Courtesy 13 WHAM

(September 24, 2010) The Rochester Americans are pleased to announce today that the club will induct longtime defenseman and former assistant coach Doug Houda and broadcaster Don Stevens into the team’s Hall of Fame as the Class of 2011. It’s only fitting for the pair of Alberta natives, each having hoisted the Calder Cup with the Amerks and called Rochester their home for years that they together join a historic lineage of past Amerk greats to have been enshrined into the prestigious club.

“I couldn’t feel more honored,” said Houda about entering the Hall of Fame. “We have been very fortunate as a family with the people we met and the experience in winning,” said Houda of his time in Rochester. “It gave me the opportunity to move on.”

The 49th and 50th members of the Hall of Fame will be officially introduced and forever preserved in Rochester Americans history during a pregame ceremony later this season. Details of the event will be forthcoming.

Currently in his fifth season as assistant coach with the National Hockey League’s Boston Bruins, Houda spent three seasons in the same capacity with Rochester from 2003-06. The gritty, hard-nosed defenseman joined former teammate Randy Cunneyworth on the Amerks coaching staff two seasons after serving as the team’s captain his final year of playing in 2002-03. The Amerks had a 125-86-16-13 record over his three seasons as an assistant coach, including a 51-19-4-6 record and a franchise-record of 112 points in 2004-05, which was the top record in the American Hockey League that season. Houda also had the distinction of coaching Rochester’s 50th anniversary team in 2005-06, which comprised current NHLers Clarke MacArthur, Chris Thorburn, Nathan Paetsch, Jason Pominville, Derek Roy and Silver Medalist-winning netminder Ryan Miller. Last season, Houda was reunited with forward Daniel Paille in Boston, whom he coached in Rochester four years prior.

“Time goes by fast. It has been five years since I was here, but I still see some familiar faces in the building,” he added. “It is nice to be back.”

During his playing career, Houda logged 1,114 games over the span of 17 professional seasons. A total of 561 of those games were spent in the National Hockey League with the Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, Hartford Whalers, New York Islanders, Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks. The Blairmore, Alberta, native would go on to score 19 goals and 63 assists for 82 points, while compiling 1,104 NHL career penalty minutes.

After making his pro debut in the 1985-86 campaign, “Houds” officially made the jump to the pros in 1986-87 in the AHL, where he would split his career between the Adirondack Red Wings and Rochester. During his tenure in the AHL, Houda recorded 238 points (55+183) in 550 games, 284 of those in the red, white and blue over the parts of five seasons (1995-96, 1999-2003.) The blueliner registered 23 goals and 87 assists as an Amerk, and his 683 penalty minutes still stand 11th best on the Amerks all-time list. In the postseason, he notched 19 points (4+15) in 49 games, including eight (3+5) in the 1996 playoffs to help guide Rochester to its sixth and most recent Calder Cup championship – one he recalls as his best memory with the Amerks.

“Winning the Calder Cup was the most important. Once you get a taste you always want to get back. We came close another couple of times in the years after that.”

After leaving Rochester for the next three years, Houda would return to the Flower City for the 1999-00 season, playing in all but one regular season game before appearing in 21 postseason outings to lead the Amerks to the Calder Cup Finals. Houda was named Rochester’s Unsung Hero that year as the Amerks won the Empire Division and Western Conference Championship, playing a large role in the team’s run at the Calder Cup, finishing 12th on the team in points (24) and third among team defensemen.

He posted his best season as an Amerk in 2001-02, where he finished second on the team in points among team defensemen with 28 (6+22) in 64 appearances. In 2002-03, Houda would again finish the season second among Amerk blueliners in scoring with 25 points (3+22), while finishing third with 191 penalty minutes and team-best plus-17 on-ice rating.

Adding to his resume of professional accomplishments includes earning a selection as an AHL First Team All-Star with the Adirondack Red Wings in 1987-88, just his second season of pro hockey. That very same year, he scored his first-ever NHL goal with the Detroit in a game against Philadelphia on December 11th. He skated in his first NHL game against Minnesota on December 10th, 1985, almost two years to the day of his milestone goal.

Houda was originally drafted by the Red Wings with the second overall pick (28th overall) in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. He played junior hockey with Calgary of the Western Hockey League.

He and his wife, Shelley, have two children; son, Kris; and daughter, Toni. The family currently resides in Boston.

The Amerks are also adding a longtime contributor to the Hall of Fame this season in broadcaster Don Stevens. The induction comes very deserving and appropriate for Stevens, who enters his remarkable 25th season of service as the “Voice of the Rochester Americans.” Throughout his tenure, Stevens has seen many changes in the AHL since he first put on the headphones and called his first Amerks game at the old Rochester War Memorial. Known as the “Dean of AHL Broadcasters,” Stevens has witnessed the expansion of the league to an all-time high 30 teams and the explosion of media coverage of the AHL.

“Needless to say, it’s a tremendous honor to be selected to the Hall of Fame,” said Stevens. “It’s extra special that it’s happening this year, since this is my 25th season calling Amerks games. To be part of such a prestigious group of individuals is such a thrill, and to be inducted with one of my all-time favorites in the game, Doug Houda, is just icing on the cake. I can only hope that I will be able to deliver a ‘Hall of Fame’ caliber broadcast for many years to come.”

The Amerks’ broadcaster has served the team in numerous capacities: public relations director, TV host, radio talk show host and TV and radio play-by-play broadcaster. In addition, Stevens founded the AHL Broadcasters/Writers Association and served as its president.

In 2006-07, a year after the Amerks celebrated their 50th anniversary in the American Hockey League, Stevens celebrated his historic 20th season behind the Amerks’ microphone. He also continued his double-duty, as he also served as the broadcaster for the Rochester Raging Rhinos (United Soccer Leagues First Division) up until the 2009 season. He has juggled the two sports since the Rhinos’ inception in 1996. In 1998, he even covered an Amerks hockey game and the Rhinos’ championship game on the same day.

The “Voice of the Amerks” calls games on WHTK 1280-AM, FM 107.3 and worked over 30 television games during the 2006-07 season for Time Warner SportsNet. He teamed up with color analyst and former Buffalo Sabre Ric Seiling to bring AHL games to the city of Rochester and around the country. Fans around the U.S. and Canada were also able to listen to Stevens on the Amerks’ website, as all 80 regular season games were webcast on amerks.com and the B2 Networks. During the 2008-09 season, his voice boomed over the NHL Network three different times covering the Amerks.

In 2009-10, Stevens called Rochester’s historic 2,000th franchise win as the Amerks joined an elite club, becoming just the second team in the American Hockey League and eighth overall in North American hockey history to capture the feat. He was also behind the microphone for five of the 10 goals scored by an AHL goaltender, most recently this past season when Binghamton’s Chris Holt became the 10th netminder in league history to a score a goal with his empty-netter against Rochester.

During his career, broadcasting has taken the Wainwright, Alberta, native all over the United States, Canada and Europe. He has worked in such markets as Seattle, San Diego, Salt Lake City, Phoenix and Rochester.

Throughout his career, he has received numerous awards for his work on radio and television. In 1993-94, he won the AHL’s James H. Ellery Award, given to the person that has made outstanding contributions to the progress of the AHL, for his work on the Amerks Radio Network. Stevens has also won a national ACE Award for Cable Excellence as the host of the weekly television show, “Amerks Report,” and received the Rochester Press-Radio Club’s Louis MacMillan Award for sportscasting excellence. In 2003, he was inducted in the Frontier Field Walk of Fame in the media category. The Walk of Fame is located inside Frontier Field and features the names of fans, players, contributors and media throughout Rochester's sports history.

With the Amerks, Stevens has broadcast seven Calder Cup Finals and the Spengler Cup in Switzerland, winning a pair of Calder Cup championships in the process. Stevens has taken the AHL to its highest level during the course of his career and has shown his true professionalism by working with younger broadcasters in the league. Each season he has made it a point to “promote the Rochester Americans and the American Hockey League,” from his seat in the radio booth to the podium at numerous charity events.

“I’ve been very fortunate to be part of so many great events in my tenure here, from championships to a trip to the Spengler Cup,” added Stevens. “I’ve received many awards over the years, but for me, this will be at the very top of the list.”

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