Sam Ftorek (born November 30, 1974) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

, who last played with the

Norfolk Admirals Norfolk Admirals has been the name of two professional ice hockey franchises: * Norfolk Admirals (AHL), a team which played in the American Hockey League from 2000 to 2015 *Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) The Norfolk Admirals are a professional ice hock ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

. He is the son of former NHL player and coach

Robbie Ftorek Robert Brian Ftorek (born January 2, 1952) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He was enshrined as member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991. Playing career Ftorek played in the 1962, 1963 and 1964 Queb ...

. He played with the

Kalamazoo Wings The Kalamazoo Wings, nicknamed the K-Wings, are a mid-level professional ice hockey team in Kalamazoo, Michigan. A member of the ECHL's Western Conference, Central Division, they play in the 5,113-seat Wings Event Center. They are the affiliate ...

of the

from 2009 to 2015. On June 18, 2015, Ftorek announced his retirement from professional hockey after 17 seasons and was announced as an assistant coach with the Kalamazoo Wings. On April 29, 2016, after one season as an assistant coach in Kalamazoo, he was named the first head coach of the Southern Professional Hockey League's

Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs The Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs are a professional ice hockey team and a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League. Based in Roanoke, Virginia, the Rail Yard Dawgs play their home games at Berglund Center. History The Rail Yard Dawgs are t ...

. In December 2017, Ftorek was elected to the ECHL Hall of Fame. 11 days later, on December 18th, 2017, Ftorek was relieved of his coaching duties in Roanoke, in favor of Dan Bremner. Over 74 games in the Rail Yard Dawgs' two seasons, Ftorek's team finished with a record of 22-41-11. He would return to the Norfolk Admirals as a player for 22 games, before retiring again at the end of the '17-'18 season.

Awards and honors

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ftorek, Sam 1974 births Living people Fehérvár AV19 players Amarillo Gorillas players American men's ice hockey defensemen Augusta Lynx players Bloomington PrairieThunder players Bracknell Bees players Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) players Fresno Falcons players Greensboro Generals players Gwinnett Gladiators players Kalamazoo Wings (ECHL) players EHC Kloten players Manchester Monarchs (AHL) players Mobile Mysticks players Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) players Saint Anselm College alumni Saint Anselm Hawks men's ice hockey players