East Grand Rapids native Luke Glendening is excited about a potential playoff run with the Dallas Stars, bringing back memories of his Calder Cup journey with the Griffins a decade ago.

Story and photo by Mark Newman

Luke Glendening chuckles when he thinks back to his rookie pro season, when he joined the Grand Rapids Griffins right before Christmas.

Destined to win the organization’s first Calder Cup, the 2012-13 Griffins were led by captain Jeff Hoggan, a well-traveled but strong-willed veteran who had won a league championship with the Houston Aeros a full decade before coming to Grand Rapids himself.

“I think Jeff Hoggan was the same age that I am now [Glendening will turn 34 in April] and I remember thinking, ‘Man, this guy is old,’ and now 10 years later I’m on the other side of that,” he said, laughing. “I also remember him saying as we were in that playoff run, ‘Don’t take this for granted because this is so hard to do.’ And here I am – 10 years later, and I haven’t been in that position again.”

He is hopeful that his fortunes might change this season. His current team, the Dallas Stars, is considered a potential Stanley Cup contender and is currently battling the Winnipeg Jets for first place in the Western Conference’s Central Division.

Glendening signed a free-agent contract with the Stars two years ago after spending his first eight NHL seasons with the Red Wings. The move was bittersweet – he was leaving the team where he had proven himself as a dependable defensive forward and one of the NHL’s top faceoff artists to join a team with championship aspirations, with the Stars having reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2020.

“I have nothing but the utmost respect for the Detroit organization,” he said. “The Red Wings always treated me unbelievably well and playing in Detroit was like home. We miss all of the people in Michigan a ton but it’s been an outstanding move.”

Glendening played in all 82 contests for the Stars during his first season in Dallas, a year that ended in disappointment when the Stars were ousted by the Calgary Flames in seven games during the opening round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The outcome led to the dismissal of head coach Rick Bowness and his staff (including ex-Griffins head coach/defenseman Todd Nelson) and the subsequent hiring of Peter DeBoer, who had been fired by the Vegas Golden Knights a month earlier. “Everyone who returned from last year’s team wasn’t thrilled with the way things had ended and I think it made us a hungry team,” he said.

“We changed quite a few of our systems from years prior but one of the things that Pete said that stuck with me is that he wanted to keep the DNA of this team the same. We have good structure and we play heavy. We’ve been a good defensive team long before he got here and he’s just tried to add a few more layers and it’s worked out really well.”

As of late January, the Stars had allowed the fewest goals per game in the Western Conference. “We’ve been playing pretty good hockey,” Glendening said. “[Dallas general manager] Jim Nill has done a nice job of putting this team together and he helped build that team in GR, so it’s fun to be a part of something that feels special again 10 years later.”

Glendening sees similarities between the two teams. Like the Griffins’ championship team, the Stars feature a mix of young, talented players and wily veterans. The skill of Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz, and Miro Heiskanen is matched in Dallas by the savvy of veterans like Joe Pavelski, Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and Ryan Suter, who have played more than 4,400 NHL games combined without a title.

“It’s a great team to be a part of because we have the excitement of the young guys with the hunger of the older guys who are looking to win,” said Glendening, who counts himself among the latter. “We have several veterans who have played a ton of hockey but haven’t won a Cup yet. They know how hard it is. They understand the grind and what it takes.”

While the Griffins relied on the veteran leadership of Hoggan, Nathan Paetsch, Brennan Evans, and Triston Grant, it was the everyday excellence of the team’s youth that made it a force to reckon with. Young players like Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, Landon Ferraro, Francis Pare, Riley Sheahan, and Tomas Jurco helped Grand Rapids secure its first championship and provide the perfect ending to a storybook season.

Looking back, Glendening admits that he never could have envisioned what lay ahead for his career while sitting at his parents’ home during his first Griffiti interview a decade ago.

“Honestly, when we were sitting at my parents’ dining room table, I remember thinking that if I get to play one game [in the NHL], I’ll be happy,” said Glendening, who has now played nearly 700 NHL games. “I’ve been blessed with a lot of great opportunities and I feel so fortunate to have been able to play as long as I have.”

Of course, any suggestion that Glendening was not going to excel at whatever he tried would be discounting the influence of his upbringing that emphasized faith and belief backed by drive and determination. “Just work as hard as you can is something my parents instilled in all three of us,” he said. “They taught us there would be roadblocks and things wouldn’t always go your way, but at the end of the day, if you can say you put everything into something, you gave it your best.

“My dad always said right before every game, ‘Have fun, try your best, and be a good sport.’ That was what he said every game. It wasn’t: score three goals, score a touchdown, or hit a home run. He always instilled the idea: just be the hardest worker and let the cards fall where they may. Put your best foot forward and see what happens.”

A three-sport athlete (football, hockey and baseball) through high school, Glendening became a captain of the University of Michigan hockey team in his final two collegiate seasons after having been a walk-on as a freshman. When the Griffins signed him to a one-year contract in June 2012, the East Grand Rapids product was excited about the possibility of playing in his hometown.

Those hopes were dashed with the NHL lockout. When he was sent to the Griffins’ ECHL affiliate in Toledo, he took the demotion as another challenge. “When I got sent to Toledo, I remember thinking that I might never get to play in Grand Rapids, but at least I’ll be able to say that I played a year of professional hockey even if that’s the end of things for me,” he said.

Glendening, however, was not going to be denied his chance. In 27 games with the Walleye, he tallied 14 goals and seven assists, impressive enough numbers to earn him a spot in the 2013 ECHL All-Star Game (which he never played in because he was recalled by the Griffins). He made his debut on Dec 19, 2012 at Van Andel Arena.

“When I got the call to go to Grand Rapids, I was so excited,” he recalled. “When I was skating around during warmups, I looked into the stands and it was like, ‘Hey, I know them.’ And then ‘I know them, too.’ So many friends and family who had supported me along the way had come out to the game and it was almost surreal to be back in that building where I had grown up. Just to be on that ice and playing in front of my friends and family was really special.”

To put an exclamation point on the proceedings, he scored just two minutes and 49 seconds into the game, getting his first AHL goal on his first shot and first shift.

Glendening said he realized that he was coming into a team that had already forged a special bond. “I came in while they were doing their Secret Santa – it was one of my first days in GR,” he said. “I remember watching a group of guys who were messing with each other but you could tell how much they cared for each other. It’s a memory I’ll have forever.”

One month after his debut, his initial impression was fortified by a fight in Rockford – actually, it was a bench-clearing brawl, but the altercation set the tone for the rest of the season. “It might not have been great for hockey, but the players on that team stood up for one another – that to me was the sign of a great team,” he said. “You saw people who really cared about what was going on with the other guys.”

It was also his first exposure to Jeff Blashill, who was in his first AHL season as a head coach after serving as an assistant coach with the Red Wings the previous year.

“Blashill likes to tell the story about how he couldn’t wait to send me back down, but every day was like a proving ground for me. He wanted our best every day. I felt like when we won, he got harder on us. When we lost, it was more about fixing things. So the more we won, the harder he was.

“We had great leadership in the room with the older guys on the team, but Blashill really steered the ship. What was so great was that he kept us focused and when he knew that we needed to be lifted up, he would. I think our vets were a direct reflection of what he wanted that team to look like.”

Glendening played for Mike Babcock during his first two years in Detroit, but he would be reunited with Blashill for six seasons before he left for Dallas.

“In the American League, it’s more about teaching, but I thought he did a great job of teaching in Detroit as well because we had such a young team and we were struggling in his later years,” Glendening said. “He was always focused on helping guys get better and how our team could be better in the midst of some tough years.

“As a head coach, he didn’t have a great team, but he was always focused on how we could get better every day even when things were not always going well. I think he was in the same way in GR when we had a good team. It was ‘We were good last night, how can we get even better.’ That’s the way he led.”

A decade into his professional career, Glendening realizes how special the road to the Griffins’ first Calder Cup was.

“Two years prior, I had played in the national championship game in college. I thought it was something that came around every couple of years, that you get another chance to win something. In high school, we had won a football championship, so I had been there at different levels. Now, it’s been 10 years since I even got close.

“You realize that it takes a special group of people and support staff – it takes everyone – and we had that in Grand Rapids. I remember leaving the arena after we lost Game 4 and the game was already sold out for the next night. That’s the community rallying behind the team and it was cool to be a part of it and see a city bustling with that kind of excitement. It’s just an awesome memory and one that I’ll never forget.”

Glendening also remembers the physical toll that it takes to go all the way. He played 102 games during the 2012-13 campaign after averaging just over 40 games per season at Michigan.

“Towards the end of the playoffs, I was talking with my parents and thinking I was withering away to nothing,” he said. “I remember thinking, I’m not sure how to do this. But, especially for me, it’s the adrenalin that’s surging you on at that point. You can taste it because you’re so close. You’re not even thinking about your body at that point.”

Much has changed in his life since. In July 2019, he married Paige Snyder, whom he met while he was playing in Grand Rapids and she was attending Grand Valley State University. His arms are now covered in tattoos and he’s missing two teeth after taking a puck to the mouth during a summer skate before the NHL’s COVID season.

But some things have not changed. He is still considered one of the best faceoff men in the NHL, currently ranked in the top 15 right behind another former Griffins center, Boston Bruins forward Tomas Nosek. It’s a skill that goes back to his earliest days in pro hockey.

“When I first was in Toledo, I was the 10th forward and they dressed 10, so I wasn’t part of a line,” he recalled. “A guy broke his wrist and they asked me if I could play center. I was like, ‘Absolutely. I will play whatever position you need me to play if I can get in the top nine and get a regular shift.’

“When I got to GR, Spiros Anastas was the video coach and I worked with him a ton, trying to get better. We would watch video of NHL players in faceoffs and then we’d watch my clips. We’d go out on the ice and practice, practice, practice.

“When I got to the NHL, it was a whole other level. I was under 50 percent and I remember Blash telling me, ‘We’ll be patient, but you have to get better. You can’t be just middling, especially in the role that you fill, killing penalties and taking defensive zone draws. You have to be better.’

“So I continued to watch video with L.J. Scarpace in Detroit. I’ve been fortunate to have coaches who wanted to help me but also players who were looking to get better at faceoffs. It was like ‘iron sharpens iron’ (Editor’s note: a reference to Proverbs 27:17).

“Me and Helmer [Darren Helm] would take faceoffs almost every practice together. Same with [Dylan] Larkin, [Michael] Rasmussen, and [Joe] Veleno. We would battle in the faceoff circle and keep working, talking through different things. Some people don’t care, but it’s one of the things that’s keeping me around, so it’s a big deal to me.”

Glendening would love nothing better than to get the chance to test those skills during a long Stanley Cup playoff drive with Dallas this year

“During the regular season, you’re trying to bank as many points as you can to put yourselves in the best position [because] in the playoffs, you never know what’s going to happen,” he said. “You just want a chance. That’s all you can ask for. Once you get in, you give it your best and see what happens.”

He insists that he has lost none of his passion for the game.

“I love it,” he said. “It’s crazy. I’m 33 years old and I still feel like a kid every day. I get to wake up and go to the rink and I feel like the luckiest guy in the world. My body is surprisingly still hanging in there and it’s been such a joy and such a blessing to be able to continue to play.

“As I said earlier, I never thought I was going to play one game. So I don’t take one day for granted in this league because I know it can end quickly.”

Which is why he encourages anyone with a similar passion to enjoy the moment.

“I always tell kids to find something that they’re passionate about and pursue it to the best of their abilities. The percentage of people who make it is so small that you might as well enjoy it while you can. For most people, playing a sport is just going to be a hobby. It’s probably going to become a hobby again for me in the next few years. It’s just a different timeline for everyone.

“I made great friends in every sport I played and that’s what I’ll remember more than the score of every game. I could probably go around that Griffins locker room from 10 years ago and tell you every guy’s name and where they sat. Those are the memories you make.

“I don’t remember the score of those playoff games but I do remember the people who were along for the ride. That’s what it’s all about. But it doesn’t have to be a championship run. It could just be playing house hockey. I still have friends from when I was playing house hockey at Jolly Roger [now Eagles Ice Center]. That’s the reality of it. You have to just enjoy the moment.”