HUNTERSVILLE, NC (May 26, 2022) – The Southern Professional Hockey League announced Thursday that Josh Eaves of the Quad City Storm is the recipient of the 2021-2022 SPHL Equipment Manager of the Year Award.
The winner was selected by a vote of the league’s equipment managers and athletic trainers.
Eaves was born in Joliet, Illinois, but grew up in Hernando, Mississippi where he fell in love with the game of hockey. He started playing hockey at the age of nine and began working as a stick boy for the SPHL’s Mississippi RiverKings in 2012. In February 2018, Eaves became the equipment manager for the Birmingham Bulls, finishing out the season with them. Eaves has been with Quad City since 2018 and just completed his fourth season as equipment manager for the Storm.
Previous Equipment Manager of the Year Winners
2020-21 award not presented
2019-20 Brian McQueen, Knoxville Ice Bears
2018-19 Ray Pack, Birmingham Bulls
2017-18 Mark Riepe, Peoria Rivermen
2016-17 Matt Schwegmann, Peoria Rivermen
2015-16 Jim Chesnut, Mississippi RiverKings
2014-15 Andrew Cohen, Peoria Rivermen
2013-14 Michael Slayton, Columbus Cottonmouths
2012-13 Mark Williamson, Knoxville Ice Bears
2011-12 Patrick Stevens, Mississippi RiverKings
2010-11 Jeff Adams, Columbus Cottonmouths
About the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL)
Now entering its 19th season, the Southern Professional Hockey League is comprised of 11 member teams located throughout the southeastern and midwestern United States. Headquartered in Huntersville, North Carolina, the mission of the SPHL is to provide a quality family-friendly entertainment product structured inside an economic model that is viable for small and mid-size markets and arenas.
