BATTLE CREEK, Mich. – During the last month, Battle Creek Revolution Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Matt Wiedenhoeft could be forgiven if he has missed anything not hockey related. He’s been kind of busy. He’s been overseeing the construction of the hockey roster for the 
Revolution, one of four teams in the newly launched AAHA, which begins play on November 14th. Under normal circumstances, Wiedenhoeft would have had plenty of time to plan. Things is, with the league having been formed on September 23, normal circumstances went out the window early, making for an accelerated schedule that so far has worked out fine. “It’s going very well. We’re progressing right along. Its been a very treacherous summer, very difficult,” Wiedenhoeft said. “We’ve had a short period of time to do a lot of work and we’ve gotten a lot more done than we thought we could in the little bit of time we had. We’re really moving along here.” Wiedenhoeft brought in 40 players to begin the Revolution’s inaugural training camp. As he whittled the roster down to its present 19 members, it became a mix of players who were in camps in the ECHL and CHL, junior-A players and players with NCAA and ACHA experience. Battle Creek’s goaltending, according to Wiedenhoeft, will be a work in progress simply because both net minders are young. 19-year old Justin Grevious spent part of last season in the Central States Hockey League. This year, he turned down offers from the British Columbia Hockey League and the NAHL to play for the Revolution. Mario Passarelli, Battle Creek’s other goalie, declined an offer for a scholarship to a NCAA Division III school to turn pro. The Revolution appear to be strongest on the blue line. Leading the way on defense is Wes Baughman. Wiedenhoeft calls Baughman, who was in camp with Port Huron of the IHL earlier this fall, “the whole package” because of his vision on the ice, ability to move the puck and his agility. Nick Williams, who was one of the last cuts by Flint before the Generals opened the season, is a defensive defenseman who moves the puck well and has a great passion for the game. Brett Aimone is another defenseman who Wiedenhoeft brought up as a player to watch for. The forward lines are shaping up to be solid as well. Player/Assistant Coach Nigel Hawryliw, a native of Muskegon, Michigan, has experience from several seasons in the UHL. He’ll be partnered with team captain Mark Allen, another sniper who has plenty of pro experience including seasons with Macon and Pee Dee in the SPHL. Youngster Aaron Naphan, who Wiedenhoeft characterizes as a battler and a grinder who doesn’t mind mixing it up, will be on the wing with Hawryliw and Allen. Newcomers Jon Hutcheon, who has played for Valley Forge in the MAHL and Knoxville in the SPHL, and Steve Koich will highlight the second unit. Former SPHL and MAHL forward Brett Riley brings additional pro experience to the front lines. Given the AAHA’s place on the player development ladder, Wiedenhoeft fully expects that many of the league’s top players will have the opportunity to be called up to higher leagues either as fill-ins or on a more permanent basis. “We’re in the best location for call-ups with all the IHL teams around us. Our team is currently working with Muskegon, Flint, Kalamazoo and Port Huron and also with the CHL Texas Brahmas,” he said. “We’re really in a prime location as far as our team and even Dyer (Chi-Town Shooters) being in between Bloomington and Muskegon into Fort Wayne and then Detroit, well they’re right in the middle too.” Naturally, many people will focus on the business end of the AAHA almost as much as they will on the games themselves. Based on what Wiedenhoeft saw in the preseason, the Revolution and the league have a good shot at success. “Our preseason games, each game we had about 350-400 fans at the first preseason games. We’re the first professional hockey team in the area in Battle Creek so we’ve got a huge fan base already in such a short period of time. The response here is just great,” he said. “The nice thing about playing in a small arena (the Revolution’s home rink – The Rink – seats about 1,000) as compared to Detroit – they’re playing in the old arena where the Mechanics played – is that when you have 800 people, the atmosphere is going to be energetic, lively and people are just going to love it.” And if the Revolution can bring home the league championship, their fans will all be thinking one thing: “the Revs are grrrrrrrreat!!!!!”. Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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