First Wave Arrives from Detroit
Published on September 27, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Detroit Red Wings have assigned 11 players to the Grand Rapids Griffins, their American Hockey League affiliate: goaltender Thomas McCollum; defensemen Gleason Fournier and Sebastien Piche; and forwards Louis-Marc Aubry, Mitchell Callahan, Willie Coetzee, Jamie Johnson, Andrej Nestrasil, Francis Pare, Trevor Parkes and Brent Raedeke.
In addition, defensemen Greg Amadio and Bryan Rufenach and forward Adam Estoclet have joined the Griffins on AHL contracts after being released from their tryouts with Detroit, while forwards Joey Martin, Nick Oslund and Mike Pelech have all signed tryouts with the Griffins.
Amadio, Coetzee, Johnson, McCollum, Pare, Piche and Raedeke each saw playing time with the Griffins during the 2010-11 season. Aubry, Callahan, Fournier, Nestrasil and Parkes are first-year pros who spent last season playing major junior hockey, while Estoclet, Martin, Oslund and Rufenach completed their collegiate careers last year.
All players except Pelech are scheduled to participate in tonight's Red & White Game at Van Andel Arena at 6 p.m. The Griffins will then stage their first local practices at Griff's IceHouse tomorrow and Thursday at 11 a.m. each day, as they continue preparations for their 10th season as the Red Wings' primary affiliate.
The Griffins will drop the puck on the 2011-12 season at Rockford on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 8:05 p.m. before hosting the Toronto Marlies on Friday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. in their home opener. Single-game tickets for all 38 home games are now on sale at all Star Ticket outlets, including the Zone and Meijer stores, or online through griffinshockey.com.
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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
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