By KEVIN OKLOBZJIA
As a hockey player, Michael Mersch preached team, truly believing the crest on the front of the sweater meant far more than the name on the back.
Sure, he enjoyed scoring goals; who doesn’t? He just liked winning a whole lot more.
That’s why, for the previous three seasons, he wore the “C” as captain of the Rochester Americans.
Then-coach Seth Appert knew Mersch was the perfect leader for an organization looking to restore the pride of yesteryear and revive the glory of championships past. The guy who, through words, could nurture the prospects and, through actions, would provide a clear image to everyone of how the game should be played.
For Mersch, team always came first. On the ice and in the dressing room.
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM JOE TERRITO.
And in the living room.
That’s ultimately what brought him to where he is today. Understanding that playing professional hockey 600 miles from home was creating disruptions in life for his wife and two young children, Mersch will announce his retirement on Monday.
This time, the team behind his decision is comprised of wife Jenna and sons Mike (3) and Mason (1 ½), as well as their extended family in and around the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge, Ill. He says it’s time to bring a little normalcy to their lives.
“To move them away from the situation they have here just because I wanted to play hockey again just didn’t make sense,” Mersch said on Sunday afternoon.
“Literally forever, hockey has been the most important thing in my life. But then you have kids and priorities change. If it was just me, I’d be in Rochester in training camp right now. But my kids trumped everything that I was deciding between.”
Mersch, who turns 32 on Wednesday, said he spent a good deal of the summer contemplating his future. He said he cherished his time in Rochester but knew it was time to say goodbye to the game.
“Our youngest was born in Rochester, so that will always give us strong ties to the community and the city,” Mersch said. “But I realized this (Park Ridge) is the best place for them to grow up.”
That’s because his parents and Jenna’s parents are right there. As are grandparents, and brothers, and sisters, and uncles and cousins.
“I wanted to make sure they were here for those core memories,” he said.
Mersch leaves the ice after playing 682 games as a pro, including playoffs. A fourth-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2011, he played 17 games in the NHL (1 goal, 2 assists) and won a Calder Cup with the Kings’ AHL affiliate (the Manchester Monarchs) as a rookie in 2014-15.
He played the vast majority of his career in the American Hockey League: 597 regular-season games with 188 goals, 213 assists and 401 points, and another 68 playoff games with 24-26-50.
His final 244 games were played with the Amerks. He produced 66-90-156 in 220 regular-season games along with 8-7-15 in 24 playoff games. That included a hat trick in Game 3 of the 2023 first-round series against Syracuse, an 8-5 victory that triggered the stunning “reverse sweep” of the Crunch.
“There’s a lot of guys that made me look good,” Mersch said.
He was the captain of a group that energized the city with two electrifying playoff seasons. In 2021-22, after the franchise had gone 17 years without a playoff series victory, the Amerks swept Belleville 2-0 in the mini-round play-in and then upended North Division champion Utica 3-2 in a classic best-of-five series.
The following spring, they overcame the 2-0 deficit to oust Syracuse 3-2 and then swept Toronto 3-0 in the division finals before falling in the Eastern Conference finals to eventual Calder Cup champion Hershey in six games.
“I always tried to appreciate every game and every season, the fun and the memories, because you never know when it will end,” Mersch said. “I created so many special memories and relationships in hockey.”
That included in Rochester, where Mersch embraced the heritage of a storied franchise and understood Amerk pride.
“You realized that the city loves hockey and a lot of people have family memories of watching old Amerk teams win,” Mersch said. “That gives you a feeling of pride that the community really cares about the team. Hopefully we gave them some of those memories.”
One of his own favorite Amerk memories took place in a game that officially didn’t mean anything: a preseason game against Syracuse on Oct. 5 of last year. For the first time, he played with his younger brother, Dominick, who was in camp on a tryout. The evening became even more special when Dominick assisted on a second-period goal by Michael.
“I’m very thankful to the organization for that,” he said. “They didn’t have to do that but we’ll have those memories forever.”
Mersch actually was thinking his career might have been over four years ago, when he became an Amerks pretty much as a last resort. The COVID-19 pandemic had created havoc with the world and NHL teams were conservative with how they stocked their AHL teams for the abbreviated 2021 season.
He had no contract offers so he joined the Amerks on a pro tryout contract. He ended up winning over a coach, an organization and a city – and staying for four years.
Of course, how could they not love a guy who enjoyed winning puck battles as much as scoring goals, a guy who defined grit and passion through his relentless drive to succeed.
“Seth and I kind of hit it off and he pushed to have me back (for the 2021-22 season),” Mersch said. “From that point on, I was kind of playing with house money.”
But he realized over the past summer that it was time to move on.
“I respect the heck out of the organization,” Mersch said. “Seth left them in a spot better than he found it and I think Mike (new coach Michael Leone) is going to do a great job.
“The leadership core with (Ethan) Prow and (Mason) Jobst and (Brett) Murray and the others, they’re going to do a great job. I love those guys and I’ll be rooting for them.”
He was a great leader. Sorry to hear he is retiring.
Leave it to the great Kevin O. to tell the story RIGHT, with all the professional AND personal detail it deserves of an all time favorite and no question future Amerks HOFer. We love ya “Cap’n” Merschy – thanks for the memories …. And thanks, Kevin O.
Mersch was a true leader and a pleasure to watch play. To devote all the effort and energy to this team the last four years were phenomenal. I wish him the best as he now puts the same effort into raising his family and starting a new career…….
wow, he will be missed, a true leader & the heart of the team on a team that desperately needs more guys like him, it’s totally understandable why he chose to retire but this is a big loss for our favorite team
As usual Kevin, you hit one 450 feet into the center field stands with that wonderful article on Mike. He deserved it all and you were the one to write that story.
Hope to see more hockey articles from you in 24-25! Keep up the good work.
Thanks for giving Mike a great sendoff!
I’m surprised he has made the choice to retire. I know he wasn’t making NHL money but I think he was doing quite well for a job that allowed him summers off with his family. Also, at 32 I think there was more left in the tank. He explained quite well his priorities being his young family now as they should be but financial stability is taking care of your family! My guess is he must have a solid career lined up for him in his hometown for him to make this choice. Either way he will be missed, he had become the face of the Amerks these past 3 years of playoff runs something that had been missing from any 1 player this team has had these past few decades.
To Bruce R. and Ted: Thanks so very much for the very kind words. Much appreciated. And, of course, thanks for reading Pickin’ Splinters.