PEORIA — The Peoria Rivermen had the President’s Cup in hand remaining May, and now the Southern Professional Hockey League champions have rings on their hands, as smartly.
The 41-year franchise’s staff group of workers and trainer Jean-Guy Trudel had been offered with their championship rings Sunday night time in a birthday party dinner, getting the primary have a look at the bling.
“I feel blessed to be able to hand them something like this,” Rivermen co-owner Bart Rogers mentioned. “A lot of people are in the game for decades and never have the opportunity to win one. This is their livelihood, their passion.
“It used to be emotional for everybody. It’s particular for everybody, other for each and every individual in what it way.”
Who made the ring?
The Rivermen championship rings are made by means of Baron, a Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada corporate around the border from Detroit.
It makes championship rings for the SPHL, Double-A ECHL and Triple-A AHL, and at the big-league level for NBA teams. Baron created the championship rings for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors. It also provides rings for induction to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
The Rivermen championship ring story
The Rivermen championship ring is a 3X base size, one under the largest size made by Baron. The team had 44 rings made for players, coaches, team doctors, full-time staff and hockey support staff.
It’s made of silver, with dozens of stones along the top. There is a raised Rivermen logo made out of a custom blue stone imported from Germany, and cut in one piece in the shape of the franchise’s traditional paddlewheel logo.
There are 139 stones in the ring. There are 45 blue stones around the top of the rim, representing the 45 victories recorded by the team in 2021-22.
On one side panel is the Peoria city skyline. “We felt that used to be essential to have, representing the 40 years the staff has referred to as Peoria house,” Rogers said. “We’re proud to be an establishment in Peoria, and now we have generations of fanatics right here and it is an honor to constitute central Illinois in every single place we cross at the highway.”
That side panel includes the season date, the season record, and a replica of the President’s Cup. In the Cup are seven crystal stones that signify the seven wins it took in the playoffs to win the SPHL championship.
The other side has the recipient’s name. There’s a paddlewheel, and if it is for a player, his number is inside it.
Then two words: Legacy. Lions. That came from coach Trudel. It’s his team theme.
Engraved on the underside of the ring are the results from the three rounds of the playoffs series.
The project included something for fans
“It used to be fantastic to position it in combination,” Rogers said. “We gained that sequence in opposition to Roanoke, celebrated with the Cup, and the making of our championship rings began with a telephone name to Baron throughout the pressure again from Roanoke simply hours once we gained.
“We had the design and creation done in 15 days. Met with coach Trudel for the things he wanted on it. Just an exciting project.”
The Rivermen had 250 mini-replica championship ring key chains created, which will probably be introduced first to season price ticket holders. Full-size reproduction championship rings, or the hoop face on a pendant, were created as smartly. Both will probably be on the market within the staff’s store.
More:16 particular jerseys, reproduction rings and extra: Inside the Peoria Rivermen fan promotions
River Readings
The returning avid gamers from the Rivermen championship staff will start receiving their rings later this week. … The Rivermen open their 2022-23 SPHL coaching camp with avid gamers reporting, physicals and staff conferences on Wednesday and Thursday, then a primary skate on Friday. … Peoria’s name protection begins with a gap night time at Quad City on Oct. 21, then a house opener rematch at Carver Arena on Oct. 22.
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports activities columnist, and covers Bradley males’s basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports activities column for pjstar.com. He can also be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.