There’s little doubt that the 2011-12 Norfolk Admirals are one of the greatest teams in AHL history.

During that season Norfolk put together a winning streak not likely to be matched anytime soon by a professional hockey team.

From February 10 – April 15, 2012, the Admirals won 28 consecutive games with 26 of those victories achieved in regulation.
Their amazing run was only halted by the end of the regular season as they finished with a 55-18-3 record, good for 113 points and a positive 93 goal differential.

Having smashed the previous AHL record of 17 straight wins set by the Philadelphia Phantoms in 2004–05 and the pro hockey record of 18 games set by the Peoria Rivermen of the original International Hockey League in 1991, the Admirals extended their streak to 29 games in the post-season before losing game two of their opening round series with Manchester Monarchs.

Norfolk would go on to record two further losses against Connecticut in the next round but regained their dominant form as they swept St. John’s and Toronto on route to becoming deserved Calder Cup Champions.

Just five days after being crowned champions it was announced that Tampa Bay had decided to part company with Norfolk in favour of the Syracuse Crunch.

So what has become of the coaches, players and staff of the 2011-12 Norfolk Admirals?

Coaches/Staff:

Head Coach Jon Cooper was retained by the Tampa organisation and was hired midway through the following season from the Syracuse Crunch. The rest is history as Tampa are perennial Stanley Cup contenders under his guidance.

Others to step up to the NHL are Head Equipment Manager J.W. Aiken (Vegas Golden Knights Asst. Equipment Manager) and Video Coach Brian Garlock (Tampa Bay).

Assistant Coach Mike Flanagan now fulfils that role with German outfit Nürnberg Ice Tigers, whilst Conditioning Coach Mark Cinq-Mars has remained with Norfolk who now compete in the ECHL under the same name.

Julien BriseBois has remained General Manager of the Lightning’s affiliate since the switch to Syracuse and continues his role as Tampa’s Asst. GM.

Players:

Not only did Norfolk win a championship but they developed players who are now not only household names in the Tampa organisation but also the NHL.

NHL

Centreman Tyler Johnson produced 68 points as a rookie during the regular season and then point per game pace (fourteen) through the playoffs.
The undrafted 27 year old has accumulated 261 points (110G-151A) in 389 NHL outings, plus another fifty points during the playoffs

Selected 77th overall in the 2007 Entry Draft, Alex Killorn joined Norfolk after completing his NCAA career. The Nova Scotia native finished sixth in team playoff scoring (3-9-12) after recording six points (2-4-6) in ten regular season games.
Last season the Lightning’s left winger finished seventh in team scoring and has proven himself a consistent point producer (0.51PPG) at the NHL level.

Ondrej Palat was yet another rookie on the Admirals roster though he wasn’t to contribute as much offensively as his peers during his first professional campaign. Another full season in the AHL with Syracuse was to the Czech forward’s benefit however, as he turned into a dominant force. His 26 points in 18 games wasn’t enough to complete a Calder Cup double for the Tampa organisation however as Syracuse fell to Grand Rapids Griffins in the final. Palat scored over twenty goals during his full NHL rookie season and remains an integral part of Tampa’s roster.

Then rookie Cory Conacher was Norfolk’s leading scorer through the regular season and he would go on to make his NHL debut for Tampa the following year. Traded during his first year in the NHL, Conacher then bounced around as he was dealt by Ottawa, Buffalo, New York (Islanders) and Vancouver, which led him to spending a season in Switzerland with HC Bern.
After three years away, the diminutive forward returned to Tampa Bay as a free agent and begins the second season of his two year deal in 2018-19.

Defenseman Mark Barberio would go on to play just over a hundred games for Tampa Bay before leaving as an unrestricted free agent. Having signed a two-year deal for the Montreal Canadiens, the 2012 Eddie Shore Award winner (AHL Best Defenseman) was put on waivers and claimed by Colorado in February of 2017. Heading into the 2018-19 campaign, Barberio remains with the Avalanche.

Radko Gudas is another defenseman no longer with the Tampa organisation.
Having become a fully fledged NHL player in 2013 with the Lightning, Gudas was traded to Philadelphia along with a first and third-round selection in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, in exchange for Braydon Coburn and remains with the Flyers.

Richard Panik never quite realised the potential Tampa saw in him after drafting the Slovakian forward 52nd overall in 2009. After just 75 games in the NHL for the Lightning, Panik was claimed on waivers by Toronto prior to the 2014-15 season. Having been traded by the Maple Leafs and then Chicago, the winger is now with the Arizona Coyotes.

ECHL

Michael Pelech suited up for just one game on loan and continues to ply his trade in the ECHL for Greenville Swamp Rabbits.

Europe

Brandon Segal and Keith Aulie are in Germany representing Nürnberg Ice Tigers and EHC München respectively

In Sweden, Alex Hutchings and Philip-Michael Devos both suit up for IK Oskarshamn (Allsvenskan) while James Wright is now in Sweden’s top league with Linköping HC after various other stints in European leagues.

For the upcoming season Carter Ashton has signed with Severstal Cherepovets (KHL) and Alexandre Picard put pen to paper for Chinese outfit Kunlun Red Star for what will be his second season in the Russian league.

Goaltender Jaroslav Janus is plying his trade in the Czech league after two and a half seasons in the KHL with Slovan Bratislava, once leaving North America.

Retired

Captain Mike Angelidis hosted the Calder Cup and remained with the Tampa organisation during their transition to Syracuse. The forward kept the captaincy until departing for Stockton Heat for whom he also wore the ‘C’ during the 2016-17 season. After a year in Italy, Angelidis has retired from playing to became a scout for Tampa Bay Lightening.

Ten others players have since retired at various points between 2012 and now, including Casey Haines, Trevor Ludwig, Richard Petiot, Bryan Brutlag, Eric Neilson, Dana Tyrell, Scott Jackson, J.T. Wyman, Matt Fornataro and Michel Ouellet.

Free Agents:

At the time of writing, twelve players are currently free agents having played at differing levels and various countries in 2017-18.
Charles Landry (LSHR), Evan Oberg (ACHW), Jon Kalinski (possibly retired), Kevin Quick (Asia), Jeff Dimmen (Asia), Jean-Philippe Cote (France), Blair Jones (DEL), Mike Vernace (Denmark),Michael Kostka (SHL), Dustin Tokarski (AHL), P.C. Labrie (AHL) and Trevor Smith (AHL).

Many thanks to Christian Bonin for providing all accompanying images in this article.