Why a Rivermen star will play instead of coach, plus Peoria hires a new assistant

PEORIA — Alec Hagaman, the coach, decided the best thing he could do for the Peoria Rivermen was be Alec Hagaman, the player.

The veteran Peoria-born captain resigned as associate head coach of the Rivermen on Wednesday night and returned to the ice as a player for the 2023-24 SPHL season.

The Rivermen then hired retired goaltender Eric Levine as assistant coach in what was a major shakeup of the team on the ice and behind the bench 48 hours before the season opener.

It will be a farewell tour for Hagaman in every sense, as he and his wife, Emily, will be moving from Peoria to Wisconsin early next summer to address a family situation.

"I'm coming back to play," said Hagaman, 33. "I know I said I was retired last spring, but things have suddenly changed in my life and my family's life. We're heading to Hudson, Wis., at some point around the beginning of next summer. Things changed unexpectedly, and we have no choice, we're going to have to leave Peoria when this season is over.

More: What we learned as the Peoria Rivermen opened camp: Father-son duo, captain vibes and boxing

"I considered what the best thing for the Rivermen was in this situation. I know now there is not going to be an opportunity for me to develop as a coach. I felt that if I'm not going to be coaching and pursuing it, what's the point of carrying on with it? It doesn't help me or the team. There's no point of the team investing in me as a coach when it's not going to be my future.

"So I'd like to finish my time here as a player instead."

The Rivermen were shocked

Hagaman talked to longtime Rivermen head coach and general manager Jean-Guy Trudel about his situation. They talked about whether it made sense for him to launch a coaching career here in that setting.

"I think he wrestled with it," Trudel said. "He came in and said, 'Hey, what do you think if I played? We're going to be leaving Peoria, and I shouldn't continue coaching.'

"I was shocked. It was a long conversation. His wife gave her blessing for him to play. Alec decided that's what he wanted to do. From a team perspective, I just became a much better coach today. Alec Hagaman makes everyone look good. So I'm pretty excited to have him back in that role. And our players will be, too, when they find out about it."

Hagaman, the only Peoria-born captain in the 42-year history of the Rivermen franchise, has played eight seasons with the team he grew up watching as a kid. He spent four seasons as captain, and it is presumed he'll continue that role in his comeback.

"The leadership aspect?" Trudel said. "We'll work through that quickly this week, but I think we all know what's going to happen."

More: These 7 players will make the Peoria Rivermen season interesting

A repeat farewell season

Hagaman is among the greatest players in SPHL history. If the league had a Hall of Fame, he'd be in it.

"I just want to have a blast," Hagaman said. "This is it for me — I won't be here again and there's no coming back. I want to help guys prepare for leadership roles and then I'm moving on with my life.

"Just enjoy being around everyone one more time."

Hagaman has led the Rivermen to a regular-season points title six times, and to the SPHL President's Cup Finals four times. The pinnacle of his career arrived as he took the Rivermen to a President's Cup championship in 2021-22, delivering Peoria its first title in 22 years.

Hagaman has played 399 regular-season games for Peoria, with 158 goals, 229 assists and a plus-171 rating. He has another 42 games in postseason play, with 15 goals, 19 assists and a plus-6 rating.

His farewell to Peoria fans last spring was an emotionally charged scene at Carver Arena.

"So I get to play this one more year," Hagaman said. "I'm going to spend this final year in Peoria where I have always loved to be — on the ice with the Rivermen."

Hagaman will not play in the regular-season opener Saturday at Quad City. He said he needs some time to get physically up to speed for a role as a player.

The team is expecting him on the ice for its home opener on Oct. 27 in Carver Arena.

A new career for Levine

Longtime Rivermen goaltender Eric Levine retired last spring, but he was back in Peoria this fall helping as a volunteer assistant coach during training camp. Now he'll be a full-time assistant coach for the Rivermen this season.

"I'm pumped to have Eric coming in," Trudel said. "This all escalated pretty quickly. He had already asked us if he could go on the road anyway, as a volunteer, to help Alec. Now he'll be helping me, and on some road games he'll go solo. But he really won't be alone, not with so many veteran, experienced players around him.

"The bottom line is, he wanted to be part of the group and it turned out great. He has a passion for the game and a passion for Peoria. He's going to do a phenomenal job."

Levine, 35, led the Rivermen to four first-place finishes and was part of Peoria's 2021-22 President's Cup championship team. He appeared in 157 regular-season games for the Rivermen, delivering a 95-33-16 record with a 2.28 goals-against, .920 saves rate and 15 shutouts.

"It's such a privilege, never in my wildest dreams did I think being an assistant coach was going to happen for me, but here we are, and I am eager to begin working with Jean-Guy Trudel," Levine said. "He, along with the ownership and staff hold a high standard for this organization and I knew that from Day 1 as a player here.

"Now I'll re-learn that process from Day 1 as a coach."

More: Batman jerseys, cheap tickets and underwear toss: Peoria Rivermen expand promotions for 2023-24

Levine's 95 career regular-season wins with the Rivermen were second all-time among goaltenders in Peoria's 42-year franchise history, in between former NHLers Darrell May (111) and Ben Bishop (81). He won 11 consecutive games for the Rivermen in 2021-22, one short of the league record. He earned multiple all-SPHL honors and was the 2019-20 SPHL Goaltender of the Year.

In his final three seasons with the Rivermen, he went 69-20-12.

"I'm excited to add my unique perspective of the game to this group of players and equally as excited to bring another championship back to these great Peoria fans.

"I'm ready to do whatever it takes to help this team win hockey games."

River Readings

The Rivermen released forward Liam Freeborn and goaltender Brett Epp on Wednesday, as SPHL rosters were finalized. … The SPHL has added a new roster category this season, called a reserve list. It somewhat mimics the ECHL's reserve list setup. SPHL teams can place a player on their reserve list — which doesn't count against roster limits — if they've signed that player but he has not reported because he is in an ECHL camp or not yet medically cleared to play. … The Rivermen will place defenseman Braydon Barker on their reserve list as he continues to recover from offseason surgery. … Veteran center Joe Drapluk is still recovering from ACL surgery and is not yet signed by the Rivermen. They hold his SPHL rights, but can't place him on reserve or IR lists until he is signed. He's projected to need another two months in his recovery. ... The Rivermen signed goaltender Brendahn Brawley to a full SPHL contract Thursday afternoon after he was released by Knoxville. The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder was 22-3-1 with a 2.02 goals-against and .932 saves rate last season in his fourth and final year at NCAA Div.-III Plymouth State. ... The Rivermen also signed left wing Chad Lopez to an SPHL tryout contract. He played for Binghamton in the low-A FPHL last season and had a brief call-up with Quad City. He played four seasons at Wisconsin-Superior.

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Peoria Rivermen star Alec Hagaman dropped coaching to play one more year