Former Bulldog Zach Redmond Helps USA To Bronze Medal & Record 8 Wins At World Championships

(Photo Courtesy Getty Images/AFP)

Big Rapids, Mich. - Former Ferris State University men's ice hockey captain and current National Hockey League (NHL) defenseman Zach Redmond (Traverse City) helped the United States to a bronze medal on Sunday (May 16) as the USA topped the Czech Republic 3-0 to wrap up the 2015 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHL) World Championships in Prague.

The win gave the United States its second medal in the last three world championships, a feat the country had not accomplished since 1952. Team USA also earned bronze at the 2013 IIHF Men's World Championship in Helsinki and Stockholm, Sweden.

In Sunday's bronze medal game, Redmond saw more than eight minutes of ice time and finished with a +1 on-ice rating in his final contest as the United States wrapped up a three-plus week journey with a medal for only the 18th time in the 79-year history of the World Championships.

Overall, the USA won eight games in the world championships, which was the most of any U.S. team in a single men's world championship in history. The Americans won Group B with an impressive 6-1 overall record and then topped Switzerland 3-1 in the semifinals on Thursday (May 14) before falling to Russia 4-0 in Saturday's (May 15) semifinals.

Earlier in the tournament, Redmond came up with the first assist on Charlie Coyle's game-tying goal near the end of the second period in a thrilling 5-4 overtime triumph over Slovakia on May 12 before a sellout crowd of 8,812 fans at CEZ Arena in Ostrava as the USA captured the Group B crown.

Redmond represented the United States for the first time as the Americans competed in the world championships in Ostrava and Prague in the Czech Republic. The former FSU captain spent the 2014-15 season in the National Hockey League with the Colorado Avalanche, where he played 59 games and finished third on the team in points (5-15--20) among defensemen. Redmond joined the Avalanche as a free agent on July 1, 2014, after spending two seasons in the Winnipeg Jets organization. 

Redmond, who spent most of the previous three seasons prior to this past campaign with the American Hockey League's (AHL) St. John's IceCaps in the Winnipeg Jets' system, signed with the Avalanche on a two-year, $1.5 million contract last summer.

The defenseman previously appeared in 10 games for the Winnipeg Jets at the NHL level in 2013-14, tallying three points on a goal and two assists. He spent most of that season with the AHL's St. John's IceCaps, where he had 25 points on six goals and 19 assists in 40 regular-season games and 14 points with two goals and 12 helpers in 21 playoff contests as the IceCaps reached the AHL Calder Cup Finals.

A Traverse City native, Redmond made his NHL debut in 2012-13 when he appeared in eight games with the Jets and recorded four points on a goal and three assists before suffering a significant and life-threatening leg injury which ended his NHL season.

After the injury, Redmond capped one of professional hockey's most miraculous comebacks when he returned to play in two games with the IceCaps at the end of the year before being recalled by the NHL club. The following season, Redmond was also named to the 2013 Dunkin' Donuts AHL All-Star Classic for his efforts with the IceCaps. 

Before turning pro, Redmond played four seasons at Ferris State from 2007-11 and served as the Bulldogs' team captain as a senior in 2010-11.  A 2010-11 All-Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) First-Team performer, Redmond registered a team second-highest 20 points on a career season-best seven goals with 13 assists in 26 contests for the Bulldogs in the 2010-11 season.

Redmond concluded his four seasons (2007-11) as a Bulldog with 90 points on 22 goals and 68 assists in 141 contests.  The 2009-10 second-team All-CCHA skater chalked up 12 power-play goals, seven game-winning tallies, one short-handed lamplighter, 217 blocked shots, and a plus 22 efficiency rating.

A 2008 seventh-round NHL Entry Draft pick (184th overall) by the Atlanta Thrashers, Redmond originally inked a contract with Atlanta and began his career skating for their top affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, of the AHL before moving to the IceCaps.