100 and counting: Grizzlies captain joins three franchise greats with rare accomplishment
Jan. 20—Peyton Hart, Matt DeRosa, Joey Fodstad.
Those three names will be forever linked to the impressive start the Rochester Grizzlies had as a North American 3 Hockey League franchise.
Until last weekend, those three — the only players who were with the Grizzlies from start to finish of their first three years of existence — were also the only players to play in 100 or more games with the team.
Now there is a fourth.
Third-year defenseman Per Waage — a lightly recruited, athletic player with good size and raw talent coming out of Wayzata High School — played in his 100th game as a Grizzly last Saturday, Jan. 14, when Rochester beat St. Louis 8-0 at the Rochester Recreation Center.
Fittingly, Waage, the team's captain, had an assist — the 41st point of his Grizzlies career — on Luke Morrisette's game-winning power-play goal.
"He's really stepped up this year," Grizzlies head coach Chris Ratzloff said. "He's a quiet leader, not real vocal, but speaks when he needs to. He works hard every day and is such a good kid. All the guys look up to him and like him.
"He's stepped his game up this year a lot and added offense to it. It might not show in points, but he's creating opportunities."
Waage's path to 100 games was a bit different than that of DeRosa, Hart and Fodstad, though. Hart is the franchise's leader in games played, at 142. DeRosa played in 135, Fodstad in 134.
It took an unlikely confluence of events for that trio to surpass the 100-game mark.
They were members of the inaugural Grizzlies team in 2018-19, DeRosa and Hart as 17-year-olds, Fodstad as an 18-year-old. All three were valuable offensive players on a team that had no returners, putting them on equal footing as the 19- and 20-year-olds to open that season. They proved their value quickly and were lineup mainstays from the first game in franchise history.
All three also had opportunities during their junior hockey careers to play in the North American Hockey League, one tier up from the Grizzlies and the NA3HL.
Their second and third seasons were altered by the COVID pandemic, when roster spots in the NAHL became increasingly more difficult to secure. That led three guys with NAHL talent to keep finding their way back to Rochester. All three ultimately earned opportunities at Division III colleges — Hart is at Wisconsin-Stout, DeRosa at Saint John's and Fodstad at Concordia College in Moorhead.
A Division III opportunity is likely on the horizon for Waage, too.
"When he first came here, he was trying to be a bit too offensive and had some trouble defending," Ratzloff said. "That's something he's really taken a lot of pride in this year. He's a reliable defenseman who moves the puck well. He'll get opportunities (at the college level) because he's solid and reliable, and what he does on the offensive end will be a bonus."
Like his predecessors, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Waage has had chances to play at the NAHL level — five games with the Austin Bruins last season, one with the Chippewa Steel this season.
"He has a good reach and that's helped him a lot defensively," Ratzloff said. "He's still learning, and getting better. He's been a lot better stick-on-puck, and with that size, if you can keep your arms in, then all of a sudden extend them, the forward coming down is like 'man, this guy can get me and I'm not even close to him.'
"Per has gotten stronger, too, and he's using his body well. He's not crushing guys, but he's using his body to gain an advantage and get back into the play before (his opponent) does."
In the end, sticking with the Grizzlies, where he is a fixture on the power play and penalty kill, and consistently plays 18-20 minutes per game, has offered more exposure to college scouts. It's also allowed Waage to put his name alongside three of the best players in the Grizzlies' brief franchise history.
What does it say about Waage, that he's added his name to a select group of 100-game players?
"That we like him," Ratzloff said with a laugh. "... You almost have to be here three years (to hit 100). You have to be healthy and a guy who's in the lineup all the time. ... And we love that he's here. He loves it here; we're happy he does."
Per Waage recently became the fourth player in Rochester Grizzlies history to play 100 games for the franchise. Here's a look at the players with the most games played in franchise history:
Player Years Games
Peyton Hart 2018-21 142
Matt DeRosa 2018-21 135
Joey Fodstad 2018-21 134
Per Waage 2020-present 100
Lucas Newman 2018-20 99
Cole Gibson 2020-22 99
Justin Wright 2020-22 93
Garrett Smith 2019-21 89
Austin Meers 2021-present 88
