Post by Stripe on Sept 14, 2006 15:31:17 GMT -5
Griffins Press Release:
TRAVIS RICHARDS TO BE HONORED NOV. 24
No. 24 of “Mr. Griffin” to be Retired During Pre-Game Ceremony
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Travis Richards, the only Grand Rapids Griffins player to play in each of the team’s first 10 seasons (1996-2006), will have his no. 24 jersey retired during a ceremony on Friday, Nov. 24, prior to the Griffins’ 7 p.m. game against the Chicago Wolves.
As part of the festivities for “Travis Richards Night presented by Grand Craft,” the first 1,500 kids will receive a Griffins T-shirt featuring Richards’ name and legendary no. 24 on the back. The organization will also mark the occasion with presentations and events throughout the evening.
Richards, 36, played more games and seasons in Grand Rapids than any other professional athlete in the city’s history and, prior to his retirement on June 14, had the longest continuous stretch of service with one team of any player in the American Hockey League. Furthermore, at the time of Richards’ retirement announcement, only five pro athletes in the state of Michigan – Kris Draper, Nicklas Lidstrom and Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings, and Jason Hanson and Cory Schlesinger of the Detroit Lions – had logged more consecutive, uninterrupted seasons of play in their current uniform than “Mr. Griffin.”
Richards became the second player and first American to sign with the Griffins on July 26, 1996, and he departed as Grand Rapids’ all-time leader with 655 games played. He helped lead the Griffins to five division titles, four conference championship appearances and an IHL Turner Cup Finals berth (2000) during the last seven years.
Once the Griffins’ record-holder with 126 consecutive games played, Richards was a mainstay on the team’s blue line during its first eight seasons, missing only 43 of 650 regular season contests and appearing in all 59 playoff games from 1996-2004. However, injuries limited him to 48 games since the start of the 2004-05 campaign. He played in 13 contests last season and earned an assist in his final game in a Griffins uniform, a 5-4 overtime win against Milwaukee at Van Andel Arena on Dec. 3, 2005.
During his storied career, Richards garnered accolades such as the captaincy of the PlanetUSA squad at the 2004 AHL All-Star Classic in Grand Rapids and Second Team IHL All-Star honors in 2001. He served three seasons (2001-04) as the Griffins’ captain – the longest tenure in franchise history – and the other seven as an alternate captain, skating alongside 265 teammates through the years.
In addition to his games-played primacy, Richards ranks among the franchise’s regular season career leaders with a plus-131 rating (1st), 182 assists (2nd), 238 points (2nd), 995 shots (2nd), 24 power play goals (T3rd), 502 penalty minutes (5th) and 56 goals (7th).
Richards played nearly his entire pro career in West Michigan. After representing the United States at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, the former Minnesota Golden Gopher made his pro debut with the IHL’s Kalamazoo Wings late in the 1993-94 season. He stayed with the Wings through the 1995-96 campaign, also appearing in three NHL games with the parent Dallas Stars.
In all, Richards played 805 regular season contests during his 13-year career, registering 293 points (70-223—293) and 632 penalty minutes. He registered his 800th regular season game as a pro on Nov. 20, 2005 at Toronto.
TRAVIS RICHARDS * Defenseman
Height: 6’1” Weight: 195 Shoots: Left Born: 3/22/70 in Crystal, Minnesota
Drafted: Minnesota’s 6th choice, 169th overall, in 1988 NHL Entry Draft
Regular Season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A PTS PIM GP G A PTS PIM
1989-90 Minnesota WCHA 45 4 24 28 38 -- -- -- -- --
1990-91 Minnesota WCHA 45 9 25 34 28 -- -- -- -- --
1991-92 Minnesota WCHA 41 10 22 32 65 -- -- -- -- --
1992-93 Minnesota WCHA 42 12 26 38 52 -- -- -- -- --
1993-94 U.S. National Team 51 1 11 12 38 -- -- -- -- --
U.S. Olympic Team 8 0 0 0 2 -- -- -- -- --
Kalamazoo IHL 19 2 10 12 20 4 1 1 2 0
1994-95 Kalamazoo IHL 63 4 16 20 53 15 1 5 6 12
Dallas NHL 2 0 0 0 0 -- -- -- -- --
1995-96 Dallas NHL 1 0 0 0 2 -- -- -- -- --
Michigan IHL 65 8 15 23 55 9 2 2 4 4
1996-97 Grand Rapids IHL 77 10 13 23 83 5 1 3 4 2
1997-98 Grand Rapids IHL 81 12 20 32 70 3 1 1 2 4
1998-99 Grand Rapids IHL 82 9 23 32 84 -- -- -- -- --
1999-00 Grand Rapids IHL 71 5 23 28 47 17 1 7 8 18
2000-01 Grand Rapids IHL 75 5 30 35 42 10 0 5 5 8
2001-02 Grand Rapids AHL 72 6 23 29 36 5 0 1 1 2
2002-03 Grand Rapids AHL 73 6 21 27 52 15 0 4 4 6
2003-04 Grand Rapids AHL 76 2 22 24 48 4 1 0 1 2
2004-05 Grand Rapids AHL 35 1 3 4 30 -- -- -- -- --
2005-06 Grand Rapids AHL 13 0 4 4 10 -- -- -- -- --
NHL TOTALS 3 0 0 0 2 -- -- -- -- --
GRIFFINS TOTALS 655 56 182 238 502 59 4 21 25 42
AHL TOTALS 269 15 73 88 176 24 1 5 6 10
PRO TOTALS 805 70 223 293 632 87 8 29 37 58
TRAVIS RICHARDS TO BE HONORED NOV. 24
No. 24 of “Mr. Griffin” to be Retired During Pre-Game Ceremony
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Travis Richards, the only Grand Rapids Griffins player to play in each of the team’s first 10 seasons (1996-2006), will have his no. 24 jersey retired during a ceremony on Friday, Nov. 24, prior to the Griffins’ 7 p.m. game against the Chicago Wolves.
As part of the festivities for “Travis Richards Night presented by Grand Craft,” the first 1,500 kids will receive a Griffins T-shirt featuring Richards’ name and legendary no. 24 on the back. The organization will also mark the occasion with presentations and events throughout the evening.
Richards, 36, played more games and seasons in Grand Rapids than any other professional athlete in the city’s history and, prior to his retirement on June 14, had the longest continuous stretch of service with one team of any player in the American Hockey League. Furthermore, at the time of Richards’ retirement announcement, only five pro athletes in the state of Michigan – Kris Draper, Nicklas Lidstrom and Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings, and Jason Hanson and Cory Schlesinger of the Detroit Lions – had logged more consecutive, uninterrupted seasons of play in their current uniform than “Mr. Griffin.”
Richards became the second player and first American to sign with the Griffins on July 26, 1996, and he departed as Grand Rapids’ all-time leader with 655 games played. He helped lead the Griffins to five division titles, four conference championship appearances and an IHL Turner Cup Finals berth (2000) during the last seven years.
Once the Griffins’ record-holder with 126 consecutive games played, Richards was a mainstay on the team’s blue line during its first eight seasons, missing only 43 of 650 regular season contests and appearing in all 59 playoff games from 1996-2004. However, injuries limited him to 48 games since the start of the 2004-05 campaign. He played in 13 contests last season and earned an assist in his final game in a Griffins uniform, a 5-4 overtime win against Milwaukee at Van Andel Arena on Dec. 3, 2005.
During his storied career, Richards garnered accolades such as the captaincy of the PlanetUSA squad at the 2004 AHL All-Star Classic in Grand Rapids and Second Team IHL All-Star honors in 2001. He served three seasons (2001-04) as the Griffins’ captain – the longest tenure in franchise history – and the other seven as an alternate captain, skating alongside 265 teammates through the years.
In addition to his games-played primacy, Richards ranks among the franchise’s regular season career leaders with a plus-131 rating (1st), 182 assists (2nd), 238 points (2nd), 995 shots (2nd), 24 power play goals (T3rd), 502 penalty minutes (5th) and 56 goals (7th).
Richards played nearly his entire pro career in West Michigan. After representing the United States at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, the former Minnesota Golden Gopher made his pro debut with the IHL’s Kalamazoo Wings late in the 1993-94 season. He stayed with the Wings through the 1995-96 campaign, also appearing in three NHL games with the parent Dallas Stars.
In all, Richards played 805 regular season contests during his 13-year career, registering 293 points (70-223—293) and 632 penalty minutes. He registered his 800th regular season game as a pro on Nov. 20, 2005 at Toronto.
TRAVIS RICHARDS * Defenseman
Height: 6’1” Weight: 195 Shoots: Left Born: 3/22/70 in Crystal, Minnesota
Drafted: Minnesota’s 6th choice, 169th overall, in 1988 NHL Entry Draft
Regular Season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A PTS PIM GP G A PTS PIM
1989-90 Minnesota WCHA 45 4 24 28 38 -- -- -- -- --
1990-91 Minnesota WCHA 45 9 25 34 28 -- -- -- -- --
1991-92 Minnesota WCHA 41 10 22 32 65 -- -- -- -- --
1992-93 Minnesota WCHA 42 12 26 38 52 -- -- -- -- --
1993-94 U.S. National Team 51 1 11 12 38 -- -- -- -- --
U.S. Olympic Team 8 0 0 0 2 -- -- -- -- --
Kalamazoo IHL 19 2 10 12 20 4 1 1 2 0
1994-95 Kalamazoo IHL 63 4 16 20 53 15 1 5 6 12
Dallas NHL 2 0 0 0 0 -- -- -- -- --
1995-96 Dallas NHL 1 0 0 0 2 -- -- -- -- --
Michigan IHL 65 8 15 23 55 9 2 2 4 4
1996-97 Grand Rapids IHL 77 10 13 23 83 5 1 3 4 2
1997-98 Grand Rapids IHL 81 12 20 32 70 3 1 1 2 4
1998-99 Grand Rapids IHL 82 9 23 32 84 -- -- -- -- --
1999-00 Grand Rapids IHL 71 5 23 28 47 17 1 7 8 18
2000-01 Grand Rapids IHL 75 5 30 35 42 10 0 5 5 8
2001-02 Grand Rapids AHL 72 6 23 29 36 5 0 1 1 2
2002-03 Grand Rapids AHL 73 6 21 27 52 15 0 4 4 6
2003-04 Grand Rapids AHL 76 2 22 24 48 4 1 0 1 2
2004-05 Grand Rapids AHL 35 1 3 4 30 -- -- -- -- --
2005-06 Grand Rapids AHL 13 0 4 4 10 -- -- -- -- --
NHL TOTALS 3 0 0 0 2 -- -- -- -- --
GRIFFINS TOTALS 655 56 182 238 502 59 4 21 25 42
AHL TOTALS 269 15 73 88 176 24 1 5 6 10
PRO TOTALS 805 70 223 293 632 87 8 29 37 58