Rockford IceHogs Athletic Trainers D.J. Jones and John Walter Are Yanick Dupre Memorial Award Recipients
(Photo via IceHogs Press Release)
The American Hockey League (AHL) announced today that Athletic trainers league-wide are the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award recipients for their efforts during COVID-19 and the 2020-21 season. The award is given out annually to a player acknowledging them as the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year for his outstanding contributions to his local community.
Due to all of the safety procedures that went into making the season happen and keeping everyone involved as safe as possible, this is a well-earned honor.
D.J. Jones and John Walter are the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award Recipients for the Rockford IceHogs. They did a fantastic job this year and the IceHogs never had to miss a practice or a game due to the team being affected by COVID. They ended up having zero cases during the season which was a massive win for the team. I’d argue it was a bigger win than any on-ice victory this season. Especially in a year with no playoffs.
The IceHogs had a few games rescheduled due to their opponent being affected, but never them. Even as a fan and someone who covers the team, that made me really proud of the team and all their efforts. They were taking everything seriously and did their best to keep everyone involved safe - from players to staff to all of their families.
We all hope that next season will look more normal. For now, we’ll take this victory and continue hoping for the health and safety of all.
Congrats to D.J. and John! Thank you for keeping the team safe!
Full list of this year’s winners of the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award:
Chad Drown -Bakersfield Condors
Craig Belfer - Belleville Senators
Jon Williams - Binghamton Devils
Josh Sabitsky - Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Alex Ambrose - Charlotte Checkers
Kevin Kacer - Chicago Wolves
Tom Bourdon - Cleveland Monsters
Brent Woodside - Colorado Eagles
Josh Chapman - Grand Rapids Griffins
Brian Fairbrother - Hartford Wolf Pack
Todd Richardson - Henderson Silver Knights
Brian Riedel - Hershey Bears
Masayasu Takaiwa and Cole Harding - Iowa Wild
Glen Kinney - Laval Rocket
Brian Grogesky - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Zach Salmonson - Manitoba Moose
Doug Agnew - Milwaukee Admirals
Jeff Andrews - Ontario Reign
Dustin Stuck - Providence Bruins
Michael Dhesse - Rochester Americans
D.J. Jones and John Walter - Rockford IceHogs
Ryan Ledwon - San Diego Gulls
Will Leonard - San Jose Barracuda
Koryd Lavimoniere - Springfield Thunderbirds
Bryan Erspamer - Stockton Heat
Brad Chavis - Syracuse Crunch
Mike DeGaetano - Texas Stars
Jordan Aube - Toronto Marlies
Bill Nervig - Tucson Roadrunners
Roman Kaszczij - Utica Comets
Seamus McKelvey - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
via IceHogs’ release:
The AHL’s annual Man of the Year award is named after the late Yanick Dupre, who passed away in 1997 at the age of 24 following a 16-month battle with leukemia. A second-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 1991, Dupre played four seasons in the AHL with the Hershey Bears and was an AHL All-Star in 1995.