SPHL Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Release Hall of Famer as Camp Opens

Published on October 14, 2013 under SPHL (SPHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


The Peoria Rivermen announced Monday that veteran winger Trevor Baker has been released from the team at his personal request. The 35-year old Rivermen Hall of Famer did not report to camp and is not expected to return for the 2013-14 season.

"Trevor and his father operate a truck service business in Canada, which is a small business and his father just couldn't run it alone," Rivermen head coach Jean-Guy Trudel said. "Trevor felt he needed to stay there and continue his commitment there. We completely understand and we wish him well."

Baker played in Peoria for parts of six seasons from 1999-05. During that span, he was one of the most successful and popular players in franchise history. He was a playoff hero on Peoria's 1999-00 ECHL Kelly Cup championship team and was inducted into the Rivermen Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009. He retired from his professional playing career in 2007, after suffering issues from a concussion while playing with Bloomington in the UHL.

While with the Rivermen, Baker notched 90 goals, 130 assists and 1,122 penalty minutes in 344 games. The Edmonton, Alberta native initially planned to come out of retirment on August 22, when he signed a one-year deal with Peoria for its first season in the Southern Professional Hockey League. There is still a rare possibility that he may show up on the Rivermen roster late in the season, but for now he remains retired.

The Rivermen drop the puck for their 32nd season, and first in the Southern Professional Hockey League, on Friday, Oct. 25 at Bloomington. Peoria's home opener follows on Saturday, Oct. 26 with a 7:15 p.m. rematch against the Thunder. Great seats are still available and can be purchased at the Peoria Civic Center box office, Rivermen.net, or by calling the Rivermen office at (309) 676-1040.

Check out the Peoria Rivermen Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



SPHL Stories from October 14, 2013


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.

OurSports Central