Milwaukee Admirals' Troy Grosenick named AHL’S Man of the Year

MILWAUKEE -- The American Hockey League announced on Monday, April 27 that Admirals goaltender and Brookfield native Troy Grosenick has been selected as the winner of the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award as the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year for 2019-20.

This award has been presented annually since 1998 to an AHL player for his outstanding contributions to his local community and charitable organizations. The Yanick Dupre Memorial Award winner is selected by the AHL and representatives from IOA and American Specialty from among 31 individual team Man of the Year honorees.

“I am honored and humbled to receive the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award,” said Grosenick. “Growing up in Brookfield I was lucky to have amazing coaches, teachers, mentors and of course the support and love of my family and now I feel extremely grateful for the opportunity to give back to this community.”

“Being able to interact with some incredible kids is always a personal highlight, while raising money and awareness for important issues is the least I can do for the Milwaukee area which has given so much to me. I hope we all continue to strengthen and rely upon our bond as a community through these difficult and unprecedented times.”

Grosenick is the first Admiral to win this award and also the first player in team history to be born and raised in the Milwaukee area.

“We are so proud of all the amazing work that Troy and his teammates have done for our community,” said Admirals Owner/CEO Harris Turer. “One of the primary tenets of our organization is to give back to the community that provides us with tremendous support. Troy embodies this philosophy and we could not be more thrilled for him to be recognized for this award.”

Being a Brookfield native made it particularly important for Troy 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 countless 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, he jumped into a frozen lake for the Polar Plunge to raise money for Special Olympics of Wisconsin, and more recently, was the honorary chairman for the March of Dimes March for Babies.