TWO FORMER GRIFFINS EARN MEDALS AT 2018 WINTER OLYMPICS
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Two former Grand Rapids Griffins earned medals at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. Alexey Marchenko was a member of the Olympic Athletes from Russia team that took home the gold in men’s hockey, while Chris Kelly scored the game-winning goal in Canada’s bronze medal match against the Czech Republic.
Marchenko’s and Kelly’s success continues the Griffins’ long and storied history with the Olympic Games, as their finishes mark the fourth straight Olympics that a Griffins alum has won a medal.
A total of eight former Griffins participated in this year’s Olympics: Dick Axelsson (Sweden), Chad Billins (USA), Chris Chelios (assistant coach USA), Kelly (Canada), Marchenko (Olympic Athletes from Russia), Jan Mursak (Slovenia), Jim Paek (head coach Korea) and Brock Radunske (Korea).
Take a look at how each former player and coach fared:
| GP | G | A | PTS | Record (W-L-OTL/SOL) | Finish | ||
| Jan Mursak | Slovenia | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2-1-1 | 9th |
| Chris Kelly | Canada | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4-1-1 | Bronze |
| Brock Radunske | Korea (HC Jim Paek) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0-4-0 | 12th |
| Alexey Marchenko | OAR | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5-1-0 | Gold |
| Dick Axelsson | Sweden | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3-0-1 | 5th |
| Chad Billins | USA (AC Chris Chelios) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2-1-2 | 7th |
Mursak scored both the game-tying and overtime goals against Team USA in the preliminary round and finished among the tournament leaders in points (T9th) and goals (T5th).
A record 11 Griffins alumni participated in the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia; five players have skated in the Olympics while on Grand Rapids’ active roster; 25 alumni have donned their nations’ colors after concluding their Griffins careers; and 15 players participated in the Olympics prior to starting in Grand Rapids.
In the 2006 Games in Turin, Italy, Niklas Kronwall became the first Griffins alumnus to earn an Olympic medal, winning gold thanks to Sweden’s victory over Finland in the championship game. Valtteri Filppula became the second to medal in 2010 in Vancouver, earning a bronze with Finland. Kronwall then became the only former Griffin to win two Olympic medals by taking silver in Sochi alongside fellow Grand Rapids alumni Jonathan Ericsson, Jonas Gustavsson and Gustav Nyquist, completing the Olympic medal spectrum for the Griffins.