Eric Neilson Named Bulldogs' American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year

March 25, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hamilton Bulldogs News Release


HAMILTON, ON - The Hamilton Bulldogs are proud to announce that forward Eric Neilson has been named the team's winner of the American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to the Hamilton community during the 2009-2010 season.

In his first season with the 'Dogs, Neilson brought his community leadership to the club after being named the Peoria Rivermen's American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year last season. The 25-year-old native of Fredericton, New Brunswick is the first person to volunteer for community events and enjoys meeting and interacting with members of the Hamilton community. This year in conjunction with the Bulldogs Foundation, Neilson visited schools in the Hamilton area to encourage students to participate in educational programs such as "Agree to Read". He stressed the importance of reading, setting and reaching goals and having a good work ethic to the students. Neilson will also be visiting a local Hamilton school to talk to the kids about playing sports instead of smoking. He will help the 'Our Kids Against Tobacco' team with spreading the message of "Be Smart, Don't Start, Play Sports!"

At the Bulldogs' traditional Christmas visit to the McMaster Children's Hospital, Neilson took the time to individually meet and deliver Christmas gifts to the children who were unable to leave their rooms due to illness. At the city of Hamilton's annual 'Soupfest' Neilson volunteered his free time to serve soup as well as sign autographs and take pictures with the attendees. Neilson took part in both community practices that the club held this year and led his teammates in events with fans following the practices. Throughout the season, Neilson would also meet with many minor hockey league teams from the Hamilton area to sign autographs and be available for pictures. In addition this year, the Bulldogs and the Bulldogs Foundation teamed with Canadian Tire for an on-going partnership that raises funds for the Bulldogs Foundation. Neilson is the face of this promotion and during his spare time has visited the store to help promote the partnership.

Neilson is now one of 29 finalists for the AHL's 2009-2010 Yanick Dupre Memorial Award, honoring the overall American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year. The league award is named after the former Hershey Bears forward and AHL All-Star who died in 1997 following a 16-month battle with leukemia. The winner of the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award will be announced by the AHL in the coming weeks.

The Bulldogs will look to increase their lead in the Western Conference as they travel to Abbotsford to meet the Heat for a game on Friday, March 26th at 10:30 p.m. EST. Fans can listen to every 'Dogs game on the flagship station of the Hamilton Bulldogs Hockey Network, TALK 820. Fans can also listen or watch at www.hamiltonbulldogs.com by clicking on the 'AHL Live' or 'TALK 820' icons on the Bulldogs website.

Tickets for all Hamilton Bulldogs home games are available at the Copps Coliseum Box Office, any Ticketmaster Outlet, online at www.ticketmaster.ca or through charge-by-phone at 905-527-7666. For more information on 'Dogs season tickets, flex packs, mini packs and group tickets call 905-529-8500 or visit www.hamiltonbulldogs.com.



American Hockey League Stories from March 25, 2010


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