GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins are proud to announce that Amadeus Lombardi has been named the team’s winner of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to the Grand Rapids community during the 2025-26 season. 

One of the team’s leaders in community appearances throughout his three seasons in Grand Rapids, Lombardi was a dedicated supporter of Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital this year. Three times he appeared on the hospital’s in-house TV show to play games with patients before visiting patients and their families in their rooms. He also was among a select group of players who traveled 30 miles to the lakeshore in November to meet and skate with fans to help celebrate the opening of the new Holland Ice Park outdoor facility.  

Lombardi’s other charitable activities included numerous team functions, including Tip-A-Griffin, the Great Skate Winterfest, and the Griffins and Grand Rapids Sled Wings Sled Hockey Game, with the majority of proceeds from those events benefiting the Griffins Youth Foundation. 

Lombardi is now one of 32 finalists for the AHL’s 2025-26 Yanick Dupré Memorial Award, honoring the overall IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year. The league award is named after the former Hershey Bears forward and AHL All-Star who died in 1997 following a 16-month battle with leukemia. The winner of the Yanick Dupré Memorial Award will be announced by the AHL at a later date.

Photo by Grand Rapids Griffins