Jody Gage

Jody Gage
Born (1959-11-29) November 29, 1959 (age 64)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 202 lb (92 kg; 14 st 6 lb)
Position Right wing
Shot Right
Played for Detroit Red Wings
Buffalo Sabres
Rochester Americans
NHL draft 45th overall, 1979
Detroit Red Wings
Playing career 1979–1996

Joseph William "Jody" Gage (born November 29, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. He was drafted in the third round, 45th overall, by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft.

Biography

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As a youth, Gage played in the 1972 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Toronto.[1]

Gage played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1976–79 with the St. Catharines Fincups, Hamilton Fincups, and Kitchener Rangers before turning pro in 1979–80, splitting time with the Kalamazoo Wings of the International Hockey League and the Adirondack Red Wings of the American Hockey League. In his AHL debut on October 11, 1979, Gage scored four goals in an 8-3 win over the Hershey Bears. With his help, Adirondack would win the Calder Cup championship in 1981.

Prior to the 1985–86 season, Gage signed with the Buffalo Sabres as a free agent and was assigned to the AHL's Rochester Americans, where Gage would soon become one of the important figures in the history of the franchise. His Amerks debut was a mirror image of his AHL debut in 1979, scoring four goals in a win over Hershey. In ten seasons, Gage became the Amerks' all-time leader in games played (653), points (728), goals (351), and assists (377). Gage won the Les Cunningham Award in 1987–88 after a 60-goal season (second player in league history to accomplish this feat). He was the third player in AHL history to score 1000 points, the fifth player to play 1000 AHL games, and the fifth member of the AHL's 500-goal club. Gage led Rochester to a Calder Cup in 1986–87 and back to the Calder Cup Finals in 1989–90, 1990–91, and 1992–93.

The man dubbed "Mr. Amerk" retired during the 1995–96 season and finished his AHL career with 504 goals, 1,048 points, seven 40-goal seasons, and 51 playoff goals. In 68 career NHL games with Detroit and Buffalo, Gage totaled 14 goals, 15 assists, and 26 penalty minutes. Immediately after his retirement, Gage accepted a position as assistant general manager and helped the Amerks capture the 1995–96 Calder Cup championship in a thrilling seven-game series over the defending champion Portland Pirates.

Gage was named general manager of the Americans before the 1996–97 season and has since overseen five division titles, two more trips to the Calder Cup Finals, and a Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy after a 51-win season in 2004–05. In addition to his work with the Amerks, Gage also served as GM for the Rochester Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse and was GM of the National Lacrosse League's Rochester Knighthawks (1995-2019) until new ownership took control of both the Amerks and Knighthawks in 2008.

In 2006, Gage was a member of the inaugural induction class of the American Hockey League Hall of Fame.

On February 3, 2011, Gage was named the new general manager for the Hamilton Nationals of Major League Lacrosse.[2]

Gage is now the vice president of player personnel for the Rochester Knighthawks Lacrosse Club.

Career statistics

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    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1975–76 Toronto Nationals OPJHL 53 28 52 80 145 — — — — —
1976–77 St. Catharines Fincups OMJHL 47 13 20 33 2 2 0 0 0 0
1977–78 Hamilton Fincups OMJHL 32 15 18 33 19 — — — — —
1977–78 Kitchener Rangers OMJHL 36 17 27 44 21 9 4 3 7 4
1978–79 Kitchener Rangers OMJHL 58 46 43 89 40 10 1 2 3 6
1979–80 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 63 25 21 46 15 5 2 1 3 0
1979–80 Kalamazoo Wings IHL 14 17 12 29 0 — — — — —
1980–81 Detroit Red Wings NHL 16 2 2 4 22 — — — — —
1980–81 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 59 17 31 48 44 17 9 6 15 12
1981–82 Detroit Red Wings NHL 31 9 10 19 2 — — — — —
1981–82 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 47 21 20 41 21 — — — — —
1982–83 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 65 23 30 53 33 6 1 5 6 8
1983–84 Detroit Red Wings NHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1983–84 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 73 40 32 72 32 6 3 4 7 2
1984–85 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 78 27 33 60 55 — — — — —
1985–86 Buffalo Sabres NHL 7 3 2 5 0 — — — — —
1985–86 Rochester Americans AHL 73 42 57 99 56 — — — — —
1986–87 Rochester Americans AHL 70 26 39 65 60 17 14 5 19 24
1987–88 Buffalo Sabres NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1987–88 Rochester Americans AHL 76 60 44 104 46 5 2 5 7 10
1988–89 Rochester Americans AHL 65 31 38 69 60 — — — — —
1989–90 Rochester Americans AHL 75 45 38 83 42 17 4 6 10 12
1990–91 Rochester Americans AHL 73 42 43 85 34 15 6 10 16 14
1991–92 Buffalo Sabres NHL 9 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
1991–92 Rochester Americans AHL 67 40 40 80 54 16 5 9 14 10
1992–93 Rochester Americans AHL 71 40 40 80 76 9 5 8 13 2
1993–94 Rochester Americans AHL 44 18 21 39 57 — — — — —
1994–95 Rochester Americans AHL 23 4 5 9 20 2 0 0 0 0
1995–96 Rochester Americans AHL 16 3 12 15 20 — — — — —
AHL totals 1038 504 544 1048 725 115 51 59 110 94
NHL totals 68 14 15 29 26 — — — — —

References

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  1. ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-01-10.
  2. ^ "Nationals Announce Move to Hamilton". NationalsLacrosse.com press release. March 5, 2009. Archived from the original on March 7, 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
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