The evolution of Wendell Young

by Elizabeth Casey || AHL On The Beat Archive When Wendell Young retired from his 18-year professional playing career in 2001, he went to lunch with then-Chicago Wolves general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff. “What do you want to do next?” Cheveldayoff asked. “I told him I wanted his job,” Young laughed. “Chevy said, ‘Well it’s not […]

Off and running in Abbotsford

by Dave Sheldon || AHL On The Beat Archive The whirlwind of activity surrounding the Abbotsford Heat continues to spin. Just two weeks into their inaugural season, the players and staff of the AHL’s Pacific coast team can now take a deep breath and begin to evaluate. For many teams in start-up mode, the journey […]

Norfolk rallying around battle cry

by Jed Lynch || AHL On The Beat Archive “Fall down 8 times, get up 9.” That’s what it reads on the back of Norfolk Admirals rookie goaltender Dustin Tokarski’s helmet. “I just saw it somewhere,” said Tokarski. “I put the ‘8’ and ‘9’ in there because I was born in 1989. “It just means […]

Russian rookie turning heads

by Kim Mueller || AHL On The Beat Archive Do you remember what you were doing on May 30, 1990? What song hit the Billboard No. 1 spot? Which teams were heading to the Calder Cup finals and the Stanley Cup finals? While Madonna’s Vogue was topping the charts on the radio, the Springfield Indians […]

Griffins’ blue line blooming

by Randy Rice || AHL On The Beat Archive How many times has it been said, “offense wins games, but defense wins championships”? It’s a common refrain within sports, and it may have been repeating endlessly through Grand Rapids Griffins general manager Bob McNamara’s head during the off-season. Perhaps if the saying were “offense win […]

A tale of two Cups for Helmer

by Kaitlin Santanna || AHL On The Beat Archive Prior to last season, the prospect of winning a second Calder Cup looked bleak for Hershey defenseman Bryan Helmer. After winning his first championship with the Albany River Rats in 1995, 13 years had trickled by with no repeat. Nearly a decade and a half later, […]

Bylsma makes quick return to Wilkes-Barre

by Brian Coe || AHL On The Beat Archive What does a National Hockey League head coach do 10 hours after advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals? He drives to Wilkes-Barre, of course. At least, that’s what Pittsburgh bench boss Dan Bylsma did last week. And he didn’t make the trip an easy one. Bylsma […]

Versteeg making the most of his first NHL season

by Chris Etheridge || AHL On The Beat Archive To say Kris Versteeg’s success in the National Hockey League this year was a pleasant surprise would be an understatement. “I knew coming into training camp that I had a chance,” he said. “We had a meeting right before one of the last games of training […]

Remembering Mr. Ebright

by Greg Glynn || AHL On The Beat Archive He wore #50, but he wasn’t a player. He shared the wins and losses, but he wasn’t a coach. He was a great owner, but he was also a fan. The late Tom Ebright was the owner of the Baltimore Skipjacks and brought hockey back to […]

Parsons appreciating life after hockey

by Amanda Gunther || AHL On The Beat Archive “I’m not a savage by any means, but I can play one if I have to,” joked Steve Parsons, the American Hockey League’s record holder for the most penalty minutes in one game. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Parsons grabbed an incredible 64 minutes in penalties back on […]