AHL Man-of-Year Candidates Feature Four League Alums

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Former League standouts Paul Baier, Kyle Hagel, Brad Mills and Tony Romano have been named individual team winners of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year awards, selected by their respective clubs for their outstanding contributions to the local community and charitable organizations during the 2010-11 season.

Baier, a former Brown standout, represents Rochester; former Princeton standout Hagel represents Rockford; Mills, a former Yale standout, represents Albany; and former Cornell standout Romano is the team representative for Bridgeport.

From this list of finalists, representatives from IOA/American Specialty and the AHL will choose the winner of the 2010-11 Yanick Dupré Memorial Award. The AHL’s annual Man of the Year award is named after the late Yanick Dupré, who died in 1997 at the age of 24, following a 16-month battle with leukemia. Dupré, an AHL All-Star in 1995, played four seasons with the Hershey Bears, registering 169 points in 207 AHL games. He also skated in 35 NHL games with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Following are notes, provided by the AHL teams, on Baier, Hagel and Mills:

Paul Baier, Rochester Americans

When Baier isn't at his post on the Rochester blueline, the third-year pro can be found actively involved in the Greater Rochester Community. Baier's biggest achievement this season was making a profound impact within the local school systems and surrounding libraries as part of the team's reading and literacy programs. Baier single-handedly spearheaded the sixth season of the Amerks Reading Power Play Program, an educational campaign that places a heavy emphasis on literacy, reading and the importance of education.

He also assisted in the launch of the newly formed Speaker's Bureau, a program designed to connect the players in the community and discuss any number of topics within the school setting. Baier tailored his emphasis on education, encouraging today's youth to set goals and chase their dreams while working to become a positive influence in society. He also discussed the importance of personal wellness with a special focus on a healthy and active lifestyle. Baier visited State Road Elementary School in Webster on January 7th and addressed the entire student body of 600 kids on how school helped him get to where he is today.

Outside of the classroom, Baier has also invested countless hours in the kitchen preparing meals, serving as a waiter and bartender to raise funds for local charities and at various team functions getting to know his fans. Earlier this season, he and a few others prepared a home-cooked dinner for the residents at the Ronald McDonald House. He even showed off his on-ice skills as a special guest instructor at several youth practices throughout the course of the season.

In December, Baier, along with PJ Fenton, played Santa Claus for the evening and distributed toys and gift bags to underprivileged kids at the CURE Charity Dinner. Two days later, Baier stopped by the local Boys and Girls Club of Rochester to drop off toys the Amerks collected as a team to ensure all kids of Rochester would have a joyous Christmas holiday.

After the New Year, Baier and five others hosted a fundraiser at McArdle's Restaurant in Fairport to benefit Perinton Youth Hockey. Baier and his teammates served as waiters, bartenders and even assisted in the kitchen throughout the course of the night. Additionally, Baier paid each table with a personal appearance, mingled with the guests and signed autographs with his fans. All tips generated throughout the night, in addition to a portion of revenue were donated to the youth hockey association.

On Tuesday, April 5th, Baier and the rest of the Amerks will hold the inaugural Casino Night at the downtown Blue Cross Arena. The festivities begin at 6:00 p.m. and will include Texas Hold'em, casino games, music, dinner and prizes. Attendees will also be able to meet and mingle with their favorite players from the Amerks and Knighthawks. More importantly, the Knighthawks/Amerks Charitable Foundation will share the net proceeds with two other great charities: WEASE Cares and Camp Good Days and Special Times.

Brad Mills, Albany Devils

Mills was on hand when the team donated hundreds of stuffed animals to the American Red Cross before the holiday season. He also was a participant when the team volunteered for Habitat for Humanity in February. Along with four teammates, Brad measured out panels, helped seal up walls and put in windows of the skeleton house.

Other events Mills participated in included Read Across America Day, the Guilderland YMCA after-school program and the Bethlehem YMCA after-school program.

Kyle Hagel, Rockford Ice Hogs

The highlight of Kyle's commitment to the Rockford community was the "Stick To Reading Program" that he established at Kishwaukee Elementary School in Rockford.

Kyle made ties with Mrs. Nicole Adams, a fifth-grade teacher at Kishwaukee Elementary School, and set up the program that encouraged the students at the fourth and fifth grade levels to improve their reading habits.

"Kyle is probably the most determined man that I have ever met in my life," said Mrs. Adams. "I think what's really impressive to me through the whole thing is that he volunteered this. You know I wasn't pushing for someone to come into my classroom. I was kind of teasing him and he said 'no I'm really serious'.

"He explained about Hockey Players for Kids (HP4K) and how that's a completely voluntary organization and how important it is for him to feel like he is giving back to his community, even though this is not his home.

"While he's here playing for the IceHogs, this is his community. So he is determined to do as much as he can to impact Rockford and that's remarkable. He was always very gracious with the kids"

Not only did Kyle organize the "Stick To Reading Program" on his own through HP4K, but he included several of his IceHogs teammates in the program and the players made several appearances at Kishwaukee Elementary School.

The program began with a kickoff assembly with the fourth and fifth grades and included Kyle and five other IceHogs players at the school to help motivate the kids.

Throughout the process, Kyle and his teammates made appearances at the school and capped the program with a floor hockey game featuring the winners of the "Stick To Reading Program" and nine other IceHogs players in front of both the fourth and fifth grade classes.

"We had a number of students who normally wouldn't read get involved in the program and it definitely exceeded our expectations," said Kishwaukee Elementary School Principle Al Gagliano.

Outside the schools, Kyle was always one of the first to volunteer for hospital visits or to help out at Jr. IceHogs Youth Hockey practices.

Tony Romano, Bridgeport Sound Tigers

Romano has had an incredibly proactive role as a representative of the Sound Tigers in the local community and has made various contributions throughout the season. The rookie forward traveled to pediatric wards of local area hospitals during the Sound Tigers Annual Teddy Bear Drive and helped to prepare and serve meals at the Norwalk Emergency Shelter. The Smithtown, N.Y. native also participated on-ice instruction with children at the New Canaan Winter Club and made multiple visits to local area elementary and middle schools.