UMass Pro Champions

While Jonathan Quick’s Conn Smythe winning performance helped earn him a special place in Los Angeles Kings history, he added to his legacy as a former University of Massachusetts Minuteman as well.
Quick, who was the first Minuteman with an Olympic hockey medal (silver in 2010), will be the first former UMass player with his name on the Stanley Cup.
Quick is just the sixth former college player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy, which goes to the Stanley Cup playoffs’ most valuable player. UMass became the first school ever to have a Conn Smythe-winner and a Super Bowl Champion in the same year as former Minuteman Victor Cruz was on the New York Giants’ team that capture the NFL crown.
It’s been a year of championships with UMass connections as former coach John Calipari won an NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship with Kentucky, and former Minuteman All-American Jack Reid was a member of the Major League Lacrosse champion Boston Cannons. Former Minuteman Mike Kostka was part of the Calder Cup (AHL champion) winning Norfolk Admirals this week.
Before Cruz, it had been a while since a UMass athlete had won a championship in the four major sports. Kole
Ayi earned a ring as a member of the Patriots first Super Bowl winning team in 2002, but he was on injured reserve at the time.
Prior to that Jeff Reardon earned a save in game seven of the 1987 World Series for the Minnesota Twins.
It’s been almost 30 years since former Minutemen won titles in two sports in the same season. Mike Flanagan was a pitcher for the 1983 Baltimore Orioles, who beat the Phillies in the World Series five games, while Julius
Erving played for the NBA Champion Philadelphia 76ers.
Bruce Kimball (1984) won a Super Bowl with the Redskins, while Phil Vandersea got a ring in 1967 with Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl I.