Luke Glendening’s road to pro hockey has been
anything but certain.
“I always wanted to do it. It’s every hockey player’s
dream to play professional hockey. I didn’t know if it
was ever going to become a reality,” said Glendening,
who until recently played for the Toledo Walleye.
The defensive forward took the next step after
being called up to the Grand Rapids Griffins, the
American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings, on Dec. 17.
“I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity
and I’m just trying to go make the best of it,” Glendening said. “I’m not sure how long I’m going to be
here, but I’m just trying to find any way I can to stay.”
Glendening said his time with the Walleye
allowed him to build his confidence and adjust
to pro hockey.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about how you
play, if you play hard and you’re playing fast, and
I think Toledo allowed me to gain confidence to
do that,” he said.
The confidence boost helped Glendening when
he made his debut with Grand Rapids on Dec. 19,
scoring his first AHL goal on his first shot.
Just two minutes and 49 seconds into the opening
period, Griffins forward Triston Grant shot the puck
in front of the net and Glendening charged the net
and sent the rebound past the netminder.
Glendening got off to a hot start in his rookie.
season. In 27 games with the Walleye, he scored 14
goals, ranking him second among ECHL rookies as
of Jan. 3. He scored 31 goals in 165 games during his
college days at the University of Michigan.
Glendening’s success at finding the net has been somewhat surprising to him and others.
“His role has been a real strong defensive player
at Michigan, and not that he couldn’t score, but his
strengths were his work ethic, his physicality, his
defensive responsibility and his leadership skills,”
said Red Berenson, who coached Glendening from
2008-12 at UM.
Berenson said Glendening’s knowledge allowed
him to shine as a defensive forward, especially on the
penalty kill, where he excelled at shot blocking.
“He was sort of the conscience of the line. He gave
the line some physicality and he gave them some defensive responsibility. You want a player like that on
every line,” Berenson said. “But we used him in more
of a defensive role and he was the defensive player of
the year in our whole conference.”
Glendening said during his freshman year at
Michigan, he skated in only 35 games, the fewest of
any of his four seasons as a Wolverine.
Berenson said he was not sure if Glendening
would be a regular player. Glendening said this
caused doubts about his future, but he worked hard
and earned a regular spot his sophomore year.
“He convinced us with the way he played and the
way he practiced that he was going to work his way
into the lineup,” Berenson said.
During his four years at UM, Glendening was a
two-time captain of the Wolverine squad and helped
lead the school to a national championship appearance during the 2010-11 season.
Glendening said he still was unsure about his future even after he graduated this year with a degree
in political science. He was undrafted, but signed to
a one-year contract with Grand Rapids on June 19.
“I just kept working hard and I still didn’t know if
it was going to work,” he said. “But it’s something I’ve
always wanted to do.”
He made his pro debut in April when he
signed an amateur tryout contract with the
Providence Bruins. Although he only played three
games with the Bruins, Glendening said he learned a
lot about himself and got a small taste of pro hockey.
Glendening, a native of Grand Rapids, Mich.,
said playing in front of his hometown was special.
“Every corner I looked into of the rink, it seemed
like I saw someone that I knew, which made the moment a little extra special because there has been so
many people from Grand Rapids that have stood beside me,” he said.
Glendening said his parents told him he didn’t
have to be the best player on the ice — just the
hardest worker.
“That’s something I’ve carried with me
throughout life,” he said. “There’s always going to be
people that are better than you at anything. … If you
can outwork them, see what happens.”
