GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Brad “Dogg” Thompson had to bring up a question to his parents that isn’t easy to ask when you’re in college.

“Do you mind if I quit school to do this?” Thompson said.

“Sure,” his mom replied. Thompson couldn’t believe it.

The day of his 21st birthday — Sept. 25, 1997 — Thompson was offered the position of assistant equipment manager for the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Hailing from Wyoming, Michigan, Thompson couldn’t say no when the head equipment manager, Tim Paris, asked if he wanted to join the staff. 

There was only one problem: He had no clue what he was doing as an equipment manager. 

“I always wanted to be a police officer or an undercover guy,” Thompson said. “Just grow your beard, wear cool clothes and do your job. But I decided to take this road.”

Twenty-eight years later, he’s still in Grand Rapids. Twenty-four of those years have been spent as the head equipment manager for the Griffins. 

On Sunday, he will work his 2,000th game with that title.

With the amount of turnover in sports, holding a position in an organization for as long as Thompson has is undeniably impressive — especially in one like the Detroit Red Wings, who have always been known as one of the greatest in the NHL.

Thompson has had offers to leave throughout his time in Grand Rapids, including offers to work with the Boston Bruins and Los Angeles Kings, but he couldn’t leave the place that has given him so much.

“I didn’t know if my roots wanted to take me away,” Thompson said. “My grandfather was sick so it felt right to stay at (the time of the Bruins offer). I could’ve been a San Jose Shark the last couple years, but I’m fine here at home around my friends and family.”

“I play my softball, ride my Harley and go golf up at Arcadia Bluffs and enjoy my time.”

That kind of mindset, paired with his love for the players who come through Grand Rapids on their American Hockey League stints, is what has kept Thompson grounded.

Over time, the players have learned to respect “Dogg” the same way he respected them from day one — so much so that they are now friends beyond a job.

Travis Richards, the first Griffin to ever have his number retired at Van Andel Arena, offered high praise.

“What an incredible human being he is,” Richards said of Thompson. “You play hockey to earn relationships and meet people. He’s as good of a person as I met in my 13 years of playing. I hold him in the highest regard.”

Richards makes time to golf with Thompson every year. Other players go out to dinner with him or invite him to their homes, years after playing.

It shows that Thompson’s importance to the organization goes well beyond being someone who stages the equipment before games and helps pack the bags on the buses. He’s a staple who has truly helped players in their hockey journey.

“He was always on the bench next to me, because I always sat at the end of the bench when I came off the ice,” former Griffin Brian Lashoff, who is now the assistant coach, said. “I had a lot of great games in this building, but there was also some tough ones. He would always put his hand on my shoulder when things weren’t going great, and we didn’t need to say anything to each other. I just always knew he was there, going through it with us as players. It was comforting to have a guy like that next to me.”

Many players like to have their game day go a specific way, and some are more superstitious than others. Regardless of what the request was, it was never too tall of a task for Thompson. 

Whether it was a roll of tape around a jar with a fake tooth in it, moving players’ equipment or changing it or even carrying a player up 60 stairs with a broken foot, it didn’t matter. Thompson wanted to do the job in the best way possible for his players.

Some he met in ways he didn’t expect. Former Griffin Matt Ruchty, who is one of Thompson’s best friends to this day, flipped a puck out of the rink that landed on Thompson’s head.

“I went over to apologize after it happened, and that’s how our relationship began,” Ruchty said. “He’s the biggest giver out there. If you’re his friend, you know what true friendship is all about. He’s a great ambassador for the town of Grand Rapids, being born and raised here makes him love this place. Doesn’t matter who you are, he’d give you his left shoe if you needed it in a winter storm. He’s just an awesome dude.”

All the memories have now led to a career that has lasted over two decades of time and is closing in on a milestone number of 2,000 games.

Through the thousands of players, different coaches and faces, Thompson has remained a staple for the Griffins.

“What was I thinking?” Thompson said with a laugh. “I started on my 21st birthday, and I’m 49 now. That’s supposed to be your happy life. To me, this is awesome. I won a couple Calder Cups, a Stanley Cup, couple All-Star games. For me, though, 2,000 with one team is the highlight of it all, because I didn’t have to switch from team to team.”

How long will this ride continue? Thompson is not completely sure, but he said probably five or six more years before he finds a job with Howies Hockey Tape or somewhere else around Grand Rapids.

No matter what the future holds, that dreaded question Thompson had to ask his mom about leaving school for a job as an assistant equipment manager with an AHL team led to him becoming a permanent fixture in the history books of the Grand Rapids Griffins and the Red Wings organization.

Ask anyone who has come through the Griffins system in the last 28 years, and they will tell you it wouldn’t be the same without “Dogg.”

“I would’ve told you (as a kid) I would’ve been in the NHL doing something different with a hockey team,” Thompson said. “But when you lay out the pros and cons and you say, you know what, I can do this all in front of my friends and family. There was no need to go anywhere else.”