SPRINGFIELD, MA -- A familiar face will be enshrined among some of the best players in American Hockey League history.
On Wednesday, the league announced the AHL Hall of Fame Class of 2025. One of the four players to be inducted is Grand Rapids Griffins legend Michel Picard.
Picard was one of the inaugural members of the Griffins when they were born into the International Hockey League in 1996 and became the team’s first star player. In his first season in West Michigan, the Beauport, Quebec native scored 46 goals and 55 assists for 101 points, making him the first, and so far only, Griffin to reach the century mark in a single season.
He was one of the first Griffins to be named an All-Star. He represented the Western Conference in the 1997 IHL All-Star Game, which was held in Grand Rapids. Picard was also named to the all-star roster in 1998.
After four seasons with the Griffins’ IHL edition, Picard moved elsewhere but returned to Grand Rapids in 2002, when the team entered its second campaign in the AHL. In each of his five full seasons with the Griffins, he led the team in scoring, a feat no other player has accomplished.
In 364 games with the franchise, the former Trois-Rivieres Draveurs product totaled 158 goals and 222 assists for 380 points, all of which remain franchise records. He was key part in Grand Rapids winning division titles in 1999-00 and 2002-03, with the Griffins making it to the IHL Turner Cup Final in 2000.
Picard became just the second player to have his number retired by the franchise, as he and former captain Jeff Hoggan had their jerseys lifted to the rafters at Van Andel Arena in Feb. 2022.
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Along with his time in GR, Picard bounced around the AHL over the years, playing for the Binghamton Whaler (1989-90), Springfield Indians (1990-92), Portland Pirates (1993-94), P.E.I. Senators (1993-96) and Philadelphia Phantoms (2000-01). In 982 AHL appearances, Picard notched 283 goals and 355 assists for 638 points, including 71 points in 88 Calder Cup Playoff games.
Picard also played 166 games in the NHL, making stops with the Hartford Whalers, San Jose Sharks, Ottawa Senators, St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers.
Rene Drolet, Dunc Fisher, and former Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Michael Leighton are the other members being honored in the Hall of Fame class. The Coachella Valley Firebirds will host the induction ceremony on Feb. 3, 2025.