Former Griffins on Staffs at Paralympics
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The 2022 Paralympic Winter Games are underway in Beijing, and the favored para ice hockey teams from the United States and Canada both have a former member of the Grand Rapids Griffins on their staff.
Mike Fountain, a Griffins goaltender from 1999-2001 and now the ice director for the Walker Ice & Fitness Center, is in his fourth year as the goaltending coach for Canada’s Para Hockey Team. Meanwhile, the equipment manager for the U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team is Jake Visser, who served as the Griffins’ assistant equipment manager from 2007-10. Each is making his debut at the Paralympic Winter Games.
Team USA’s quest for an unprecedented fourth-straight Paralympic gold medal begins on Saturday at 12:05 a.m. EST when the Americans and Canadians clash in the preliminary round. The game will be aired live on USA Network, Peacock, and NBCOlympics.com.
Fountain, a native of North York, Ontario, was a standout on Grand Rapids’ final two International Hockey League squads, leading the Griffins to the IHL’s final regular-season championship in 2000-01 after helping them reach the 2000 Turner Cup Finals. He was a Second Team IHL All-Star and a starter in the IHL All-Star Game in 2000-01, and he still ranks among the Griffins’ all-time goaltending leaders with 55 wins (5th), nine shutouts (5th), a 0.919 save percentage (T5th), a 2.24 goals against average (6th), 88 games played (8th), 2,049 saves (9th) and 4855:22 minutes played (9th). A second-round pick of the Vancouver Canucks in 1992, Fountain appeared in 11 NHL games with Vancouver, Carolina and Ottawa during a 17-year pro career.
Including a seven-year stint (2000-07) as a locker room attendant, Visser spent a decade with the Griffins before embarking on what has become a 12-year career with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. Primarily the equipment manager for the U.S. National Under-18 Team, the Grand Rapids native has served at numerous international tournaments, winning three gold medals (2011, 2015, 2017) and one silver medal (2013) at the IIHF Men’s Under-18 World Championship.
Fountain and Visser look to add to the Beijing medal haul of former Griffins. Four alumni earned medals at the recently completed 2022 Winter Olympic Games, which saw a record 15 former Griffins represent eight different countries. Harri Sateri and Valtteri Filppula led Finland to its first-ever Olympic gold medal, while Patrik Rybar and Tomas Jurco helped Slovakia claim its first medal of any color. It marked the fifth consecutive Olympics in which at least one Griffins alum stood on the podium.
The Paralympics’ ice hockey competition will conclude with the gold medal game next Saturday, March 12 at 11:05 p.m. EST. The complete schedule can be found at paralympic.org/beijing-2022.