Ferris State Hockey Alum Zach Redmond Tabbed AHL's Top Defenseman

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Big Rapids, Mich. - Former Ferris State University men's ice hockey standout Zach Redmond (Traverse City) was chosen Tuesday as the 2019 recipient of the Eddie Shore Award as the American Hockey League's (AHL) top defenseman this year following an impressive professional regular-season campaign.

Redmond, who plays for the AHL's Rochester Americans, which is the top affiliate of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Buffalo Sabres, claimed the award for the first time. The prestigious honor is voted on by coaches, players and media members in each of the AHL's 31 cities, and Redmond is just the third Rochester player to win the award in the franchise's 63 seasons.

Redmond put together a spectacular regular season for Rochester with 21 goals and 50 points, both career highs, in 58 games to go with a plus-13 rating. His goal total broke a 46-year-old franchise record for a defenseman held by Rick Pagnutti and led all AHL defenders. His nine game-winning goals tied for the overall league lead and he ranked first among blueliners with 10 power play goals, helping the Amerks (46-23-5-2) record the third-best overall record with 99 points.

Last week, Redmond was named an AHL First-Team All-Star and at Friday's Fan Appreciation Night at Blue Cross Arena, he took home the Amerks' Booster Club's Most Valuable Player and Most Popular Player awards. His MVP was voted on by teammates.

Redmond was acquired in a trade with Montreal by the parent Buffalo Sabres in October 2017 for Nicolas Deslauriers. He has proceeded to play the best hockey of his eight-year pro career, scoring 15-32 – 47 in 66 games for the Amerks last season, which earned him a new two-year contract.

The Amerks open the AHL's Calder Cup Playoffs with a best-of-five series against Toronto and host Games 1 and 2 Friday and Sunday.

Redmond has appeared in 133 NHL games over six seasons with Montreal, Colorado, Winnipeg and Buffalo, posting nine goals and 29 assists. He also has 65 goals and 197 points in 314 career AHL games. In 2015, Redmond represented the United States at the IIHF World Hockey Championship, helping the team earn a bronze medal.

A Traverse City native, Redmond made his NHL debut in 2012-13 when he appeared in eight games with the Jets on the heels of a two-year AHL stint and recorded four points on a goal and three assists before suffering a significant and life-threatening leg injury which ended his NHL season.

After the injury, Redmond capped one of professional hockey's most miraculous comebacks when he returned to play in two games with the St. John's IceCaps at the end of the year before being recalled by the NHL club. The following season, Redmond was also named to the 2013 Dunkin' Donuts AHL All-Star Classic for his efforts with the IceCaps.

The defenseman also appeared in 10 games for the Winnipeg Jets at the NHL level in 2013-14, tallying three points on a goal and two assists. He spent most of that season with the AHL's IceCaps, where he had 25 points on six goals and 19 assists in 40 regular-season games and 14 points with two goals and 12 helpers in 21 playoff contests as the IceCaps reached the AHL Calder Cup Finals.

In his two seasons with the Colorado Avalanche in 2014-15 and 2015-16, he played in 96 NHL games with seven goals and 19 assists for 26 points. Redmond spent the 2016-17 camapign splitting time between Montreal on the NHL level and St. John's in the AHL. His stint in St. John's represented the fourth time in his professional career he had played with the club.

Last year, in 2017-18, Redmond played in 66 games for the Americans with 15 goals and 32 assists for 47 points in addition to three games on the NHL level with Buffalo.

Before turning pro, Redmond played four seasons at Ferris State from 2007-11 and served as the Bulldogs' team captain as a senior in 2010-11. A 2010-11 All-Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) First-Team performer, Redmond registered a team second-highest 20 points on a career season-best seven goals with 13 assists in 26 contests for the Bulldogs in the 2010-11 season.

Redmond concluded his four seasons (2007-11) as a Bulldog with 90 points on 22 goals and 68 assists in 141 contests. The 2009-10 second-team All-CCHA skater chalked up 12 power-play goals, seven game-winning tallies, one short-handed lamplighter, 217 blocked shots, and a plus 22 efficiency rating.

A 2008 seventh-round NHL Entry Draft pick (184th overall) by the Atlanta Thrashers, Redmond originally inked a contract with Atlanta and began his career skating for their top affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, of the AHL before moving to the IceCaps.