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AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins Begin 29th Season at Home against Milwaukee

October 10, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Grand Rapids Griffins practice
Grand Rapids Griffins practice
(Grand Rapids Griffins, Credit: Nicolas Carrillo)

This Week's Games

GRIFFINS vs. Milwaukee Admirals // Fri., Oct. 11 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:45 p.m.

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey

Season Series: First of eight meetings overall, first of four at Van Andel Arena

All-Time Series: 113-83-7-9-8 Overall, 61-39-2-3-3 Home

NHL Affiliation: Nashville Predators

Noteworthy: Friday's contest will be a rematch of last year's Central Division Finals, where the Griffins were defeated by the Admirals 3-2 in the best-of-five series.

Promotion: First 2,500 fans in attendance will receive a magnet schedule courtesy of Huntington Bank

GRIFFINS at Rockford IceHogs // Sat., Oct. 12 // 8 p.m. EDT // BMO Center

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7:45 p.m. EDT

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey

Season Series: First of 12 meetings overall, first of six at the BMO Center

All-Time Series: 67-47-11-11 Overall, 27-30-5-6 Road

NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks

Noteworthy: The Griffins defeated the IceHogs 3-1 in last year's best-of-five Central Division Semifinals to advance to the division finals for the first time since 2017.

29th Season of Hockey: The Grand Rapids Griffins begin the franchise's 29th overall season of play, 24th as a member of the American Hockey League, and 23rd as the primary affiliate of the 11-time Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings on Friday evening when they host the Milwaukee Admirals. The Griffins have competed in 2,133 games between the IHL and AHL and have amassed a 1,108-789-27-82-127 regular-season record (.575), to go along with 18 playoff appearances, seven division titles and two Calder Cups (2017, 2013).

The Watson Supercomputer: Dan Watson was named the 12th head coach in franchise history on June 14, 2023, and enters his second season at the helm. Last season, Watson became the ninth head coach in franchise history to lead the Griffins to the postseason during his first full season behind the bench, joining Dave Allison (1996-97), Bruce Cassidy (2000-01), Danton Cole (2002-03), Greg Ireland (2005-06), Curt Fraser (2008-09), Jeff Blashill (2012-13), Todd Nelson (2015-16) and Ben Simon (2018-19). On April 27, 2024 in a 3-2 overtime victory at Rockford, he also joined seven other head coaches who won their first postseason game behind the Griffins' bench. Watson became the eighth of the last nine Griffins head coaches to win his first playoff series, defeating the IceHogs 3-1 in the 2024 Central Division Semifinals. In his first year at the helm, Watson led the Griffins to a second-place finish in the Central Division with a 37-23-8-4 record and 86 points, the team's best finish since the 2016-17 campaign. As a head coach, the Glencoe, Ontario, native possesses a 309-135-30-17 (.677) ledger during the regular season and a 56-38 (.596) mark over only six playoff campaigns.

Playoff Rematches: The Griffins will begin the season against both teams they faced in last year's Calder Cup Playoffs. Grand Rapids opens the season Friday against Milwaukee, who triumphed in the Central Division Finals, before traveling to Rockford Saturday for a rematch of the division semifinals.

Championship or Bust: Newcomer Joe Snively joins the Griffins after a historic run with the Hershey Bears the last two seasons. Snively has won the last two Calder Cups with Hershey and has showed a combined 33 points (6-27-33) in 40 games during the postseason with a 28-12 record in the past two playoffs. In addition to winning the cup last year, Snively also aided the Bears to a regular-season title with a 53-14-0-5 mark (111 pts., .771), the second-best regular-season record in AHL history and the most wins by an AHL team in a 72-game season. The Fairfax, Va., native logged career-high numbers in 2023-24 in games played (69), assists (45), and points (59) to go with 14 goals. Throughout his six-year AHL career with Hershey, the 28-year-old has amassed 172 points (58-114-172) and a plus-57 rating in 220 outings. Snively is in search of his third straight Calder Cup, which would put in rare AHL company, as only 11 players in league history have won three consecutive cups in the AHL and no one has reached this feat since the 1978 season.

Pure Michigan: Several Griffins will be competing in their home states this year, as the roster features four Michiganders in Sheldon Dries (Macomb), Carter Mazur (Jackson), Dominik Shine (Detroit), and Austin Watson (Ann Arbor).

Holy Goalies: The Griffins' goalie room this year will feature veteran Malcolm Subban and prospects Sebastian Cossa and Carter Gylander. Cossa and Subban were former first-round draft picks, as Subban was the 24th overall selection by Boston in 2012 and Cossa was the 15th overall pick by Detroit in 2021. Last season, Cossa set a franchise record with a 19-game point streak (13-0-6), and tied both the franchise record home and road point streaks of 13 home games (9-0-4) and 10 road contests (8-0-2). As a rookie, Cossa ranked among the league leaders in GAA (2.41, T6th), save percentage (.913, T13th), and wins (22, 5th among rookies). Subban spent the most time last year with Springfield (AHL) and went 11-14-4 to go with a 2.94 GAA and a .907 save percentage in 31 games. Subban, 30, has spent eight seasons in the AHL and has suited up in 206 games, showing an 89-78-32 record with a 2.65 GAA and a .911 save percentage. Subban has also spent nine campaigns in the NHL and has logged a 36-34-9 mark in 87 games with a 3.10 GAA and an .898 save percentage. Gylander begins his first year as a professional after completing four campaigns at Colgate University, compiling a 46-46-13 record with five shutouts to go along with a 2.69 GAA and a .907 save percentage in 106 games. The 23-year-old was selected with the 191st overall pick by the Red Wings in 2019.

Home Sweet Home: Under second-year head coach Dan Watson, the Griffins will begin a 72-game schedule when they host the Milwaukee Admirals in a rematch of last year's Central Division Finals during Opening Night presented by Huntington Bank. Since 2004, the Griffins are 6-3-0-1 (.650) in season openers at Van Andel Arena and have outscored their opponents 32-27. Also since 2004, Grand Rapids is 10-7-2-1 (.575) in season openers at any venue. The Griffins are 16-11-0-1 in home openers and have won six of the last eight. The Griffins are 16-9-2-1 all time in season openers at any venue and have won two of the last three.

Restocked: The Griffins lost six players who totaled 81 goals for the team last season in Jonatan Berggren (24 goals), Joel L'Esperance (16), Zach Aston-Reese (12), Matt Luff (10), Austin Czarnik (10), and Taro Hirose (9). General manager Shawn Horcoff is hoping that free agent signings and an up-tick in play from top prospects can replace that lost production. Joe Snively joins the roster after recording a career-high 59 points and 14 goals with Hershey last season, Michigan native Sheldon Dries showed 29 goals in 55 games with Abbotsford, and Jakub Rychlovsky paced the Tipsport Extraliga in Czechia with 26 goals in 51 outings. The Griffins also have seven prospects that they'll look to for scoring in Nate Danielson, Alex Doucet, Cross Hanas, Marco Kasper, Carter Mazur, Amadeus Lombardi, and Elmer Soderblom.

Pour Me A Draft: The Griffins' roster is stocked with high-end draft picks from previous years. The roster features five former first rounders in Sebastian Cossa (15th overall in 2021), Nate Danielson (9th overall in 2023), Marco Kasper (8th overall in 2022), Malcolm Subban (24th in 2012), and Austin Watson (18th in 2010). In addition, Grand Rapids is highlighted with three former second-round picks from the Red Wings, including Cross Hanas (55th in 2020), Antti Tuomisto (35th in 2019), and William Wallinder (32nd in 2020). The Griffins' roster also includes of one third-round pick from Detroit in Carter Mazur (70th in 2021) and 16 draft picks total.

Roster Breakdown: Twenty players (forwards Nate Danielson, Alex Doucet, Sheldon Dries, Cross Hanas, Marco Kasper, Amadeus Lombardi, Carter Mazur, Jakub Rychlovsky, Joe Snively, Elmer Soderblom, and Austin Watson; defensemen Tory Dello, Justin Holl, William Lagesson, Brogan Rafferty, Antti Tuomisto, Eemil Viro and William Wallinder; goaltenders Sebastian Cossa and Carter Gylander) on the roster are under contract with the Red Wings, while four players (forwards Hunter Johannes and Dominik Shine; defenseman Josiah Didier; and goaltender Malcolm Subban) are playing on a Griffins contract. Eleven players are Red Wings draft picks (Cossa, Danielson, Gylander, Hanas, Kasper, Lombardi, Mazur, Soderblom, Tuomisto, Viro, and Wallinder).

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Grand Rapids Griffins practice
Grand Rapids Griffins practice
(Nicolas Carrillo)		   



American Hockey League Stories from October 10, 2024


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