Saginaw Wheels Photo Album (CoHL, 1995-96)

      Here is the photo album from the 1995-96 Saginaw Wheels. My dad got this for me, along with a Wheels program and a Muskegon Fury program several years ago. The format for this is pretty straight forward: each player has his own page with his position, hometown, birthdate, height and weight. The team photo is at the center of the photo album, and the front office staff is included in the first few pages. The team autograph page is on page 30, while the Supporting Fans autograph page is page 31. All the ads sold for this album are from pages 32-37 as well as the back cover. Advertisers include Nichols' Electronics & Appliances, the Saginaw Wheels Booster Club, The Hockey Shop, Bubba's Roadside Inn, Larry's Lounge (as always, "Just a slapshot away from the Civic Center"), and Reese Auto Supply.

     I won't do a breakdown of the 1995-96 Wheels season for this post. Instead, I will share several pictures of notable players from that team as well as a color scan of the team photo, which is found on the cover of a Wheels-Brantford Smoke playoff game program.

     Let's start with the Wheels' captain, Jamey Hicks. I think it's safe to say that Jamey Hicks was not only the best player on the Wheels that season, but also one of the best players from Saginaw's Colonial/United Hockey League era. Prior to arriving in Saginaw, Jamey played two seasons with the Brantford Smoke, helping them win the 1992-93 Colonial Cup. During his two seasons in Saginaw, Hicks scored 80 goals and 118 points. He also played three games for the IHL's Utah Grizzlies. Jamey Hicks left Saginaw after the 1995-96 season to sign with the ECHL's Birmingham Bulls, where he would play the next five seasons, then retired after a short stint with the Arkansas River Blades. When the team was renamed "Saginaw Gears" in 1998, I was hoping that they would bring him back, as they really needed his offense. However, he was pretty well established in Birmingham, and probably didn't want to deal with the mess in Saginaw back then. He did return for two seasons as an assistant coach for the Saginaw Spirit (2002-04).

     Mike Lenarduzzi was one of three goaltenders for the Wheels that season, coming over from the inactive London Wildcats. Mike was a 1990 third round draft pick of the Hartford Whalers, and did play in four games over two seasons in the NHL. Mike was 14-15-3 with a 4.32 GAA in 43 games that year. He was in net for the only Wheels game I saw that season, Game Four of the first round series against the Brantford Smoke. Lenarduzzi played well, turning aside 25 shots in a 3-2 Smoke win. For his efforts, Mike was named the third star of the game. This was his only season in Saginaw, and last in the Colonial Hockey League. Mike would move on to the Mobile Mysticks of the ECHL, where he would spend the next two seasons before heading to Milan of the Alpenligue in 1997-98. He finished his career with the ECHL's Baton Rouge Kingfish.

     Ross Wilson was the second-best player the Wheels had that season, finishing second in scoring with 38 goals and 68 points in just 42 games. I'd also say he was one of the best players in Saginaw's 4 1/2 year run in this league. This was Ross's lone season in Saginaw, and he was one of the players, along with Jamey Hicks, that Saginaw could never really replace. After finishing the year in Fort Wayne of the IHL, Wilson signed with the Flint Generals and became a 50-goal scorer in back-to-back years. He helped lead Flint to three Colonial Cup Finals berths, winning the 2000 Colonial Cup in a four-game sweep of Quad City. By the time he retired after the 2000-01 season, Wilson scored 215 goals and 413 points for the Generals, and an additional 34 goals and 62 points in the posteason. Ouch! Could have used those numbers in the last few seasons. Wilson was one of my favorite Flint Generals, and one of the better players that team ever had. 

     Jim Ritchie was a native of Chatham, Ontario, and an original Chatham Wheel. He played all four seasons that the Chatham/Saginaw Wheels were in existence (1992-96). Ritchie was a dependable goal-scorer, putting a career high 41 in 1993-94, and scored 28 goals and 60 points in 68 games in 1995-96. He could also play physical hockey, racking up over 100 penalty minutes in three of his four seasons with the Wheels. Like several of his teammates, Ritchie found a new home in the ECHL, playing his final season of pro hockey with the Mobile Mysticks, scoring 25 goals and 50 points in 68 games in 1996-97. Again, another player the Lumber Kings/Gears could have used when the team went south. 

 

Steve Vezina shared the Wheels net with Mike Lenarduzzi that year, getting into the same number of games that he did. In 43 games, Vezina went 17-19-4 with a 4.67 GAA. Like Lenarduzzi, Vezina put up okay numbers on a weak Wheels squad. After that season, signed with the ECHL's Jacksonville Lizard Kings. He bounced around various minor leagues, including the WCHL, IHL and AHL. He did return to the United Hockey League, starting the 2000-01 season with the Flint Generals. Steve went 9-10-1 in 21 games before being released. He finished his career playing in the Quebec Semi-Pro Hockey League and LNAH, retiring in 2006-07.

This was Troy Mann's lone season in Saginaw, and it was a good one. Troy scored 30 goals and 61 points in 58 games. Troy would move on to the ECHL, playing three seasons with the Mississippi Sea Wolves, helping that team win the 1999 Kelly Cup championship. He returned to Saginaw to play for the awful 1999-2000 Saginaw Gears, scoring 11 goals and 31 points in 31 games before joining the Jackson Bandits of the ECHL for the rest of the season. He would return to the UHL in later years, playing for Elmira, Flint, Kalamazoo and Missouri. His last season of professional hockey was in 2004-05 with the CHL's Topeka Tarantulas. Mann got into coaching after retiring, and has been a head coach in the ECHL with the Colombia Inferno and the AHL with the Hershey Bears and Belleville Senators. He's currently the head coach of the OHL's Kingston Frontenacs.

     Shawn Yakimishyn played parts of two seasons with the Wheels. His best season in Saginaw was in 1995-96, with 13 goals and 36 points in 69 games, along with a career high in penalty minutes, 184. Shawn would stay in the league, but move on to the Utica Blizzard in 1996-97. He stuck with that franchise when it relocated first to Winston-Salem, then finally to Adirondack (Glens Falls, NY). Shawn's last season of pro hockey was in 2000-01, when he played 43 games with the CHL's Border City Bandits.  He had one of the more recognizable last names for the Wheels during that time period. Good player, added some grit to the Wheels when they needed it.

     Mike Zruna started the 1995-96 season as an assistant coach, then ended up as the third head coach the team employed that year. Zruna came over from Chatham as assistant coach to Tom Barrett, staying on as assistant in 1994-95 and the beginning of 1995-96. Barrett left during the 1995-96 season to become head coach of the horrific London Knights (3-60-3), and was replaced by former Saginaw Gears forward Dennis Desrosiers. Desrosiers resigned during the season and Zruna finished the year. Mike guided the Wheels into the playoffs, but they were quickly knocked out by the Brantford Smoke. He then joined Desrosiers in the ECHL with the Birmingham Bulls, then had head coaching stints with Alexandria of the WPHL and in 2000-01 with the Bulls, his final year in pro hockey. 

And here's the team photo for the 1995-96 Wheels. This was scanned off my Wheels-Brantford Smoke program. The picture was taken shortly after Dr. Muhanad Jondy purchased the team from the Colonial Hockey League and during the time Desrosiers was head coach. The third goaltender in the picture is Mike Risdale, who previously played for the Detroit Falcons. The 1995-96 Wheels were 32-35-7, fourth place in the East Division. A full write-up of that team will be coming shortly.

PS: I would love to have one of those Wheels home jerseys. Any time I see a Wheels jersey on line, they're quite expensive.