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Rochester Americans

Former Amerks Players And Coaches In The Quest For The Stanley Cup

April 17, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


(Rochester, April 16)... Twelve former faces that once called Rochester home are now in the hunt for hockey's top prize in the National Hockey League and the only thing that stands between them and Lord Stanley's Cup - a mere 16 wins.

Former Amerks players Philippe Boucher, Jiri Novotny, Brian Campbell, Martin Biron, Cory Sarich, Wayne Primeau, Michael Ryan, Taylor Pyatt and ex-coaches Mike Keenan, John Tortorella, Doug Houda and Don Lever are in the midst of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Boucher, currently in his eighth consecutive playoff berth and ninth overall in the NHL, recently completed his 16th season of pro hockey this season, recording nine points (3+6) in 41 combined games with the Dallas Stars and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Boucher returns to compete for the Eastern Conference for the first time since the 1993-94 season as a member of the Buffalo Sabres after spending the last 13 ½ seasons in the Western Conference with Dallas and the Los Angeles Kings. Boucher played parts of three seasons (1992-95) in Rochester, registering 80 points (28+52) in 79 career games, in addition to collecting one assist in three postseason contests. Boucher and the Penguins have a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series over intra-state rival Philadelphia Flyers.

Novotny, appearing in his second NHL postseason and first with the Columbus Blue Jackets, was an Amerk for four straight seasons from 2002-05 where he amassed 105 points (25+80) in 218 games and helped lead Rochester to three consecutive American Hockey League playoff berths from 2003-05. He posted his best season as an Amerk during the 2005-06 campaign, capturing career highs in goals (17), assists (37), points (54) penalty minutes (40) and games played (66). A native of Pelhrimov, Czech Republic, Novotny was the Buffalo Sabres' first-round selection (22nd overall) in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. Novotny and the Blue Jackets currently trail 1-0 in their seven-game series against the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings.

Campbell, a name synonymous with hockey fans in Rochester, recently completed his first season with the Chicago Blackhawks where he finished tops among team defensemen in scoring with 52 points (7+45) while appearing in all 82 regular season contests. Campbell spent parts of four seasons (1998-02) in the red, white and blue, notching 11 goals and assisting on 84 others for 95 points in 177 games. The blueliner also tallied four assists in 27 playoff games for the Amerks. Campbell would go on to play eight seasons (1999-08) with the Buffalo Sabres before being dealt to the San Jose Sharks last season before the trade deadline.

Biron, a heavy fan-favorite in Rochester, spent four seasons (1997-01) between the pipes for the Amerks, recording a 59-32-9 record with a 2.36 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage in 103 career games. Drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the first round (16th overall) in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, Biron posted his best season in Rochester in 1998-99, tabbing a career-best 2.07 goals-against average along with a .930 save percentage en route to earning the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award and the Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award as the goaltender best at his position and the goaltender who owned the best goals-against average.

Sarich, currently playing under Keenan with the Calgary Flames, played back-to-back seasons for the Amerks from 1998-00 as a teammate and defensive partner with Campbell before his return to the NHL. The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, native scored 35 points (3+32) in 92 career games in Rochester and had six more points (2+4) in 20 playoff games. He went on to win a Stanley Cup under Tortorella with the 2004 Tampa Bay Lightning.

Primeau, a teammate of Sarich in Calgary, played parts of two seasons (1995-97) under Tortorella, compiling 19 points (11+8) in 32 games. He ended his tenure in Rochester with four points (3+1) in 18 postseason appearances. Rochester would be his final stop in the AHL as Primeau would go on to play the next 15 seasons, including this one, in the NHL with Buffalo, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, San Jose, Boston and Calgary.

After playing four seasons (1999-03) of college hockey at Northeast University, Ryan would sign with Buffalo as a free agent and would play the next four seasons (2003-07) with the Amerks totaling 122 points (56+66) in 210 games. Originally a second-round selection (32nd overall) by the Dallas Stars in the 1999 Entry Draft, Ryan recorded his best season during the 2006-07 season, finishing first on the team with 28 goals and fourth overall with 51 points. He was also second on the team that season with a plus-15 rating. After Rochester, Ryan played the next two seasons in Buffalo before signing with the Carolina Hurricanes' organization at the start of this season.

Vancouver's Pyatt was with the Amerks for half a season in 2001-02 after being acquired by Buffalo from the New York Islanders prior to the start of that season. In just a brief 27-game stint in Rochester, Pyatt managed to rack up 10 points (4+6) before his return to the NHL. He recently completed his third season with the Canucks, tallying 19 points in 69 games.

Keenan, in his second season as the Calgary Flames' bench boss, guided the Amerks to the teams' fourth Calder Cup championship in 1982-83 with a 46-25-9 record. Keenan coached Rochester for three seasons from 1980-83, accumulating a record of a 116-98-26 in 240 total games. Keenan and his troops are one-game behind against Campbell and the No. 4 seeded Blackhawks in their best-of-seven Western Conference series.

Tortorella, in his new role as the head coach of the New York Rangers after replacing Tom Renney on February 23rd, is in the Rochester record books as the only Amerks head coach to lead his team to the Calder Cup championship in just his first season behind the bench. After serving an assistant coach with the Buffalo Sabres for six seasons (1989-95), Tortorella arrived in Rochester in the fall of 1995 and would guide the team to their sixth Calder Cup championship, the team's last, in the 53-history of the franchise. Tortorella would serve as the bench boss the following season in Rochester before returning to the NHL as an assistant coach with the Phoenix Coyotes for two seasons (1997-99) and his first stint with the Rangers in the 1999-00 season. From there, Tortorella moved onto to fulfill the head coaching role with the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he would remain for the next six seasons (2001-08) and captured his first Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004. In two seasons behind the bench with the Amerks, Tortorella was 77-69-14 while going 29-21-8 in the playoffs. Tortorella and the Rangers are currently one-game up on the Washington Capitals in their best-of-seven series.

Houda, one of Rochester's most hard-nosed, rugged defenseman ever to don the Amerks crest, is currently in his third season as assistant coach of the Boston Bruins. Before his tenure in Boston, Houda made his coaching debut, spending back-to-back seasons (2004-06) alongside head coach Randy Cunneyworth in Rochester; the very same place where as a player he collected 110 points (23+87) and 683 PIM over the course of five seasons (1995-96, 1999-03). Houda remains 13th all-time among Amerks PIM leaders.

Lever, in his fourth NHL coaching gig after a mid-season promotion from the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs, is in seek of his first Stanley Cup as an assistant coach with the Montreal Canadiens. Prior to his arrival in Montreal, Lever was the head bench boss in Hamilton for four seasons (2005-09) where he led the Bulldogs to the 2007 Calder Cup, the first in the 11-year history of the franchise. After playing 15 seasons in the NHL with teams in Vancouver, Atlanta, Calgary, Colorado and New Jersey, Lever first came to Rochester in 1985 and would remain there to the end of the 1987 season, helping the Amerks to their fifth Calder Cup championship. As a player, Lever finished with 71 points (35+36) in 86 games and added seven points (4+3) in 18 postseason games to guide the Amerks to the Cup. After retiring from the game, Lever returned the following season as an assistant coach with the Buffalo Sabres before taking on the head coaching responsibilities in Rochester where he would go 82-57-21 over the next two seasons from 1990-92. He earned the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL's Most Outstanding Coach in just first season with the Amerks with a 45-26-9 record, despite being eliminated in the final round of the playoffs that year. Lever would jump back to the NHL for the next 12 seasons from 1992-04, standing behind the bench of Buffalo and the St. Louis Blues.

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