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Milwaukee Mucker
Jay Henderson's willingness to play his role has helped produce yet another AHL championship.

By Dan Hickling
Minor League News

07.01.04 - Wilkes-Barre, PA - Jay Henderson could be called the Claude Lemieux of the AHL.

He is the consummate disturber, agitator, and grinder.

More importantly, after helping his Milwaukee Admirals tote the Calder Cup off the Wachovia Arena ice, he is once again a champion.

Having helped his squad to a convincing four-game Cup Final trampling of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Henderson has etched his name on the Calder for the third time, with three different teams.

Only three other players in the AHL's 68-year run have ever done that.

It's as though summer won't come around until Henderson has a touch of the Calder. "Any time you're playing this late in the year, it's a good sign," he said.

Perhaps having Jay around your team is the good sign.

The Houston Aeros thought so last year, when they swung a mid-season deal to get the 25-year old Edmonton native prior to their title run.

So did Admirals' first year coach Claude Noel, who piped him aboard just before the start of this season.

"He's a guy who can get under people's skin," said Noel. "He has an uncanny ability to annoy people. That's something he does really well."

Henderson has been annoying the opposition since his days in junior, where he played in Red Deer and Edmonton.

Never a gifted scorer, although he did score 49 goals in his final season for coach Ryan McGill (now in Hartford), the Boston Bruins saw enough in him to take a flyer on him in the ninth round.

"He was such a spunky guy," said Bob Tindall, the now retired former head scout for the Bruins. "He had speed and plenty of heart."

Jay wound up being sent by the Bruins to Providence, where he was part of the worst team in franchise history one year (1998), and the best team in AHL history the next, helping bring the Calder Cup to Rhode Island.

Still, Henderson got a few chances to make the jump to Boston, and was eventually derailed by injuries. A concussion cost him a chance in 2000, and knee surgery cost him the entire year the next season.

Despite these setbacks, as well as his daily battles with diabetes, Henderson just keeps battling back. There's always another opponent to pester, another Cup to be won.

"That's my role," he said, "and I'm happy doing it."