The name Jock Callander still brings a smile to the face of Muskegon area hockey fans, who remember him as a dominant center on some of the great Muskegon Lumberjack teams of the early 1980’s. Callander first came to Muskegon a 1984 and helped ignite a golden era of Muskegon hockey during his eight years here, where he was a local hero along with likes of Scott Gruhl and David Michayluk. He topped the 100-point mark during his first three years in town, highlighted by the 1986 Turner Cup title.

The Lumberjacks parent club, the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL, took notice of his talent and Callander spent time between Muskegon and Pittsburgh over the next five years. Callander led the Lumberjacks to another Turner Cup championship in 1989 and then was part of the Penguins’ Stanley Cup championship team in 1992 which was coached by Scotty Bowman and included greats like Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Paul Coffey, Kevin Stevens and Rick Tocchet.

After the Lumberjacks moved to Cleveland in 1992, Callander continued to be a force after most of his contemporaries had retired. Callander played seven years in Cleveland and 18 years of professional hockey overall. He is the all-time leading scorer in International Hockey League history with 1,402 points, second all-time with 848 assists and third in league history with 554 goals.