Growing up in St. Louis, Mike McKenna heard stories from his grandfather about what it was like trying to muster a hockey game in Missouri.
McKenna’s grandfather was one of half a dozen guys who would travel two hours to Springfield, Illinois, to play on a real rink. St. Louis finally received a National Hockey League expansion team, the Blues, in 1967, and as more Blues players settled in the area, the seeds of youth hockey germinated and eventually blossomed.
Interestingly, Wideman was alongside Mark Borowiecki in a third pairing while the fourth pair was composed of Jared Cowen and Michael Kostka. Erik Karlsson-Marc Methot and Patrick Wiercioch-Cody Ceci were the first and second pairings, familiar from last season.
The Bakersfield Condors, owned by the Edmonton Oilers, announced today that C Philip McRae has been signed to an American Hockey League (AHL) contract. The 25-year old spent last season with the Chicago Wolves (affiliate of the St. Louis Blues) in the AHL.
The Grand Rapids Griffins on Thursday re-signed forward Alden Hirschfeld to a one-year contract and also signed forward Dominic Zombo and defenseman Derek Docken to one-year contracts.
Wideman, 23, also appeared in four games with the B-Sens at the end of the season following the conclusion of his collegiate career at the University of Miami at Ohio.
Hershey signed Sam Warning to an amateur tryout agreement. The undrafted forward, who attended Washington Capitals development camp last July, produced 12-12-24 in 39 games in 2014-15.
Chris Wideman had many highlights in his 2014-15 season, including being named the Eddie Shore Award recipient as the American Hockey League’s outstanding defenseman, and representing the Eastern Conference in the AHL All-Star Game. But one of the biggest moments came at the end of the year when his younger brother, Alex Wideman, joined him as a teammate.
The American Hockey League announced today that Chris Wideman of the Binghamton Senators has been voted the winner of the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL’s outstanding defenseman for the 2014-15 season. The award is voted on by coaches, players and members of the media in each of the league’s 30 cities.
Binghamton defenseman Chris Wideman was named an American Hockey League First-Team All-Star and forward Shane Prince was named to the second team, the league announced on Thursday.
Surpassing his breakout campaign last season was no easy task, but Chris Wideman has done just that as he closes in on the scoring record for a Binghamton Senators defenseman.
