a Calder Cup title.
Merkosky’s best career numbers came in 1986-87, when he scored 54 goals and finished fifth in the AHL with 85 points. He was named a First Team AHL All-Star and captured the Fred T. Hunt Award for sportsmanship, determination and dedication to hockey, but the Red Wings’ title defense ended in the second round of the playoffs.
Merkosky led Adirondack back to the top of the heap in 1988-89, racking up 31 goals and 77 points in 76 games and adding 19 postseason points as the Wings won the Calder Cup, the third of Merkosky’s career.
Merkosky spent two more seasons in Glens Falls, retiring after a 1990-91 season in which he captured his second Fred T. Hunt Award. After scoring at least 24 goals in each of his 10 AHL seasons, Merkosky retired with 325 goals, a total that still ranks 11th in league history. He also ranks among the all-time playoff leaders with 39 goals (T-6th), 51 assists (T-9th) and 90 points (T-5th) in 107 games (7th).
Merkosky served one season as an assistant coach in Adirondack, helping the club to yet another Calder Cup championship in 1992. He returned to Glens Falls as head coach for the Red Wings’ final three seasons (1996-99), winning 90 games and making three trips to the Calder Cup Playoffs.
| Career AHL Statistics – Glenn Merkosky | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||||||
| Season | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1980-81 | Binghamton Whalers | 80 | 26 | 35 | 61 | 61 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 1981-82 | Binghamton Whalers | 72 | 29 | 40 | 69 | 83 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 1983-84 | Maine Mariners | 75 | 28 | 28 | 56 | 56 | 17 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 20 |
| 1984-85 | Maine Mariners | 80 | 38 | 38 | 76 | 19 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 13 |
| 1985-86 | Adirondack Red Wings | 59 | 24 | 33 | 57 | 22 | 17 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 15 |
| 1986-87 | Adirondack Red Wings | 77 | 54 | 31 | 85 | 66 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 7 |
| 1987-88 | Adirondack Red Wings | 66 | 34 | 42 | 76 | 34 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 4 |
| 1988-89 | Adirondack Red Wings | 76 | 31 | 46 | 77 | 13 | 17 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 10 |
| 1989-90 | Adirondack Red Wings | 75 | 33 | 31 | 64 | 29 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 1990-91 | Adirondack Red Wings | 77 | 28 | 29 | 57 | 37 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| AHL Totals | 737 | 325 | 353 | 678 | 420 | 107 | 39 | 51 | 90 | 79 | |
