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Hartford's Gernander wins AHL's Fred T. Hunt Award

April 5, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL) News Release


SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... The American Hockey League announced today that Ken Gernander of the Hartford Wolf Pack has been named the 2003-04 winner of the Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award as the AHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of sportsmanship, determination and dedication to hockey. The award is voted on by players and members of the media in each of the league's 28 cities.

The 34-year-old Gernander is completing his 10th season in the New York Rangers organization, including his ninth as the captain of the Rangers' AHL affiliate and seventh with the Wolf Pack. In 2003-04, Gernander has recorded 10 goals and 17 assists for 27 points, along with just 26 penalty minutes and a plus-12 rating, in 73 AHL games, his 11th season in the last 12 (and seventh consecutive) with at least 70 games played. Last week, he was named Hartford's team winner of the American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year award.

On Feb. 7, Gernander became the 39th player in American Hockey League history with 600 career regular-season points, and on Mar. 31, he became just the 11th player to reach the 900-game plateau. The three-time AHL All-Star (1996, 1999, 2000) enters the final week of the 2003-04 season with 286 goals and 321 assists for 607 points, along with just 321 penalty minutes, in 903 career AHL games since 1991.

Gernander once again displayed his on-ice leadership by suiting up as a defenseman for a depleted Wolf Pack team in several games this year, and in March he was rewarded for his commitment with his first NHL recall since 1997. A native of Coleraine, Minn., and a 1987 draft pick of the Winnipeg Jets, Gernander persevered following a concussion suffered during the 1997 Stanley Cup Playoffs and a pulmonary embolism that cut short his 1998 postseason, and has led Hartford to seven consecutive playoff appearances, including the Calder Cup championship in 2000.

This award, which was first presented by the AHL in 1978, honors the late Fred T. Hunt, a long-time contributor to the league who won three Calder Cup championships as a player and three more as a general manager. Gernander, who was also honored in 1996, is the third two-time winner in the award's history. Other previous winners include Ross Yates (1983), Glenn Merkosky (1987, '91), Bruce Boudreau (1988), Murray Eaves ('89, '90), John Anderson (1992), Steve Passmore (1997), Randy Cunneyworth (2000), Nathan Dempsey (2002), Chris Ferraro (2003) and Eric Healey (2003).

As it concludes its 68th regular season on Apr. 11, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 80 percent of all players to compete in the NHL this season have been AHL graduates, and over 400 players have taken the ice in both leagues in 2003-04. The Calder Cup 2004 Playoffs get underway next week, with 20 teams vying for the honor of capturing the league's coveted championship trophy.

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