The Milwaukee Admirals are joining in the fun of building a quarter century team. We've talked about the Nashville Predators team built by the NHL, and now it's time to take a look at Milwaukee's and how it connects up to the big club.
The Admirals have been the Predators affiliate since their inception in 1998, and members of the AHL since moving over from the IHL in 2001-2002 and they've been a top flight organization ever since. Their quarter century team is dotted with players who spent time in the show, and names you would recognize.
Milwaukee Admirals Quarter Century Team
First up on the list was Darren Haydar, who has a very unimpressive NHL career, only appearing in 23 games total, and just two for the Predators. However in the AHL he was a prolific scorer. For the Admirals he potted 110 goals, which is the modern record, as well as 166 assists for 276 points which was the modern franchise record until 2020. He also had a ton of playoff success with franchise’s all-time leader in the post-season in goals (33), assists (40), and points (73). He was inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame in 2020, and has had his number retired by the Admirals.
Next up and suprising nobody is Cal O'Reilly, who is all over the Admirals record book. Milwaukee’s all-time leader in games played, points, and assists, he has produced 77 goals and 255 assists for 332 points in 399 regular season games so far. He's also the team record holder for assists in a season with 63 dished out in the 07-08 season. O'Reilly's NHL career isn't prolific, but his time in Nashville over parts of 4 seasons adds up to 85 games with 11 goals, 24 assists and 35 points on the board for the team.
Rounding out the first forward line is Frédérick Gaudreau. He joined the squad as free agent after going undrafted, and made a big impact over his five seasons with the club. In the A he produced 77 goals and 95 assists for 172 points in 280 games. With the Predators, he didn't have the same offenseive success, with just 8 points in 84 games. He's found his game with Minnesota and is a regualr contributor now, but he's an Admiral first.
Defense wise, Scott Ford gets the first nod. He spent seven seasons as a player and another seven as an assistant coach, and while he didn't ever hit the NHL, he hit anything that moved in the AHL. Ford has become a staple in Milwaukee and hopefully will continue help them as they attempt to secure a Calder Cup this year.
The next name might sting, and it might remind you that Alexandre Carrier played a lot of games in the NHL before becoming a regular. It was 276 games, with 20 goals and 121 assists for 141 points. That's the most points by a defenseman for the Admirals, as well as the most assists. It is also good enough for 3rd all time among defensemen for games. His offensive game never quite matched his AHL output, but now he's Montreal's problem.
The 2nd team starts with Simon Gamache, who despite only playing three seasons with the Admirals was an offensive dynamo. Traded to the team early in the 03-04 season, Gamache went on to score 65 goals and 102 assists for 167 points in 171 games. With the Predators he never got off the ground, with just 1 point in 18 games. Still, in the AHL the guy lit up the scoresheet, and is the forever a member of the Calder Cup championship team from 2003-2004.
Next up is Chris Mueller, a useful center who was present in all three zones. He was also putting plenty of puck in the net. Over his 4 seasons with the Admirals he produced 87 goals and 86 assists for 173 points in 262 games. He's also one of just 5 players in Admirals history that has scored more than 30 goals in a season. His 37 game career with the Predators left something to be desired, but his Admirals time was historic.
The most familiar NHL name of this forward group is Rich Peverley. He wasn't drafted, but ended up an Admiral and immediately made an impact. His career in the Admirals was 176 games, where he totaled 56 goals and 112 assists for 168 points. He never caught that same fire with Nashville, and ended up on waivers and claimed by the Atlanta Thrashers revamping a career which had some more stops where he played a couple hundred more games and win a Stanley Cup.
Defensively the first nod goes to Sheldon Brookbank. He was a monster for two seasons with the Admirals, In total he produced 24 goals and 64 assists for 88 points in 151 games. His second season was particulalry good, scoring 53 points, enough to win him the Eddie Shore Award as the league’s Outstanding Defenseman. He also sat for 408 minutes in the box over those two seasons. Yes, this is the same player that played 3 games with the Predators to the tune of 1 assist and 12 penalty minutes.
Following him is Greg Zanon, You remember him from his time with the Predators being a reliable figure night in and out on the back end. For the Admirals to start his pro career he was doing pretty much the same. He put up 14 goals and 58 assists for 72 points in 215 games. He was on the 2003-04 Calder Cup winning team, and served as team captain for a year before becoming an NHL regular with the Predators.
In the cage for the QC team is Pekka Rinne and Troy Grosenick. Rinne gets the first team nod, and had great stats down in the A. He had 83 wins, 49 losses, and 11 overtime losses in 147 games, along with a 2.54 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage. He went on to immense NHL success, but the evidence was there in the AHL.
Grosenick was very good for the Admirals over his two stints. Those equalled 116 games over four seasons from 2017 to 2024, compiling a 64–35–14 record with a 2.44 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage, and five shutouts. Grosenick was also from Wisconsin , and played his best hockey for his hometown team. He never made an appearance for the Predators.