Moore Again Named Worcester's Nominee for AHL Man of Year

WORCESTER – Worcester Sharks President and CEO Michael T. Lehr announced that former Princeton standout Mike Moore has been named the team’s winner of the American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to the Worcester community during the 2009-10 season.  This is the second straight year Moore has won the award with the Sharks.

The second year professional, and former volunteer fire fighter, has taken the initiative to go above and beyond in regards to community outreach and has established himself as a leader in the Worcester community.

Mike’s most successful endeavor was his 2nd annual player toy drive, “Give Moore for the Holidays.”  He initiated the toy drive by rallying his teammates to participate by purchasing over $3,000 worth of toys for children from Community Healthlink of Worcester. He invited the recipients and their families to the DCU Center to receive the gifts following the Sharks December 18th game.  In addition, he collected donations from his teammates and provided $500 in Price Chopper Supermarket gift cards to benefit Rainbow Child Development Center of Worcester.

The 25-year-old from Calgary, Alberta has become the spokesperson for the Worcester Sharks flagship community program, “Be a Leader,” presented by the Law Firm of Abigail Williams & Associates.  He has taken the lead at several assemblies to over 5,000 students throughout central Massachusetts and has endeared himself to local educators. Mike is also a 2008 graduate of Princeton University with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering.

On December 6th, the Worcester Sharks honored the Ten Year Anniversary of the warehouse fire that took the lives of local firefighters known now as the Worcester 6. Mike Moore, a former volunteer firefighter while at Princeton was instrumental in helping the event take shape and ensuring strong support from the players.  The team wore special W6 jerseys that were auctioned off to benefit the Worcester Firefighters Scholarship Fund as well as the Shriners Hospitals for Children Burn Unit in Boston. Over $7,000 was raised to benefit these organizations.

Some of his 2009-10 achievements include:
•    Organized and executed the “Give Moore for the Holidays” player toy drive
•    Took the lead at several “Be a Leader” assemblies to over 3,000 students
•    Participated in six “Reading is Cool” appearances in over 16 classrooms
•    Made several visits to Worcester area hospitals
•    Instructed two Worcester Sharks Street brigades (street hockey clinics)
•    Appeared in over twenty Team Community appearances

In recognition of his efforts, Moore will be presented with an etched crystal trophy during an on-ice presentation prior to Sharks home game on April 9th.

Moore is now one of 29 finalists for the AHL’s 2009-10 Yanick Dupre Memorial Award, honoring the overall American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year. The league award is named after the former Hershey Bears forward and AHL All-Star who died in 1997 following a 16-month battle with leukemia. The winner of the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award will be announced by the American Hockey League in the coming weeks.