These Rivermen left a legacy. What's next on the ice for Peoria's hockey franchise?

PEORIA — They knew this day would come. It's just that they thought they'd be saying goodbye on top of a firetruck, President's Cup held high, one last celebration together.

Instead, after finishing as the Southern Professional Hockey League's top team in the regular-season six times in the last nine seasons they've played, the Peoria Rivermen are braced for what could be dramatic change.

Rivermen coach Jean-Guy Trudel expects many of his veteran core players to retire. And, at age 47 and with a contract that expires in May, he contemplates whether it is time for him to take on a different role in leading a transition to a new era.

The Peoria Rivermen came back to chase one last championship ring together in the 2022-23 Southern Professional Hockey League season. Thirteen players returned from Peoria's 2021-22 championship team in a bid for back-to-back titles, and they delivered a 39-14-4 record, earned a sixth regular-season league championship in nine years and took the No. 1 seed into the playoffs.

This team might have been better than last season's, but it fell short under the weight of too many injuries, an extreme travel saga, an unforgiving playoff format and better goaltending on the other side.

They earned a legacy, though, that stands proudly alongside any other era in the 41-year history of the Rivermen franchise, from the old International Hockey League to the ECHL, AHL and now the SPHL.

"This team should be playing for a championship," Trudel said. "I told the team, 'Don't sit in here and cry.' Crying does no good. I'm disappointed for everyone around me, feel like I let people down. But I told our guys to celebrate what was a tremendous season.

"I told them to remember everything that we did together, everything that went right, everything we conquered, all the good things that we did together."

Sunday night, after the Rivermen were eliminated by Roanoke in Game 3 of the SPHL semifinals, was for heartbreak. Monday and Tuesday were for reflection. Wednesday will be goodbye, when Trudel meets individually, in private, with each player.

More: 'Goodbye': Rivermen title defense ends with elimination by Roanoke in SPHL semifinals

Could the Rivermen be rebuilding?

"I think we're going to see a lot of guys move on," Trudel said. "Our older group came back here to play together and try to win one more title.

"I think we could be looking at a major rebuild next season. It could be a very different team."

Peoria-born captain Alec Hagaman, at age 33, already announced his retirement and said goodbye Sunday night in an emotional moment on the ice after the playoff game was over.

Veteran goaltender Eric Levine, 34, said he is retiring as well.

Peoria native Mitch McPherson, 28, is on the fence. "If we had won the title, I was done," he said. "I had decided that. But the way this ended makes me want to try again. So I don't know yet."

Trudel thinks winger Alex Carrier, 32, is likely to retire or perhaps make a run at Europe.

He says top veteran defenseman Nick Neville, 29, is unlikely to play again. Trudel also believes center Alec Baer wants to try a season in Europe, and high-scoring winger Marcel Godbout may retire, as might winger-defenseman Austin Wisely.

What is the coach's future?

Jean-Guy Trudel has 325 regular-season wins as Rivermen head coach in the SPHL. It's the most wins by any active coach, and second-most among all coaches in league history. His .713 pointsmaking percentage is the highest in the league all-time.

The only coach Peoria has had since it entered the SPHL in 2013-14 says he embraces changes in his own role.

"My contract ends in May," Trudel said. "I have some ideas, though."

When he meets with Rivermen co-owner Bart Rogers, it's believed the coach will ask for just-retired captain Alec Hagaman to be brought on as an assistant coach.

My own speculation? It's possible Hagaman could be in an associate head coach setup with Trudel, sharing the job and learning from the three-time SPHL Coach of the Year, whose ability to find players and teach them the so-called "Rivermen Way" has made Peoria an elite franchise among all teams in the minors.

A coaching role for Hagaman could trigger some second thoughts among some of those veteran players planning retirement, too.

Things could go on as always, too. But Trudel — with blinding success, a mountain of bus miles and a role as part owner of the tier III junior hockey Peoria Mustangs — is a teacher at heart and often says he'd like more time to work with that junior team and also take over a significant role in Peoria's youth hockey program.

His footprint in Peoria's hockey community is Bigfoot-esque.

More: 'It's everything': How this Peoria native and Rivermen captain said goodbye to hockey

"The Rivermen are going to have the same culture as long as I'm here," Trudel said. "I'm not going anywhere. I'd like to see Hags get a chance to get his feet wet coaching some day. I think that would be great for the organization."

Rogers is looking forward to that conversation. Who knows what will come of it, but the Rivermen will be in good hands.

Hagaman could end up being the third captain under Trudel's regime to become a head coach. One of them, Dan Bremner, just put his team into the SPHL Finals for a second straight year.

Who is the next Rivermen captain?

Mind you now, if all these veteran Rivermen players call it a day, it doesn't mean it's forever. Imagine a Peoria team next March that could reach out and add Hagaman, Neville, McPherson, Godbout, Baer — any or all of those guys and others — in a comeback for a final few weeks and a playoff run? It's an unequaled ringer list.

But who will be the leader in that locker room during the season? Raise your right hand and repeat after me: I, Zach Wilkie, solemnly swear to pull on the Rivermen jersey each night and wear the captain's "C" with pride and great reverence ...

Rivermen defenseman Zach Wilkie brings a super-charged energy to the room and he has a reverence for the franchise, having turned down ECHL call-up offers all season to stay with Peoria.

I don't have a vote, but if Wilkie plays at this level next season, he's the natural heir-apparent in the Rivermen room.

Now it can be told

The Rivermen earned the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, but they were not a healthy team. Trudel says key center Joe Drapluk suffered a torn ACL and faces surgery. Wilkie suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee on a dirty hit from Roanoke's Jason Lavalee, and was just not the same after three weeks on IR.

Captain Alec Hagaman suffered ACL knee damage in the final game of the first-round series against Pensacola, and played the Roanoke series on injections in his knee to deal with the pain before every game.

Godbout suffered a separated shoulder in the ECHL, then separated his other shoulder in Peoria in the final days of the season. He came back from IR to play and score two goals against Roanoke while taking pain injections in his shoulders.

Carrier had his ribs cut open by a skate blade and was playing with stitches.

Cayden Cahill was hobbled from an ankle injury suffered in the ECHL.

Defenseman Braydon Barker left the final game early on with a concussion.

Hagaman was cut on his chin and needed stitches after Game 2 against Roanoke, then took a hit on his knee — from Lavalee again — in Game 3.

Salt in the wound

A day after the playoffs ended for Peoria, Trudel talked to coaches around the league who saw film of Game 3 and affirmed their surprise that the Rivermen lost that game.

The analytics from the game and series back that story. Peoria's attempted shots were 48-17 over Roanoke in the decisive Game 3.

Peoria allowed just 23 scoring chances — that's different than shots on goal — in the entire series. Yet Roanoke scored on 10 of those.

The team was mentally battered after spending 80 hours on the bus traveling in the first two playoff rounds — and that included a saga where it was stranded 40 hours in Tennessee and Alabama trying to get home in the first round.

More: Waffle House, weigh station: How the Peoria Rivermen spent 40 hours stranded on way home

"The last two years I think it's the first time I had a group that's able to handle adversity and teaching and coaching," Trudel said. "No questions asked, they just got to work.

"The long grinds, a lot of teams would have folded right there on that bus in that parking lot. Instead, they became leaders."

The Rivermen went on to the semis anyway and had two goals disallowed in a 3-2 Game 1 loss at Roanoke, and knew that would be trouble in a best-of-3 format where almost no one in the SPHL ever survives a round after losing the first game.

"This one was really hard," Trudel said. "We played some really good hockey. Ran into some things beyond our control, the series format, the calls with goals waved off. Then we come home and still have tons of confidence. The last two periods in that final game we were tremendous, every analytic was heavily in our favor.

"I think we had a special team, really high level for this league. What everyone was seeing on film was outstanding, the rest of the league was amazed we didn't win that series."

Said Hagaman: "I'm going to miss all these guys, some of us played a long time together. Nick Neville was my best friend here. Eric Levine was tremendous.

"We had a group of guys that over the years all we did was win games together. It was amazing."

A storybook season

Sometimes you don't get the perfect ending, but all the pages add up to a great story.

The 2022-23 Rivermen saw Zach Wilkie earn SPHL Defenseman of the Year honors. Wilkie, Nick Neville and Alec Hagaman gained All-SPHL teams. The front office staff produced a 20% increase in attendance and ownership survived a season-long public drama with the Peoria Civic Center to win a two-year lease.

More: Peoria Rivermen, Peoria Civic Center reach deal to keep pro hockey team at Carver Arena

Wilkie played a pro game with his brother alongside. Hagaman became the first player in SPHL history to reach 400 career games and 400 points.

Charter team defenseman Ben Oskroba came out of retirement to play one last weekend on home ice and say goodbye to the Peoria fans. Jordan Ernst stunned Evansville for a game-winner with 0:00.1 left on the clock.

The Rivermen beat Quad City for the Cold War on 74 Trophy again. A student morning game drew 6,000 to Carver Arena. Alec Hagaman's jersey from his final regular-season game sold at auction for $3,000. Longtime super fan Adam Masso, who has Down Syndrome, danced his heart out 39 times in post-game victory celebrations with the players.

Hagaman took off his jersey and laid it down at center ice, then skated off into retirement.

So much more.

On and off the ice, it was one of the most pivotal seasons in the team's history.

"We pride ourselves on leaving our legacy, and we did it, we left a legacy," Trudel said. "We made the finals all those years, doing that for Peoria.

"If you want to win, you have to be proud of the jersey you wear, the city you play for, the league you are in. We have a team that really understood the tradition of the Rivermen and everything that means.

"Because it means everything."

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Peoria Rivermen hockey: Retirements, untold stories, next captain