Cossa, Leonard and Shine to Participate in 2026 AHL All-Star Classic
AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Cossa, Leonard and Shine to Participate in 2026 AHL All-Star Classic

Published on January 15, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The American Hockey League on Thursday announced that Grand Rapids Griffins goaltender Sebastian Cossa and forwards John Leonard and Dominik Shine will serve as the team's representatives at the 2026 AHL All-Star Classic presented by BMO, to be held Feb. 10-11 at the BMO Center in Rockford, Illinois. They will join their head coach, Dan Watson, who was previously announced as the coach for the Central Division.

The three all-star player selections are the most for the Griffins since 2013 (Chad Billins, Petr Mrazek, Gustav Nyquist). Including Watson, the four all-star representatives are the most in team history since four players were chosen for the 2004 event in Grand Rapids (Jiri Hudler, Niklas Kronwall, Travis Richards, Nathan Robinson). Cossa becomes the first Griffins goalie to earn consecutive all-star selections, and the first Griffins player since Chris Terry (2019 and 2020). This is also Leonard's second straight all-star selection, as he was chosen for last year's event as a member of the Charlotte Checkers, while captain Shine will compete in his first-ever all-star game.

Cossa, who is in his third full season with the Griffins, has won the last two AHL Goaltender of the Month awards (November and December), becoming the first netminder in franchise history to receive the honor twice in the same season. The Hamilton, Ontario, native has a 17-1-2 mark with four shutouts through 20 games this season to go along with a 1.85 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage. Cossa's four shutouts are the most by a Griffin since 2016-17 (Eddie Pasquale). The 15th overall pick by the Detroit Red Wings in 2021 ranks among the AHL's leaders wins (1st), shutouts (1st), GAA (2nd), and save percentage (2nd). Cossa enjoyed a career-high 10-game win streak from Nov. 25-Dec. 27, showing a 1.51 GAA and a .939 save percentage, and also logged a 13-game point streak from Nov. 25-Jan. 7 (12-0-1). In parts of four seasons with Grand Rapids since 2022-23, Cossa has notched a 61-26-16 mark with seven shutouts to go along with a 2.39 GAA and a .913 save percentage in 104 outings, becoming just the sixth netminder to reach the century mark with the team. This marks Cossa's third all-star selection as a professional, as he was named to the ECHL All-Star Game in 2023 while with the Toledo Walleye.

Leonard, a sixth-year pro, will return to the AHL All-Star Classic for the second straight season after being one of Charlotte's representatives last year. The 27-year-old has 33 points and 21 goals in 25 games with the Griffins to go along with two penalty minutes, seven game-winners, and a plus-12 rating. Leonard ranks among the AHL leaders in goals (3rd), points (T13th), shorthanded goals (3, T1st) and game-winners (1st). He was named the Fortune Tires "Expect More" AHL Player of the Month for November with 16 points (9-7-16) in 10 games and became just the third player in franchise history to win the award, joining Riley Barber (April 2022) and Chris Minard (Feb. 2012). Leonard's career-best 10-game point streak from Oct. 10-Nov. 19 set a franchise record to begin both a season and a Griffins career, and his career-high six-game goal streak from Oct. 11-Nov. 2 tied for the third-longest run in team history. Leonard also has four points (2-2-4) in nine games with the Detroit Red Wings this season, making his team debut on Dec. 16 against the New York Islanders. Throughout parts of six AHL seasons since 2020-21, Leonard has 204 points (104-100-204) in 274 games.

Shine, who is in his 10th season as a Griffin, is the 19th captain in franchise history, and on Dec. 7 at Toronto became just the third player in team history to reach 500 games. The Detroit native has 27 points (14-13-27), 24 penalty minutes and a career-high plus-17 rating in 26 games with Grand Rapids this season. Shine ranks among the AHL leaders in goals (T17th) and plus-minus rating (T11th), in addition to placing among the team leaders in points (2nd), goals (3rd), assists (T5th) and plus-minus rating (T5th). The 32-year-old collected his first-career hat trick during a four-point night (3-1-4) on Nov. 25 at the Texas Stars, which included his 200th pro point. On the all-time regular-season franchise leaderboard, Shine ranks third in games played (509), fourth in goals (89), seventh in assists (122), fourth in points (211), fifth in penalty minutes (577), tied for fifth in shorthanded goals (6), tied for fourth in game-winners (14), tied for first in unassisted goals (10), and third in shots (864).

Watson is the second coach in franchise history to attend two all-star events and the first in its AHL history, as he was named the Central Division coach in 2025. Prior to last year's selection, Watson was the first Griffins coach to achieve the honor since Todd Nelson in 2017 and the fourth in franchise history to coach in an all-star game, joining Nelson, Jeff Blashill (2014), and Bruce Cassidy (2002 AHL, 2001 IHL). This will mark Watson's fourth-career all-star appearance, as he was chosen to coach in the ECHL All-Star Game in both 2017 and 2022 with the Toledo Walleye.

Fans can purchase their tickets to the 2026 AHL All-Star Classic through icehogs.com. The AHL Skills Competition will take place at the BMO Center on Feb. 10 at 9 p.m. EST and the AHL All-Star Challenge will commence on Feb. 11 at 9 p.m. EST.

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American Hockey League Stories from January 15, 2026


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