Manchester's Rosa wins AHL scoring title
April 11, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL) News Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... Manchester Monarchs right wing Pavel Rosa has won the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as the leading scorer in the American Hockey League for the 2003-04 season.
Rosa finished the season with 88 points on 39 goals and 49 assists in 77 games for the Monarchs, capping his effort with a two-goal performance in Manchester's 3-2 loss to Worcester on Sunday evening. The former second-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Kings also ranked second in the AHL with a plus-38 rating, won the scoring race by 11 points, the widest margin since 2000.
A native of Most, Czech Republic, the 26-year-old Rosa was named a Second Team AHL All-Star this season and has amassed 151 points over the last two seasons with the Monarchs. He skated in the 2004 Pepsi AHL All-Star Classic, and also recorded a goal and an assist in two NHL contests with the Kings.
Rosa is just the third player born outside of Canada ever to win the AHL's scoring title, joining Eddie Olson of Hancock, Mich. (1953, '55) and Andre Peloffy of Sete, France (1977).
The AHL's leading-scorer trophy was originally named after Wally Kilrea, who held the AHL's single-season scoring record when the award was instituted in 1947-48. That year, Carl Liscombe broke Kilrea's record, and the award was renamed in his honor. In 1955, the AHL Board of Governors voted to name the trophy after John B. Sollenberger, a long-time contributor to the league as manager and president of the Hershey Bears and former Chairman of the Board of Governors.
Previous winners of the John B. Sollenberger Trophy include Zellio Toppazzini (1956), Fred Glover (1957, '60), Willie Marshall (1958), Bill Sweeney (1961, '62, '63), Don Blackburn (1972), Paul Gardner (1985, '86), Bruce Boudreau (1988), Shaun Van Allen (1992), Tim Taylor (1994), Peter White (1995, '97, '98), Derek Armstrong (2001) and Steve Maltais (2003).
Now in its 68th season, 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 on Wednesday night, with 20 teams vying for the honor of capturing the league's coveted championship trophy.
American Hockey League Stories from April 11, 2004
- Qualifying round playoff schedule announced - Cincinnati RailRaiders
- IceCats Edge Monarchs In Calder Cup Playoff Preview - Manchester Monarchs
- AHL Playoff Schedules Announced - AHL
- Bridgeport duo wins AHL's Holmes Award - AHL
- Bridgeport's Hamilton wins AHL's Marshall Award - AHL
- Manchester's Rosa wins AHL scoring title - AHL
- Crunch Announce First Round Playoff Dates Against Rochester - Syracuse Crunch
- Dances with Wolves, Part IV - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Bears season over after 3-2 loss to Philly - Hershey Bears
- P-Bruins announce sale of first round playoff tickets - Providence Bruins
- Milwaukee wins AHL's Kilpatrick Trophy - AHL
- Regular season ends with 4-3 loss - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Phantoms defeat Hershey, 3-2 in OT - Adirondack Phantoms
- Wolf Pack Dole Out the Hardware - Connecticut Whale
- Sound Tigers Tie WBS 2-2 In Season Finale - Bridgeport Islanders
- Falcons edged by Pirates to close season - Springfield Falcons
- Penguins to meet Bridgeport in playoffs - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Penguins announce end of season award winners - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Sens To Host Norfolk In Qualifying Round - Binghamton Senators
- St. John's Maple Leafs Announce Year End Award Winners - Toronto Marlies
- Bulldogs finish regular season on top of North Division standings - Hamilton Bulldogs
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
