Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde didn’t go straight home to Detroit from Traverse City on Monday afternoon. Instead, he headed down M-22 to Big Rapids so that he could announce the captain and assistant captains for the Ferris State University Bulldogs. Fox 17’s Remi Monaghan reports:
Lalonde was an assistant coach of the Bulldogs from 2002-2006 where he helped lead them to a CCHA league championship in his first year. FSU coach Bob Daniels called him last week and asked if he would stop in Big Rapids for the announcement on his way back from training camp in Traverse City.
“It’s a huge honor for me. This program means a lot to me. It was one of my first coaching jobs. I was really green and raw, I grew up tremendously. It couldn’t have come together any better. We had our last practice this morning in Traverse City and then drove straight here on the way home. It works perfectly,” said Lalonde.
This years team captain is Brendan MacLaren. His assistant captains are Nick Hale, Stephan Pokorny and Jason Brancheau. Three of the four of them are from the state of Michigan.
“Yeah it’s awesome. Not many teams in the country can have an NHL head coach come announce team captains. It means a lot to us and it’s very special,” said MacLaren.
I can’t embed the video, but you can watch the YouTube video here.
Update: Ferris State Athletics posted a 5:12 clip of Lalonde’s appearance:
