Reirden makes it to the NHL Faceoff Magazine, 1999

In 1994, when former Tiger Sharks General Manager Tim Mouser dealt the teams' first ever captain Wade Bartley to the Raleigh Ice Caps, in exchange for little known defensemen Todd Reirden and Rodrigo Lavinsh, he made arguably the best trade ever in the history of the Tiger Sharks franchise. The proof is in the pudding.

Five years later, on the evening of January 7, 1999, one of those little known defenseman by the name of Todd Reirden would take to the ice at America West Arena in Phoenix Arizona, only this time, he would be making his debut in the National Hockey League.

Congratulations to Todd Reirden on becoming the first Tiger Sharks alumni to play a regular season game in the National Hockey League.

The 28-year-old Deerfield, Illinois, native has bounced around the minors over the past four years with stops in the IHL with Chicago, San Antonio, and Fort Wayne, as well as his stints in Raleigh and Tallahassee of the ECHL. But his final stop may be in Edmonton with the Oilers, ironically, the Tiger Sharks new NHL affiliate.

Reirden spent 17 games in Edmonton this past season totaling 2 goals, 3 assists, a (-1) rating, and 20 pim's. His first NHL goal came in just his third game when the Oilers played the Anaheim Mighty Ducks at the Pond in Anaheim. "I was still a little nervous at that point," said Reirden, "it was only my third game and I was more worried about getting burned by Karyia and Selanne than anything else. But when I got that goal, the first goal of the game, I was so excited I forgot about being nervous and it helped me settle down quite a bit. It was a great feeling."

Reirden said he has fond memories of Tallahassee, "I still think it's one of the best places to play anywhere, the fans are great and the environment for winning hockey is there". When asked about playing in the NHL, Reirden responded, "I firmly believed I could always play in the NHL and if you don't have that, then you're never going to get there."

Todd Reirden played 50 games for the Tiger Sharks over two seasons (1994-95, 1995-96). He was a major reason the Tiger Sharks made their run to the Semi-finals before falling in five games to the Richmond Renegades in 1995. The six-foot-five, 220-pound Reirden, totaled 6 goals, 28 assists, 71 penalty minutes while with Tallahassee, and is on record as having one of the most feared slap shots in franchise history.

Home

Copyright 2001-2002 by Animal Antix Designs except where noted.

All Right Reserved.