1991-92 Detroit Ambassadors

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

It was September, 1992 and the Detroit Ambassadors were boarding a bus to take them to Cornwall for the start of their second season.

Before the bus left, general manager Jim Rutherford jumped aboard with some news. He hadn't made a trade - they would come later. But he did announce a move.

"We're going to play most of our home games at Joe Louis Arena," Rutherford said. "We'll have more details when you get back."

Olympia Arenas, Inc. decided maintaining ice surfaces at both Cobo and Joe Louis Arena was too costly, so the plug was pulled on Cobo. The move ended one of the more bizarre sights during the Ambassadors' season at Cobo, when the JLA maintenance crew would shuttle zambonis between Cobo and the Joe by driving them along the riverfront down Atwater Street.

But the move also gave the Ambassadors a National Hockey League venue, a fact that would eventually turn into a distinct home-ice advantage. 

The young Ambassadors were moving up the OHL ladder slowly. After an 0-5-0 start, Detroit won 7 of its next 9 games to enter November at the .500 mark. They were aided by the Guelph Storm, relocated and renamed after a disastrous two-year stretch as the Dukes of Hamilton. The Storm resembled a weak cold front in 1991-1992, finishing in the basement of the seven-team Emms Division with a record of 4-51-11.

THE IMPACT PLAYERS

Detroit's draft in 1991 paid major dividends. Todd Harvey - selected with the first overall pick - came in with the devilish reputation of doing anything to win. Ambassador fans were treated to just how far Harvey would go to win in an exhibition game against Sault Ste. Marie at Oak Park Compuware Arena when he ran Soo goaltender Bob Harrison into the back of his own net, sending the 'Hounds goaltender to the hospital and starting a full-scale brawl. Head coach Andy Weidenbach wisely left Harvey on the bench the rest of the evening.

Defensemen Eric Cairns (3rd round), center Jeff Kostuch (4th), goaltender Derek Wilkinson (5th) and left wing Bob Wren (6th round) all made major contributions for several years. Ironically, the Ambassadors also selected Ryan Sittler (2nd round) and Anson Carter (14th), but both elected to play collegiate hockey.  An injury to Wilkinson in Detroit's opening night loss, 9-5 in Cornwall, prompted Rutherford to act immediately, as he picked up Brad Teichmann from Belleville.

Nobody could anticipate Teichmann's eventual odyssey through the OHL that season. After playing 15 games for the Ambassadors, Teichmann was dealt to Windsor around Christmas. Teichmann played just two games for the Spitfires before being dealt to Kingston, where he finished the season after playing 13 games for the Frontenacs.   Teichmann's four teams in one season is a current OHL record.

Although the Ambassadors were much improved, Rutherford decided to make a coaching change November 30th after a 7-5 loss in Niagara Falls. Detroit stood 11-16-0 at the time.  "The change had nothing to do with the record," Rutherford said of his dismissal of Andy Weidenbach. "I believe that we've made a lot of progress.  The team has done fairly well in the early stages of the season. But in the last four or five weeks, Andy and I have looked at the situation closely. It became more and more apparent that the players were not enjoying the game and they seemed to be under more pressure than they needed to be. It just seemed that something had to be done."

Rutherford moved behind the bench for the rest of the season.  With the league's final trading deadline, Rutherford got busy.

TRADE DEADLINE - MOTOWN MOVIN'

Looking long-term, Rutherford traded captain Mark Lawrence and defenseman Paul Doherty to North Bay for 17-year-old Pat Barton and a draft choice. Looking short-term, Rutherford sent Rob Kinghan, Craig Fraser and Mark Donahue to Belleville for defenseman Blair Scott, center Aaron Morrison and left wing Keith Redmond. Ironically, Rutherford had acquired Kinghan and Fraser earlier before moving them again.

Detroit finished with a record of 23-42-1. Young players were on the rise, among them Pat Peake (41-52), Harvey (21-43), Wynne (18-43), Skoryna (23-32) and Wren (13-36). Scott gave the Ambassadors a much-needed quarterback from the blue line. Wilkinson gave Detroit solid goaltending.

FIRST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE - A NEAR UPSET

After losing to London, 6-3, on the final night of the season, Detroit bussed to Niagara Falls to start their first-ever playoff series against the second-place Thunder. Led offensively by OHL MVP Todd Simon (53-93), Kevin S. Brown (42-58), Rick Corriveau (21-64) and Ethan Moreau (20-35) and coached by George Burnett, the Thunder were tailor-made for the tiny Niagara Falls Memorial Arena.

The Ambassadors nearly pulled off a major upset, taking a three-games-to-one lead in the series after a 5-3 victory over Niagara Falls March 19th.

But the Thunder came back to win the final three games of the series, including game seven in Niagara Falls, 7-2. Detroit was doomed when Scott and Benn received game misconducts early in the first period and the Thunder broke the game open with two goals in 10 seconds in the final minute of the first period to take a 5-1 lead.

"After we got up three-games-to-one with such a young team, we felt the pressure of closing out the series," Rutherford said. "We got away from our discipline. Ultimately that's what hurt us and kept us from winning the series."

Even in defeat, there was light at the end of the tunnel.

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