Chicago Wolves defenseman Brent Regner received the 2014 Tim Breslin Unsung Hero Award prior to the Wolves game against Iowa on Sunday at Allstate Arena. The award honors the Wolves player who best exemplifies Breslin’s on-ice spirit, team-first attitude, and community involvement.
Chicago Wolves defenseman Brent Regner received the 2014 Tim Breslin Unsung Hero Award prior to the Wolves game against Iowa on Sunday at Allstate Arena. The award honors the Wolves player who best exemplifies Breslin’s on-ice spirit, team-first attitude, and community involvement.
Breslin, one of the first three players signed by the Wolves after the franchise was formed in 1994, passed away on Feb. 9, 2005, due to complications from appendiceal cancer. The Addison, Ill. native and Driscoll Catholic High School graduate played five seasons for the Wolves and earned a ring as a member of the 1998 Turner Cup Championship squad. Breslin’s family, including his widow, Jami, and their children, Shane, Paige, and Chase, attended the on-ice ceremony for REGNER.
“His dedication to the game reminds me of Tim,” said Wolves head coach JOHN ANDERSON, who coached Breslin for two seasons. “He loves the game. He plays hard. He’s a quiet leader who leads by example.”
REGNER earned this year’s Breslin Award after fans cast their votes on ChicagoWolves.com for the three candidates nominated by the Wolves coaching staff: REGNER, forward Michael Davies, and defenseman Evan Oberg. He joined Bill Sweatt (2013), Mark Matheson (2012), Jaime Sifers (2011), Matt Anderson (2010), Steve Martins (2009), Brian Sipotz (2008), Brian Fahey (2007), Kevin Doell (2006) and Tim Wedderburn (2005) on the list of Unsung Hero honorees.
“I’m excited,” REGNER said. “You look at all of the great names who have won it before — and you see all the things that Tim Breslin accomplished on and off the ice — and it’s a great honor.”
The 24-year-old Westlock, Alberta, native was the only Wolves player to appear in the team’s first 60 games and racked up a streak of 113 consecutive games before suffering an upper-body injury on March 15. He has posted three goals and 21 assists in 62 games this season and ranks second on the team in assists.
Sunday’s pregame ceremony also included St. Viator High School senior Tim Gruensfelder, the winner of the Tim Breslin Memorial scholarship. The Mount Prospect, Ill. resident was diagnosed with cancer when he was 4 years old. He battled spinal tumors and multiple surgeries that forced him into a wheelchair, yet he has developed into a 4.0 student who played three years for a nationally ranked wheelchair basketball team and finished second in archery at the 2012 National Junior Disability Championship. Gruensfelder, who earned homecoming king honors at St. Viator in the fall, receives one semester of college tuition at Saint Louis University.
