The fans have spoken, All-Time Team announced
March 24, 2007 - Central Hockey League (CHL) - Mississippi RiverKings News Release
SOUTHAVEN, MS --- The ballots have been collected and counted. It is time to announce the names of the players that make up the Memphis RiverKings' 15th Anniversary All-Time Team. Over the past month, fans have been voting at home games and through email on who they think should make up the best of the best in RiverKings history. Fans also voted on their top moment in RiverKings history.
Don Parsons, Derek Grant and Brad Mueller make up the forwards. The defensemen that were selected are current RiverKing captain Derek Landmesser and Dan Brown. Mark Richards is the All-Time goaltender with Doug Shedden serving as the head coach of the team. The fans selected the back-to-back President's Cup Championships as their top moment.
Parsons played six seasons and 367 games with the RiverKings from the 2000-01 season through 2005-2006. He is the franchise leader in goals scored with 290 and overall scoring with 552 points. He was a two-time regular season CHL MVP, the playoff MVP in 2002, the CHL scoring champ in 02-03 when he finished with 106 points and CHL Man of the Year for 2003-04. His best season statistically was his first season with the RiverKings in 00-01, when he amassed 56 goals and 57 assists for a career high 113 points. Parsons is currently playing his 15th pro season with the Quad City Mallards of the UHL.
Grant played in the old RiverKings black and gold between the 1995-96 and 2000-01 seasons. In those five plus seasons, Grant played in 317 games, scoring a second best 196 goals and assisting on an also second best 272. His 468 points are second only to Parsons. He won the CHL Rookie of the Year Award in 1995-96, was the CHL scoring champion in 98-99 when he finished with franchise bests in points, 123, and assists, 78. Grant retired after the 2000-01 season and is currently living in Virginia Beach, VA where he works as a financial advisor. He also teaches hockey through his own hockey school "Grant's Elite Hockey Programs."
Mueller became a fan favorite during his five seasons in Memphis. He played in 246 games from 2000-01 to 2004-05, scoring 75 goals and assisting on 97 for a total of 246 points. Mueller was a triple threat with scoring, defense and the ability to drop the gloves when needed. Problems with concussions shortened his last two seasons and he retired after the 2004-0-5 season. Mueller lives in his hometown of Yellow Knife, Northwest Territories and is a Civil Engineer for a consulting firm.
Landmesser is in his sixth season with the RiverKings. This season, he has become the franchise leader in assists, with a current total of 303 and in games played, with a current total of 370. He is also the team's all-time defensive scoring leader. Landmesser played in his fifth CHL All-Star Game, starting for the fourth consecutive year, and was named to the All-CHL Team for the third consecutive season earlier this week. He was the CHL's Most Outstanding Defenseman in his first season with the RiverKings in 2000-01.
Brown was the CHL's Most Outstanding Defenseman for the 1995-96 season. He played five seasons with the club, 94-95 to 97-98 and then also in the 99-00 season. He is second to Landmessser in defensive scoring with 206 points and fourth in all-time assists with 153. He still is the all-time leader in penalty minutes with 751. Brown retired after that 99-00 season and continues to live in Collierville where he works for Aflac Insurance.
Richards is the franchise career leader in appearances with 120, wins with 68, minutes with 6675 and shutouts with 6. Those are great stats in the regular season for any goalie, but it was the postseason where Richards shined the most. He helped lead the team to back-to-back President's Cup Championships in 2001 and 2002. In three postseasons for the RiverKings, Richards played in 35 games, out of 37, won 25 and had a goals-against average of 2.66. Following retirement, he served as the RiverKings head coach for a season and a half. He is currently the General Manager of the Pee Dee Cyclones of the SPHL.
Shedden brought his winning acumen to the RiverKings in 2000 and, in three seasons, steered the team to two championships, and a 128-56-14 record. Shedden is the only coach in the CHL to win back-to-back titles and he did it twice, having done it earlier with Wichita. He is currently coaching a professional team in Finland in addition to serving as the Finnish National Team coach for the upcoming 2007-2008 World Championships in Russia.
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