Milwaukee, WI—The Admirals are proud to announce that Brookfield native Troy Grosenick has been named the team’s winner of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to the Milwaukee community during the 2019-20 season.
Troy is the first player every born and raised in Milwaukee to play for the Admirals and so it became particularly important for him to give back to the community. The list of community activities that he participated in is extensive and included almost every venture that the Admirals were involved in throughout the season and many events, like the Polar Plunge to benefit Special Olympics, that he did on his volition.
Even before the 2019-20 season started Troy was back in the area to participate in community events like the MACC Fund Celebrity Softball game that raised over $100,000 or teaching at youth hockey clinics.
When the season began, Troy pledged $1 from every save he made this season to the MACC Fund, and he asked fans to pledge their support for the MACC Fund as well at whatever level they could.
Another large undertaking was the Admirable Teammate program that Troy led, along with fellow netminder Connor Ingram. The program encouraged kids, specifically youth hockey players, to be Admirable Teammates and also to submit examples of kids on their teams who are Admirable Teammates. The Admirals collected these submissions and then picked 20 kids to come to Panther Arena and play a game at Panther Arena Unfortunately, the game was schedule for March 23 and had to be cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, the campaign resulted in dozens of submissions and helped to spread the message that being a great teammate is more important that scoring goals or making saves.
Along with the rest of the team Troy was one of the waiters at the Prevent Blindness of Wisconsin Celebrity Waiters Event, which is the organizations largest fundraiser of each year. In addition to working the event, Troy was the lead chef/host for an auction item that included dinner cooked for the winner in their home by Admirals players. This item raised over $3,000 by itself.
Troy worked with the Milwaukee Fire Department for their Warm-Up Winter Campaign, which helps to distribute new coats to thousands of inner-city and underprivileged kids in the Milwaukee area. Troy visited a local school to help kick off the campaign and then handed out some of the new coats as winter approached.
Other community highlights for Troy included: making numerous visits to local rinks to work with youth hockey participants, including Elmbrook Youth Hockey and the Milwaukee Jr. Admirals, both programs that he participated in as a child. He was one of the players who volunteered to help deliver presents to the Ronald McDonald House of Southeastern Wisconsin. He served as the Admirals “Locker Room Ambassador,” giving tours and autographs to kids and their families after many games this season, and he jumped into a frozen lake for the Polar Plunge to raise money for Special Olympics of Wisconsin.
Grosenick is now one of 31 finalists for the AHL’s 2019-20 Yanick Dupre Memorial Award, honoring the overall IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year. The league award is named after the former Hershey Bears forward and AHL All-Star who died in 1997 following a 16-month battle with leukemia. The winner of the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award will be announced by the American Hockey League at a later date.
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