GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Grand Rapids Griffins are proud to announce that Nathan Paetsch 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 2016-17 season.

The 34-year-old captain of the Griffins has always been proactive in using his station in life for engaging and helping the younger generation. He visited Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital seven times this season and the Boys & Girls Clubs on a handful of occasions, while also reading to a local elementary school to promote March is Reading Month. Paetsch also continued a franchise tradition by teaming up with Flagstar Bank to donate season tickets to the local Boys & Girls Clubs and frequently invites the youth to visit the locker room after games.

A native of Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Paetsch has been tireless in community involvement throughout his five seasons with the team, embodying the core values of both the Griffins and the city of Grand Rapids. He has been an eager participant at all the franchise’s charitable events this season including the Tip-a-Griffin fundraiser for the Griffins Youth Foundation, the Wendy’s Drive-Thru fundraiser to benefit Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, taking part in the annual sled hockey game with the Grand Rapids Sled Wings and serving beverages at the Corks, Pucks and Brews for Easterseals Michigan. Paetsch has shown his appreciation for the thousands of Griffins season ticket members by participating in a post-game open skate with them and attending a members-only luncheon.

Paetsch is now one of 30 finalists for the AHL’s 2016-17 Yanick Dupre 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 Dupre Memorial Award will be announced by the American Hockey League at a later date.