Tyler Spezia remembers the Toledo Walleye's first run to the Kelly Cup Finals like it was yesterday.
The speedy forward was a key component of a team that came tantalizingly close to claiming the franchise's first championship.
In the 2019 ECHL playoffs, Spezia was a rising rookie winger fresh out of Bowling Green State University. Now the 31-year-old veteran is back for more.
“I'm excited,” said Spezia, who re-signed with the Walleye last week. “My last taste of meaningful playoff hockey was when we lost in 2018-19 to Newfoundland in the Kelly Cup Finals. So that was a big thing. I want to play meaningful games on a good team and compete for a championship. There's no better place to do that than in Toledo.”
Spezia, a native of Clinton Township, Mich., had played the past four seasons for Toledo's American Hockey League affiliate in Grand Rapids after splitting time between the organizations in his first two years of pro hockey. He hopes the next stage of his career ends with an on-ice celebration.
“It's not really any shocker that's the focus from day one here,” Spezia said. “Although you do need a lot to go right to get yourself in that position — it definitely looks like we've got the team to do it.
“The last two years, it's been in the back of my mind coming back here. Toledo was great to me, and I loved it there. When you're not enjoying the game as much as you had in the past, you go back to when it was really fun. That's the mindset. I want to enjoy it and be on a good team. It's almost going back to your roots.”
Spezia has played in 79 games for the Walleye, 46th most all time. He has scored 21 goals (46th most) and has 38 assists (43rd) for 59 points (41st). The left winger/center has averaged 0.75 points per game in a Toledo uniform.
“What's not to love?” Spezia said. “You know you're going to play in front of a packed building. You're going to get treated like a celebrity and be part of a first-class organization. There's nothing but positives. Guys want to play there. It was a very easy decision.”
Spezia loves the Walleye organization nearly as much as his best friend and newly reunited teammate Brandon Hawkins.
Hawkins, who won the ECHL's MVP award last season, said he's pumped up to have Spezia around the locker room.
“I'm very, very excited,” Hawkins said. “He's been one of my best friends for years. We played together growing up at the roller hockey rink that my dad ran. We've been linemates, and he's the reason I ended up in Toledo. It's coming full circle.”
Hawkins said he spoke with Spezia throughout last season.
“To have him on board is huge. I think that's a huge piece of the puzzle for us,” Hawkins said
Toledo coach Pat Mikesch, who enters his second season, said it was clear in talking to Spezia in the offseason how he had a special place in his heart for Toledo.
“He's all in. How excited he is to join us makes it that much more exciting for us to have him back,” Mikesch said. “Anytime you can find a guy with AHL experience like that, there is a lot that he can bring off the ice as well.”
Spezia played at BGSU from 2014-18. He had 72 points (34 G, 38 A) in 147 games as a Falcon. Spezia was a senior at BG when Walleye forwards Brandon Kruse and Sam Craggs were freshmen.
“I was very close to that freshmen class,” Spezia said. “We're still in a big group chat. It'll be fun to be back with Kruser and Sammy and Hawk.”
Growing up in Michigan, Spezia also played with newly acquired defensemen Jalen Smereck, as well as returning forwards Dalton Messina and Mitchell Lewandowski.
“I know a lot of these guys and I'm excited to play with them again,” he said. “There's that Toledo-Michigan connection. The proximity to home for a lot of guys allows their families to travel to games.”
Spezia also played with Hawkins at BG.
“It's exciting to get a chance to play with a childhood friend of mine and reunite our relationship and our chemistry on the ice and all that,” he said.
Spezia said Hawkins could even exceed the numbers he set during his ECHL MVP season that year when he scored a Walleye franchise record 40 goals and led the league with 93 points.
“He's special, and I've been seeing it forever,” Spezia said. “Hawk and I just have a natural chemistry. We play a very different game, but we're very comfortable playing together. I know his tendencies. There's nothing he can do that is going to surprise me. I'm fired up to reunite with him.”
Spezia, who also played many minutes with Walleye forward Trenton Bliss in Grand Rapids, said he's looking forward to playing for Mikesch and his creative and uptempo style.
“I think it's a good time for the organization with coach coming in here with a hungry group,” he said. “I'm excited to play with a bunch of skilled and creative players. It fits my style. You see the production and you can't help but be excited about the potential offense. It's a deep and skilled group. But you've still got to commit to the other side and shut other teams down and not just outscore them. I think that we need to have a little bit more bite to our game.”
Spezia said the defensive side of his game has grown.
“It's just a willingness to defend and to be tough to play against,” he said.
Hawkins said Spezia brings all the intangibles.
“He's a good person, and that's where it all stems from,” Hawkins said. “He'll be a big time addition because of all the things he's gone through as a player in terms of playoffs and going up and down between the American League and the [ECHL]. He's faced adversity. It'll be very, very beneficial for our team.”
In his first season in Toledo, Spezia had 39 points (11 G, 28 A) in 58 games. He then had 12 points (3 G, 9 A) in 24 playoff games. Spezia helped lead the team to a 40-23-9 record in the regular season and reach the Kelly Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history. Toledo ultimately fell 4 games to 2 to Newfoundland in the Kelly Cup Finals.
Spezia said he fondly remembers that rookie season playing with veterans like T.J. Hensick and goalie Pat Nagle, as well as his buddy Shane Berschbach, the franchise's all-time leading scorer.
“There was no better group to learn how to be a pro than those guys. I was very lucky,” he said. “A huge part of why I decided to sign with Toledo is that there's still a little bit of a sour taste just knowing that we didn't get it done. I still think about it all the time. So that's a huge motivator.”
Spezia said he has kept close tabs on the team.
“I've followed their playoff runs the last couple of years,” he said. “Obviously one person isn't going to win it at all. But I definitely think I can help and be a positive impact. Hopefully, we can get over the hump for a city that is well more than deserving of a championship. So that's the focus.”
Spezia split the 2019-20 season between Toledo and Grand Rapids. He appeared in 21 games for the Walleye and had 20 points (10 G, 10 A).
The 5-foot-10 and 168-pound forward has played in 240 AHL games and has produced 85 points (33 G, 52 A). Last season, he amassed 16 points (6 G, 10 A) in his sixth season with Grand Rapids.
Spezia said he did not contemplate retirement but did receive interest from other AHL and European teams.
“I've always tried to gauge myself with my skating and my speed,” he said. “I know I haven't lost a step.”
Spezia, who will be considered an ECHL veteran (260 or more pro games), will be the oldest player on the roster.
“I'm looking forward to embracing that kind of role, too, and and helping these kids who are hungry to move on to the next level,” he said. “It's being a good teammate and pushing those guys. Everyone's trying to move up. But when you find a place like Toledo it's so hard to leave. Now I'm going to take on a whole new role and enjoy myself here.”
Training camp opens on Oct. 6. The Walleye play a preseason game on Oct. 11 at Kalamazoo and host the K-Wings on Oct. 12.
“I always tell people Toledo is the NHL of the ECHL. It's the standard. It's how it should be,” Spezia said. “I want to get back to enjoying the game but also being a professional and having a purpose and showing up every day and being a big part of the team.”
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