Admirals to Honor Willison and Cavallini
Published on February 27, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Milwaukee Admirals News Release
Former Milwaukee Admirals Kevin Willison and Gino Cavallini will be honored at the Admirals' game on Saturday night, February 28th, 7:00 p.m. against the Philadelphia Phantoms. The jersey #44 worn by both Admirals stars during their careers will be retired during an intermission ceremony.
"Kevin Willison and Gino Cavallini were both Admirals captains and great leaders both on and off the ice," said Admirals Executive Vice President and General Manager Phil Wittliff. "Kevin Willison was the heart and soul of our great teams of the early 1980's and Gino was the heart and soul of our great teams in the 1990's."
Willison played for the Admirals from 1981-82 through 1983-84 and returned for the 1985-86 season. He scored 213 regular season points, including 163 assists, in 313 games over four full seasons in Milwaukee. During the 1982-83 and 1983-84 seasons he was a First Team IHL All-Star and the recipient of the Governor's Trophy, which was awarded annually to the International Hockey League's Outstanding Defenseman.
"Kevin was our quarterback on the power play and one of the league's finest defensemen during the 80's," said Wittliff. "He was a key ingredient on one of the most explosive offensive teams in IHL history."
After his playing career ended he served as an Assistant Coach to Phil Wittliff during the 1986-87 season and was promoted to Head Coach for the 1987-88 campaign.
Cavallini signed with the Admirals in the fall of 1993 after logging 573 NHL regular season games and scoring 273 points (114g-159a) with the Calgary Flames, Quebec Nordiques and St. Louis Blues.
He played three full seasons in Milwaukee, scoring 248 points (139g-109a) in 240 regular season games. During the 1994-95 season, he ranked second among IHL goal scorers with 53 red-lighters and over his three-year career no IHL player scored more goals than Cavallini. Cavallini finished his career by playing five years in Germany, Austria and Switzerland before retiring after the 1999-2000 season.
"Gino was a great goal scorer and a consummate team leader," added Wittliff. "He is also one of the most popular players to ever wear an Admirals' uniform."
Willison and Cavallini will join other Admirals Phil Wittliff, Daniel Lecours, Fred Berry and Mike McNeill as the only Admiral players in history to have their jersey retired.
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