HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. … American Hockey League President and CEO David Andrews announced today the 2005-06 winners of the James C. Hendy Award, the Thomas Ebright Award, and the Michael Condon Memorial Award as selected by the League’s Board of Governors during its annual meeting Thursday in Hilton Head Island, S.C.
The 2005-06 James C. Hendy Award as the Outstanding Executive in the AHL has been awarded to Doug Yingst, the President and General Manager of the Hershey Bears. Yingst was instrumental in establishing the Bears’ new affiliation agreement with the Washington Capitals which ultimately led to the Bears winning the 2006 Calder Cup Championship. Under his leadership the Bears achieved the second highest regular season attendance total (308,092) in team history and the team drew nearly 75,000 fans at Giant Center during the 2006 Calder Cup Championship run, including three sell-outs during the 2006 Calder Cup Finals.
The Hendy Award is named for James C. Hendy, a long time contributor to the AHL and the General Manager of the Cleveland Barons until his death in 1961.
The 2005-06 winner of the Thomas Ebright Award for outstanding career contributions to the AHL is Al Coates, Senior Advisor to the General Manager for the Anaheim Ducks. Coates has been a key leader and resource for the AHL during his 35-year career. He has worked closely with League President David Andrews on many of the League’s most important strategic initiatives, and is a past chairman and long serving member of the executive committee.
The Ebright Award honors the late Thomas Ebright a former owner of the Portland Pirates and Baltimore Skipjacks.
Instituted in 2002, the Michael Condon Memorial Award honors an AHL on-ice official for his outstanding service to the league. It is named for AHL linesman Mike Condon, who passed away suddenly during the 2001-02 season.
Linesman Luke Galvin of Dover, MA has been selected as this year’s Condon Memorial Award winner. Galvin has served as a top official in the AHL for 18 years. During his outstanding career he has been chosen to officiate in several Calder Cup Finals, as well as the AHL All-Star Classic.
The American Hockey League Annual Meetings concluded Thursday in Hilton Head, S.C.
In operation since 1936, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 82 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and for the fifth year in a row, more than 6 million fans attended AHL games across North America in 2005-06.
