SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Jeff Blashill, last season’s Calder Cup winning rookie coach, has been picked as the AHL’s outstanding coach for the 2013-14 season.
The Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award is voted on by fellow coaches and members of the media in each of the league’s 30 cities.
In his sophomore season and with two games remaining, Blashill has led the Grand Rapids Griffins (46-22-2-4) to the second-best record in the Western Conference, despite the loss of many key players to their parent Detroit Red Wings.
Just four of their top 12 scorers from a year ago spent even half this season with the AHL club.
Thirteen members of the 2013 Calder Cup champions and 18 Griffins in all have skated for Detroit as the Red Wings extended their streak of playoff appearances to 23 consecutive seasons.
The 40-year-old coach was born in Detroit and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., and before taking the helm in Grand Rapids he was an assistant coach with Detroit and spent more than a decade coaching at four U.S. universities.