AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Four Griffins Summoned to Ottawa

April 22, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Grand Rapids, MI - The Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League on Monday announced that defensemen John Gruden and Joel Kwiatkowski, center Steve Martins and goaltender Martin Prusek have been recalled by the Ottawa Senators.

Gruden, an AHL First All-Star Team selection who also played in the 2002 All-Star Game, ranked second among AHL defensemen this season with a plus-24 rating. The 31-year-old native of Virginia, Minnesota, appeared in 57 games with the Griffins, recording three goals, 14 assists and 48 penalty minutes. He notched his only point of the playoffs, a goal, in the Griffins' 3-0 victory at Chicago on April 19.

Gruden, who has appeared in a total of 81 NHL games, joins the Senators for the second time this year. He was first recalled on December 29 but he did not dress for any games before being returned on January 11.

Kwiatkowski, 25, played 65 games with Grand Rapids this season and ranked among its blueline leaders with eight goals (1st), 21 assists (2nd) and 29 points (T2nd). In five playoff contests, he recorded one goal and a pair assists, including the game-winner in Grand Rapids' 4-1 win over the Wolves on April 13.

The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, native earns his fourth recall of the season. In 11 games with Ottawa, he has averaged nearly 14 minutes of ice time per game while registering 12 penalty minutes and a plus-five rating.

Both Kwiatkowski and Gruden anchored a Griffins defense that paced the AHL by allowing just 2.23 goals and 25.34 shots per game. In fact, the pair helped establish an AHL record, as Grand Rapids allowed just 78 goals on home ice this year.

Martins, 30, appeared in 51 games with Grand Rapids, registering 10 goals, 21 assists and 66 penalty minutes. A knee injury sustained while playing with the Senators on March 2 forced the Gatineau, Quebec, native to miss the last 16 games of the Griffins' regular season before returning for three games in the playoffs.

The Harvard University graduate has appeared in 14 games with the Senators this season, recording one goal and four penalty minutes. Prusek, 26, re-wrote the AHL's record books during his first professional season in North America, breaking the modern-era record for save percentage (.9301) and posting the second-lowest goals against average (1.83) in the league's 66 seasons.

The sixth choice (164th overall) of the Ottawa Senators in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, Prusek battled back from a knee injury to post a 18-8-5 record with four shutouts, leading the Griffins to the West Division crown. After fronting a Griffins goalie contingent that allowed the fewest goals in the league (178), Prusek was named the AHL's Goaltender of the Year and was selected to the league's First All-Star Team.

The native of Ostrava, Czech Republic, made his NHL debut on March 23 against the Atlanta Thrashers, suffering a 3-2 loss.

All four players are scheduled to join the Senators on Thursday and be available for game five of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday. The Griffins' season came to an end on Sunday night in the Western Conference quarterfinals with a 4-2 loss to Chicago in the decisive game five of the series at Van Andel Arena.

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