If you talk to the Plymouth Whalers, they’ll often tell you that with the success of the team comes success for individuals.
A prime example is Whalers President, General Manager and Head Coach Mike Vellucci.
On June 3, Vellucci was named OHL Executive of the Year. Earlier this season, Vellucci won the William Handley Trophy as OHL Coach of the Year.
Vellucci is the first man to win OHL Coach and Executive of the Year in the same season.
“That’s, obviously, very special,” Vellucci said. “It’s very humbling and exciting at the same time. To get this award, you have to have good people in place in your office, in your management team. I share this with everyone, from our vice president to our director of marketing to our restaurant manager. They work so hard to make me look good.”
“I believe Mike is very deserving of this award,” Whalers owner Peter Karmanos Jr. said. “I am very proud of him. As good of a coach as Mike is, he is an even better business executive. Being able to perform both jobs is something that is very difficult. I believe Mike’s ability to excel at both jobs and perform in an outstanding fashion is something that is very impressive, unique, and truly sets him apart.”
While Vellucci and Karmanos are front-and-center as men who run the Whalers and Compuware Arena, Compuware Arena Vice-President Dennis Moore works with both. “I have worked with Mike for 16 years and can say that Mike is someone that I have the utmost respect for,” Moore said. “His unique ability to consistently compete at the highest level on the ice while balancing all the responsibilities he has is very impressive. Mike is not only responsible for the success of the Plymouth Whalers but also the success of the Compuware Arena operations. I am very happy for him.”
Not only does Vellucci run the Whalers, he also oversees Compuware Arena, CJ’s Brewing Company (the restaurant at the arena), the Compuware Youth Program and the Compuware Arena Drive-in Movie Theatres.
Bert Templeton is the only other person to earn both awards, but he did it in different seasons and different teams. Templeton won coach of the year in 1975 with Hamilton and in 1994 with North Bay. He earned executive of the year in 1992 with North Bay and in 1996 with Barrie.
Vellucci has served as President of the Whalers since 1999 and just completed his 12th season as Head Coach currently holding an all-time record of 440-278-40 for a .607 winning percentage and ranks 11th on the OHL’s all-time wins list.
This season marks the fifth time in league history where the Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year were earned by the same club following Craig Hartsburg and Mike Kelly with the Guelph Storm in 1995, Gary Agnew and Paul McIntosh with the London Knights in 1998, the Knights’ Dale Hunter and Mark Hunter in 2004, and Mark Reeds and Dale DeGray with the Owen Sound Attack in 2011.
In 2012-13, the Whalers won their 12th West Division title over 23 years and made the OHL playoffs for the 22nd consecutive season – a current OHL record.
WHALERS DEAL MAHALAK: Vellucci is busy shaping the Whalers roster for 2013-14. With as many as 10 1993-birthdays on the roster, Vellucci traded veteran goaltender Matt Mahalak to Kingston in exchange for a pair of draft choices in the Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection - Windsor’s third round pick in the 2014 Priority Selection and Kingston’s third round pick in the 2015 Priority Selection.
Mahalak was originally selected by Plymouth in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2009 OHL Draft and played three seasons for the Whalers, posting a 2.84 goals against average, .912 save percentage and 49-27-5-6 won-loss record with seven shutouts in 97 games.
Mahalak was selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the sixth round (163rd overall) of the 2011 National Hockey League Entry Draft, but was not signed by the Hurricanes and is eligible for the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
Alex Nedeljkovic emerged as the Whalers’ No. 1 goaltender last season, as a rookie. He was 19-2-1-1 with a 2.28 GAA and a .923 save percentage in 26 games. Nedeljkovic was 9-4-1 in the playoffs with a 2.71 GAA and a .908 save percentage.
“Next year is going to be Alex’s (NHL) draft year, and he is going to be play the majority of the games,” Vellucci said. “It just made sense. I felt I owed it to Matt to move him sooner than later to a good, young team. He’ll be able to be the No. 1 and have a good year and get himself a contract.”
Ontario Hockey League teams can play three overage players (1993-birthdays). With the trade of Mahalak, the Whalers have as many as nine 1993 birthdays remaining on the current roster, including Stefan Noesen, Rickard Rakell, Garrett Meurs and Vince Trocheck, who are all expected to move on to professional hockey.
Other 1993 birthdays include Nick Malysa, Curtis Crombeen, Zach Lorentz, Michael Whaley and Sebastian Uvira. Mahalak sees the move to Kingston as a fresh start.
“It has been a feeling-out process for myself. Over the past week it became clearer and clearer what my best option was,” said Mahalak. “I had a no-trade clause, which gave me a little more control for where I was going and to what team. It gave me the go or no-go. When Kingston made the offer I was extremely excited. I’m happy to go to Kingston.”
WHALERS SIGN JOSH WESLEY: Vellucci announced the signing 17-year-old defenseman Joshua Wesley, who was taken by the Whalers in the fifth round (98th overall) of the 2012 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection.
Wesley will attend high school in the fall at the Plymouth-Canton Educational Park.
“We’re excited to sign Josh to an education contract,” Vellucci said. “We’re happy that Josh chose Plymouth as the next step in his development as a player and a student.”
Wesley – 6-foot-2 and 203 pounds, from Raleigh, N.C. – contributed 7 assists and 20 PIM’s in 56 games for the United States National Team Development U-17’s last season. He played for the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes program in 2011-12, scoring seven goals and six assists for 13 points in 18 games.
“Things are going great,” Wesley said. “I lived in the area the past year while playing for the National Development Program, but made the change here. I’m truly honored to put on the Whalers sweater. I’m very excited to get going.”
Although Wesley grew up in North Carolina, he was considered one of the top defensemen in the United States in his age-group at the time of his selection by the Whalers.
Plymouth has a history of drafting or acquiring players from all around the United States, including Stefan Noesen (Plano, TX), Cody Payne (Weston, FL), Austin Levi (Aurora, CO), Ryan Hartman (West Dundee, IL) and Connor Carrick (Orland Park, IL), among many others.
“I grew up watching all of those players,” Wesley said. “Now I get a chance to play with a lot of them.”
Wesley’s father, Glen, played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League with Boston, Hartford, Toronto and Carolina.
