A trio of BCHL alums will add an AHL championship to their respective resumes following the Grand Rapids Griffins’ victory on Tuesday night.
Forward Ben Street, defenceman Dennis Cholowski and assistant coach Bruce Ramsay helped the Griffins defeat the Syracuse Crunch 4-3 in game six of the Calder Cup Final to clinch Grand Rapids’ second AHL title in five years. The Griffins are the AHL-farm team to the Detroit Red Wings.
Street was a member of the Salmon Arm Silverbacks from 2003 to 2005, where he posted 42 goals and 66 assists in 110 career games before making the leap to the University of Wisconsin after the 2004-05 season. The 1987-born forward has appeared in 355 AHL games so far.
In his lone season with the Griffins, the product of Coquitlam, B.C. tallied 25 goals and 30 assists in 62 games, as his 55 points were the second-highest total for Grand Rapids this regular season. Street followed that up with a strong post-season performance, registering eight goals and 13 assists in 19 outings for the Griffins. His total of 21 points were good for second on the team in playoff scoring.
Cholowski played with the Chilliwack Chiefs for three seasons. From 2013 to 2016, the Langley, B.C native accumulated 16 goals and 51 assists for 67 points while playing on the Chiefs back end. The 19-year old blueliner also participated in 32 playoff games for Chilliwack, as he notched four goals and 18 assists for 22 points. Cholowski was selected by the Red Wings with 20th overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
As a member of the Vernon Lakers in the 1989-90 season, Ramsay racked up 11 points and 11 assists during his only season in the the league. The Griffins assistant coach was a part of a Vernon squad that claimed the 1990 Junior A National Championship, then known as the Centennial Cup.
