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AHL scoring leaders have plenty in common

March 22, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL) News Release


SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... This year's AHL scoring races are being led by a trio of players whose paths to success are remarkably similar. Manchester's Pavel Rosa, Hershey's Eric Perrin and Bridgeport's Jeff Hamilton all faced adversity, spent time in one of Europe's top elite hockey circuits, and returned to become AHL All-Stars. And each is still determined to achieve his ultimate goal of a career in the National Hockey League.

Rosa, a Czech native who was drafted by Los Angeles in the second round back in 1995, missed most of his first professional season in 1997-98 after suffering a serious concussion during training camp. He scored two goals in his much-anticipated NHL debut in December 1998, but after three years in the Kings' system, Rosa signed to play in Finland's SM-Liiga. He averaged nearly a point per game over two seasons and helped Jokerit Helsinki to the league championship in 2002.

Rosa returned to the Kings organization, and has been Manchester's leading scorer since the start of the 2002-03 season. This year, following a trip to the 2004 Pepsi AHL All-Star Classic, Rosa leads the entire AHL in scoring with a team-record 74 points (31g, 43a) in 66 contests for the Monarchs, who are bearing down on the top spot in the Atlantic Division.

Perrin was a standout at the University of Vermont (1993-97), and like his childhood buddy and four-year All-American teammate Martin St. Louis, went undrafted and unsigned out of college. After three seasons in the International Hockey League and three more in Finland, Perrin returned to North America this year after St. Louis recommended him to Tampa Bay general manager Jay Feaster. Perrin would ink his first NHL contract with the Lightning, and all he has done with the Hershey Bears is get voted to the starting lineup at the AHL All-Star Game, lead the league with 52 assists and rank second with 73 points, one behind Rosa in the overall scoring race.

The front-runner for the first Willie Marshall Award, given to the league's goal-scoring leader, is Bridgeport's Jeff Hamilton with 37 goals in 57 games. His story may sound familiar: Like Perrin, Hamilton starred at an ECAC school (Yale), but was not drafted. Like Rosa, he missed nearly an entire season (1999-2000) due to injury. And like them both, he was named an AHL All-Star in 2004 after having taken his act abroad to Finland. Now in his second year back States-side, Hamilton is a top candidate for MVP honors in the AHL, even after missing 13 games with a serious eye injury.

Hamilton's remarkable numbers include an AHL-record 14 game-winning goals for the Sound Tigers, who are battling Philadelphia for the East Division championship. Hamilton eclipsed Dunc Fisher's 50-year-old record on Friday night, scoring the only goal in Bridgeport's 1-0 win at Hartford. He made his NHL debut earlier in the season with the New York Islanders.

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BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE ... Providence goaltender Tim Thomas, a former All-American at the University of Vermont (1993-97) who has rejuvenated his career after spending three seasons in Finland, was named the Sher-Wood AHL Player of the Week after recording back-to-back shutouts over the weekend... Albany defenseman Ray Giroux, a former All-American at Yale who spent part of the 2000-01 season in Finland, was recalled by New Jersey last week.

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AHL ALUMS WIN LESTER PATRICK AWARD ... Veteran broadcasters Mike Emrick and John Davidson were honored last week with the Lester Patrick Award, presented annually by the NHL in recognition of outstanding service to hockey in the United States. Prior to becoming noted national play-by-play talents, Emrick served as the public relations director and radio voice of the Maine Mariners, and Davidson tended goal for the New Haven Nighthawks and Springfield Indians.

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OFF THE ICE ... Manchester's At Your Service dinner, featuring players acting as waiters and performing special requests for donations, netted $70,000 for the Monarchs Care Foundation... Houston's version of the Celebrity Waiter Dinner and Auction raised $85,000 for Houston Aeros Charities and other local causes... Current NHL'ers Michael Peca, Adrian Aucoin, Brent Sopel, Duvie Westcott and Jody Shelley were among the players named to Syracuse's 10th Anniversary All-Time Team.

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ETC. ... Matt Hussey, who had two goals in 53 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season, scored in each of his first two NHL contests with Pittsburgh last week... Rochester's Geoff Peters, held without a goal through February, has five goals in nine games during March... Hartford's 10-game home unbeaten streak ended with a 1-0 loss to Bridgeport on Friday night, as Wade Dubielewicz shut out the Wolf Pack for the fourth time this season... A night later, the Pack lost to Portland for the first time in 12 meetings spanning nearly three years (7-0-4-0 since Mar. 28, 2001), also a 1-0 defeat... Brooks Laich scored the only goal in that game, his first point in 13 contests as a Pirate... Jim Henkel has a point in seven of his last eight games for Lowell (5g, 8a)... Albany rookie Aleksander Suglobov missed 34 games with a wrist injury before returning to the lineup on Friday; the 1998 league MVP Steve Guolla missed the first 70 games due to injury before making his season debut with the River Rats on Sunday... Springfield rookie David LeNeveu stopped 50 shots, including all 41 over the final two periods, and Jason Jaspers recorded three goals and an assist in the Falcons' 5-1 win over Lowell on Saturday... The dust had barely settled following the morning implosion of Veterans Stadium when Philadelphia hosted Grand Rapids next door at the Wachovia Spectrum on Sunday evening... On Friday, John Slaney was honored by the Phantoms for becoming the AHL's all-time leader in goals by a defenseman; Slaney went out and scored in overtime to defeat Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 3-2... Worcester rookie Mike Glumac has a point in nine straight games, the longest current streak in the AHL... Chicago and Hartford clinched playoff berths over the weekend.

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