Rivermen Retrospective: Ayodele Adeniye Shows Up
January 27, 2026 - 03:40 pm
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https://open.spotify.com/episode/599yJEWyOPIEWkAyVhzp7X?si=VQgqHq8NSU-tLd1pH1a47g
Photo: Tim Lester Images
(The following transcript has been edited for time and clarity)
JASON
Hey, Riverman fans as well as hockey fans across the internet, I'm Jason Ruff. Welcome back to another edition of Riverman Retrospective, the podcast where we get to sit down and learn a little bit more about some of the key stars and standouts of the Peoria Riverman Professional Hockey Club. Our next guest is one of the favorite sons of the great state of Ohio, the Buckeye State. I am, of course, I'm referring to Ayodele Adeniye. He is a Division III college champion, a professional hockey standout, and just an all-around great guy. Also a lover of axolotls as well.
AYODELE
Yeah, I kinda love the axolotls. Thanks for having me on, Ruffer.
JASON
How are you doing, my friend? You've been battling injuries a little bit recently. Hope you're on the mend. Hope we get to see you on the ice here soon.
AYODELE
Yep, it should be a couple of weeks, and we're back on the ice, so I'm looking forward to it.
JASON
Absolutely, well, let's get after it here. The reason I say that you love the axolotls, for fans who don't know, a few years ago, or actually it was last year, we did a little segment with some of the players, like what is one word or phrase that you really like or want me to say on the air? And you said, and I quote, "axolotl, good luck with that one." And we handled it, but now everyone thinks that an axolotl is your favorite animal. Is an axolotl your favorite anima,l and if so, why?
AYODELE
It's my fiancé’s favorite animal, so that's why I said that my favorite animal is probably like the giraffe. Or my spirit animal on the team is an ostrich, so I can say that that's up there, too. (laughing) But yeah, that was the reasoning.
JASON
Funny, you mentioned giraffe 'cause that's my girlfriend's favorite animal. So there's a little cross going on with the girlfriends and all that. You know, we were talking a little bit before we came on about your time playing Division III College hockey with Adrian College, and in fact, you were able to win a national championship with the Adrian Bulldogs in 2022. You and I actually have a couple of connections on that team, namely assistant coach Adam Phillips, as well as forward Zach Heinz I had the Odessa Jackalopes. What was it like playing with those two guys and, of course, playing under assistant coach Phillips? And how did that experience, not only winning the national championship but also playing with the Adrian Bulldogs, mold you both as a player and a person?
AYODELE
I think that, well first I'll touch on the guys. Heinzee's an amazing guy. He's super funny. He's always bringing energy into the room. That's something that you always love, super skilled. So you know, when you give him the puck, it's a show for him. Adam Phillips, definitely a very good culture builder as a coach, reliable, someone that you wanna go to bat for and go win games for every night. So definitely shout out to those two. Really love those guys. Now, when we get into like winning a championship and that, from juniors, I kinda got brought up through a good culture of, like, winning culture,e which was really good. Unfortunately, I went to [University of] Alabama in Huntsville, which folded. We only won three games that year. So kinda, the culture kinda slipped. But going back to Adrian, just seeing that everyone came every day, looking forward to winning, the culture of winning, the culture of hard work. That definitely stuck with me. And it's really good to come to a team like Peoria that has a great culture too. Because it just continues to build, it helps you become a leader, helps you step out of your comfort zone.
JASON
How does a kid from Columbus, Ohio get involved and started in the sport of hockey? Because, from what I understand, you have a pretty unique story there.
AYODELE
I do, and I love telling it because it's an inspiration to a lot of people. I started playing at three through an NHL diversity program, the Columbus Ice Hockey Club. And from there, they've given me countless opportunities and countless support to be able to, you know, follow my dream and play professional hockey. I'm the first kid from that program to make it to the professional level. So it's cool just to inspire those guys and show them that this guy's the limit.
JASON
Absolutely, and how did the Hockey is for Everyone initiative help foster your love for the game, and what legacy do you think it left on you?
AYODELE
Obviously, hockey is a predominantly white sport. So being able to go to the rink every day with guys that look like you and can relate with you at a young age definitely kept me away from some of the horror stories I've heard from other people. So that was honestly super helpful. Just things like that support John Haferman. He's my mentor, my life coach, great human friend. I can call him a whole bunch of names but he definitely brought me up the right way, kind of just showing me the things to do and not to do and that program has definitely left a lasting impact on me. I still work with them when I can over the summer and stuff like that.
JASON
So you still go back home to Columbus, Ohio, and help out, pitch in, and lend a hand?
AYODELE
Every time I can in the opportunity, but I'm a busy man, I'm moving to the place.
JASON
Pro hockey players are busy, busy people. It's not just going to practice and playing games. There's a lot of stuff going on with the community. You have a lot of other ventures going on as well. We'll get to that a little bit later on. But I do have to ask, who was your growing up? Who was the player you most wanted?
AYODELE
So I've had a bunch throughout the years. But my first one is Anson Carter for sure. He was the reason I had the locks that I had growing up just because I saw him sticking out of the helmet. It was a cool style. It was something that I wanted to emulate. Then, as we got older and I went back to defense, it migrated to another Columbus guy, Seth Jones. So he was a really good one. He's an all-star. He's a great player. I got to meet him a couple of times. So that was definitely a cool experience. And then when I started moving away from home, I got a little bigger. It was Dustin Byfuglien. Just seeing the big hits. Especially coming here. Guy has me playing forward right now. So you can watch Byfuglien’s plays, I'm pretty sure he was a forward when he won a cup. Then he went back to end up playing “D” for Winnipeg before he retired. So just guys like that, seeing him be able to play both sides of the puck. And I mean, I hate to say it, but they look like me. So it's definitely a little more inspirational. A little more relatable.
JASON
Now, Anson Carter, you mean Michigan State standout and former MSU Spartan captain, Anson Carter?
AYODELE
Yes, sir. One of the best to go through Michigan State for sure.
JASON
You know, I always have to do that. We always have to shout out to our fellow Spartys here on this show. And it's kind of crazy now that Anson's kind of shaved off the locks. And he's, he “looks respectable”, but I honestly think he should bring the locks back. Honestly. He does a great job doing color commentary and studio analysis. I think he should bring the locks back. I mean, that was a look.
AYODELE
I definitely, I don't want to throw him under the bus, but I talked to him every once in a while. I asked him why he couldn't. And he said that Father Time's caught up with the heroin a little bit. So.
JASON
He's got to deal with the Stephen A. Smith scenario, eh?
AYODELE
Hundred percent! [laughs]
JASON
Outside of hockey, I'm also told, you know, your parents threw you under the bus here. I had a chance to meet them a few weeks ago. I have been told that you are a huge history buff. What got you into history?
AYODELE
My mom, honestly. So growing up, we'd obviously do road trips and stuff, but she always catered the road trips around historical landmarks. So like Gettysburg, places like that. Once I got older, my parents moved down to Mississippi. So that's when we went more into old civil rights stuff. So I've been able to see civil rights museums, different old plantations, like, different things like that. And then through tournaments, we'd always find little things. Like when we'd go and play in the Chowder Cup in Boston, we went and saw some of the Boston history tours, got to see where some of the OGs were buried, stuff like that. So it's always been cool.
JASON
What's your favorite era of history? 'Cause right now you're speaking my language right now, bud.
AYODELE
I'm not gonna lie. It's not the best to say, but like, from slavery through like Jim Crow and reconstruction, just because of how dramatically the United States shifted from what it once was, it's kind of cool to just kind of go five, 10 years at a time and see the different things that happen to shape where we are now.
JASON
Oh, absolutely. Civil War history was what got me into the whole history bug. And still is the American Civil War is still one of my favorite periods of history to look at and focus on. But for a lot of folks like me, like we love focusing on just the military history, you know, the battles, who commanded what, who did this, who did that? But you also have to look at the before and after. I read a wonderful book about the lead-up to the firing of Fort Sumter. And it framed the battles, not the actual battles, but the ideological battles between an increasingly abolitionist and industrializing North versus a gentrified and slave holding South, kind of in terms of a gentleman's duel, which was very much in terms of the Southern aristocracy's mindset, you know, very gentlemanly-esque. Kind of almost European, like, you know, if you are insulted, you have to go through a duel. And these are all the preparations. And the book, the storyline of the book, the crisis of 1860, the whole election of Abraham Lincoln, the outgoing [US President] James Buchanan, and everything that led to the firing of Fort Sumter, kind of goes through those steps almost like a duel. At least that's how the historiography in the book is framed. It was a wonderful, wonderful read. All that leading up to the war and then afterwards, dealing with reconstruction, everything that was seemingly within reach, but then either did or did not happen for various reasons, it is both fascinating and very frustrating at the same time. It's, I'm very curious when you look at those areas of history and see, you know, the progress of it, what stands out to you the most, and why does it speak to you so intently?
AYODELE
Honestly, just like the culture I was raised in, obviously, but like seeing all these people go to war and fight for their freedom, and then believing that they're going to get their freedom, then other loopholes are put into place, whether that be sharecropping after the abolition of slavery, whether that be Jim Crow after that, the expansion out west, just honestly, like, to get away from more of the cultural stuff, just more to see how the United States was developed afterwards.
JASON
Yeah, exactly, because you have this great expansion of federal power with the army, I mean, you had a national railroad, that's how the siege of Petersburg was basically supplied, and the expansion of the federal government as well to support these massive armies across the North American continent, and then, it's like, okay, what are we gonna do with all this? Well, let's start, you know, really expanding out west, and that's where you get the 1870s, the 1880s, the Gilded Age, the expansion of the west, the cowboys, and all that. What's your favorite historical place that you have been to?
AYODELE
I really just like the history of Boston, just 'cause it kinda gives that old feel, but moving down south with my parents, I'd definitely say New Orleans. Like, just the same thing where they still have all the old architecture, just the history behind it, you can still go on ghost tours over there, the food, the French feel over there, like, it's just, it's kinda cool.
JASON
I wanna go to New Orleans so bad. I went with my girlfriend a few years ago, over the summer, after the season,n to Boston. We went there for like a week, we drove out there, it was so much fun. - It's so cool out there. - I take it you walked the whole Freedom Trail, and all that?
AYODELE
Yes, sir!
JASON
What was the best dish you had in Boston, and did you go to the North End?
AYODELE
I like, I've never been a really, really big seafood guy, but I like clam chowder a lot. Tried some lobster out there, but I hear you're supposed to go up to Maine to get the best lobster.
JASON
Supposedly, yeah. My friends, we had friends who were living there, who were just celebrating their engagement. We went out there, they took us to this really like, authentic local seafood place in the North End, got the lobster roll, and I tell you what, I have had better lobster rolls in Chicago! At two separate places, too, in Chicago, and every time I tell people that, they're like, well, they're either really shocked and like the color rushes out of their face, or like you said, you have to go up to Maine to get the lobster, so okay. Speaking of culture, what do you think was the biggest culture shock when coming to Peoria and starting your professional career here last year under Jean-Guy Trudel, especially coming in the middle of the season?
AYODELE
Honestly, the way Jean-Guy coaches was a little bit of a shock, but getting away from the ice, I would say just like, how loving and how inclusive the fans are, like just going around the city and people being able to recognize you, going to the booster dinners and seeing that these people really care about you and even like now being injured, like just walking around the rink when games are going on and just people always coming up, asking for autographs, asking for pictures, like you can tell that there's a really nice fan community feel here.
JASON
What do you think's different for you personally from your first time here in Peoria to now, you're in your second year at the Riverman?
AYODELE
I'm just known a little bit more, so it was one of those things where I was a little introverted last year, but knowing that more people know me, I'm trying to kind of get out of my shell a little bit more, be more of a fan favorite kind of guy, just try to be for the community 'cause they're the ones that they make it all work for.
JASON
I think you're really succeeding on the fan favorite, where there was a great story about you and Young Joe and CJ Krantz and the Peoria General Star and your relationship with him. Have you started teaching him some of your moves yet? For those of you who don't know, basically, to give you the cliffs notes version, there's this really young gentleman named CJ Krantz. Ayo befriends him, helps him get him involved in the sport of hockey and again, seeing someone that looks like him playing the sport, always important, but you come to his birthday party along with Daniel Chartrand, your teammate, another friend of the show, and it really made an impact on him and helped get him equipment so he can start his own hockey journey. And it was a wonderful article on the Peoria Journal Star by David Eminian. If you get a chance, I encourage you to look it up and read it; it's a wonderful article. But I gotta ask, have you started teaching him some of your moves yet? You mentioned you were gonna start working on him on some of his skills.
AYODELE
Yeah, I definitely want to, unfortunately, I can't put a skate on right now, so I haven't been able to skate, I haven't been taking a mouth to skate, but me and his mom have been trying to plan and get some stuff together, but definitely just hang out with him at games, try to continue that mentorship that I'm trying to do with him.
JASON
What do those kinds of relationships mean to you personally?
AYODELE
You know, I had a good amount of them growing up, which definitely helped shape me into the person that I am, so if I can be that full circle person to be able to do that for the next person, who am I to not do that? I always say that when everyone tries to congratulate me or tell me all the good things that I'm doing, it's God's work at the end of the day; that's what you should be doing. I'm just grateful that I get to be the person to be able to do it.
JASON
And why do you think it's so important for minorities, individuals of color, to be able to see someone like them playing the game of hockey? And at the same time, how can we as a sport do better?
AYODELE
I always say it's super important because representation matters, no matter what it is that someone wants to do. Like, if you see someone who looks like you're doing it, it just makes it feel that much more attainable. I think that's the biggest thing, and then making it more accessible. I'm pretty sure there are 20 Hockey Is for Everyone programs right now, run through the NHL programs. So I mean, that's a really good start, as well as just a few little things. I love to volunteer at the Friendship House in Columbus. I work with all the rec centers, and we'll do street hockey and roller hockey. So I feel like that's a great way to bridge and get people into the sport, 'cause again, ice skating is hard. If you can get guys just out in a gym with some sticks and some balls, give them a little bit of guidance. They'll find the love of the game that way, and if they really love it, they'll learn how to skate, and they'll stick.
JASON
What will it take to have hockey's Tiger Woods, do you think?
AYODELE
I mean, I think PK [Suban] was really close. He could just never get a [Stanley] Cup, but I mean, he got a Norris [Trophy]. So, like, he was the best “D” in the league that year. I talked to a whole bunch of kids. I worked at a camp called “Spot On” up in British Columbia this summer. And so many of them were like, yeah, I watched PK play, and that's what made me wanna play hockey. So there are definitely those faces out there. I mean, you look at other guys that have won cups, maybe they're not as flashy or outspoken as PK, but you got like a post, so you got Seth Jones. Like, I think the last five years that the cups have been won, there's been at least like one black player on each team.
JASON
Yeah, Dustin Byfuglien was a two-way guy back in the day in 2010 [in Chicago]. I was devastated when they cut, when they like, when they like…
AYODELE
Got rid of him, yeah. –
JASON
I was devastated. But he made that whole line work with him, Kane, and Toews
AYODELE
100% bought ‘em time and space, you know.
JASON
And he also was the guy who just got under the skin of everyone else. –
AYODELE
Everybody, yeah.
JASON
I love it. I also wanna talk, you mentioned a lot about ball hockey and street hockey, and how that is a lot more accessible both in terms of a lower skill threshold to get into. Cause like you said, ice hockey, skating on ice is hard. Just ask my girlfriend. Sorry, sorry, don't mean to throw you under the bus. But also, from a cost-wise, you know, equipment's expensive. You have started a foundation and a company called “African Hockey LLC”. Tell us why you founded it, what its mission and why it's important?
AYODELE
You know, it's kind of, it's again, one of those full circle things where starting with the Columbus Ice Hockey Club NHL Diversity Program, they gave me the opportunity when I didn't have the funds to get into hockey. They gave me the coaching. They gave me all these things, and I really just wanna be able to give it back. Just like little things. I'm doing mentorship online. I'm doing video lessons with younger kids, just trying to teach them the X's and O's. Over the summer, I do skills work. So it's just being able to give back in that regard. And then I've got a big project planned out to go to Kenya and Ghana this summer, just to teach some skills out in those places. Cause they already have a program set up, which is really great to see. And you go online, you look and they have the love for the game, but like some of them are just holding the stick wrong or they don't know crossovers or it's just, it's the little X's and O's I feel that are going to give these people the opportunity to catch up and to become the greatest versions of themselves. So I wanna be able to give back all the things that I've learned that are, I don't wanna say hidden, but like when you're new to hockey and you see stuff, some people just watch the puck go around, you know, there's so many little intricate parts of the game that I wanna be able to imprint in these little kids minds. So as they grow up, they can become better, and then they can pass that on to the next generation.
JASON
And for those folks either in our audience or those here in Peoria who want to contribute and help, what's the best way for them to do that?
AYODELE
I have a bank account set up. I also have a sale. I have a Venmo. I would love all the support I can. Like again, I'm connected enough that I have all of the resources equipment-wise, but the trip is going to be a little costly. So just trying to find ways to be able to make sure I can pay to transport the bags over there, different things like that. So any support is greatly appreciated.
JASON
And last question for you, Ayo before we wrap up here, why does showing up either on the ice for games in the community or for individuals you have never met who may be less fortunate, more fortunate, why is showing up matter so much in your estimation?
AYODELE
I think that it's, at least for me, it's a thing of how I want to be known. Like he always talks about leaving a legacy. I understand that I'm not a 60-point season kind of guy, but again, you see me on the ice laying big hits, chucking ‘nucks when I have to. Like, I don't want to be known as just some big, mean fighter. Like I've got a lot of personality. I've got a lot of love in my heart. And I want to be able to express and give that to other people.
JASON
Well, that's why Ayodele Adeniye is showing up. Ayo, great to have you, my friend. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to come talk to us. Hope to see you on the ice here soon, or maybe even up in the press box, maybe put on the headset [as a] guest color commentator one of these days.
AYODELE
Oh, I love that. Thanks for having me. I definitely appreciate it.
JASON
For Ayodele Adeniye, I'm Jason Ruff. This has been Rivermen Retrospective. Thanks for listening.
