Griffins Begin 30th Anniversary Season in Texas
AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins Begin 30th Anniversary Season in Texas

Published on October 9, 2025 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Grand Rapids Griffins face off with the Texas Stars
Grand Rapids Griffins face off with the Texas Stars
(Grand Rapids Griffins, Credit: Nicolas Carrillo)

This Week's Games

GRIFFINS at Texas Stars // Fri., Oct. 10 // 8 p.m. EDT // H-E-B Center at Cedar Park

GRIFFINS at Texas Stars // Sat., Oct. 11 // 8 p.m. EDT // H-E-B Center at Cedar Park

Listen: 96.1 The Game at 7:45 p.m. EDT on Friday and Saturday

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey on Friday, AHLTV on FloHockey and AHLTV on FloHockey Free Social Game of the Week on Saturday

Season Series: First and second of eight meetings overall, first and second of four at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park

All-Time Series: 45-32-7-5 Overall, 21-18-5-1 Road

NHL Affiliation: Dallas Stars

Noteworthy: This weekend's games will be a rematch of last year's Central Division Semifinals, where the Griffins were defeated by the Stars 3-0 in the best-of-five series.

30th Season of Hockey: The Grand Rapids Griffins begin the franchise's 30th overall season of play, 25th as a member of the American Hockey League, and 24th as the primary affiliate of the 11-time Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings on Friday evening when they travel to the Texas Stars. The Griffins have competed in 2,205 games between the IHL and AHL and have amassed a 1,145-818-27-86-129 regular-season record (.580), to go along with 19 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 third season at the helm. Last season, Watson became the sixth head coach in franchise history to reach the postseason in both of his first two full years, joining Bruce Cassidy (2000-02), Danton Cole (2002-04), Greg Ireland (2005-07), Jeff Blashill (2012-14), and Todd Nelson (2015-17). Watson was also named the head coach of the Central Division at the 2025 AHL All-Star Classic, becoming the first Griffin coach to achieve an all-star honor since Nelson in 2017 and the fourth head coach in franchise history to coach in an all-star game, joining Nelson, Blashill (2014), and Cassidy (2002 AHL, 2001 IHL). In 2024-25, Watson aided the Griffins to a third-place finish in the Central Division with a 37-29-4-2 record, and he has finished in the top three of the division in each of his first two campaigns. With Grand Rapids, Watson sports a 74-52-12-6 regular-season mark (.576) and a 5-7 postseason ledger (.417). As a head coach, the Glencoe, Ontario, native possesses a 346-164-34-19 (.662) record during the regular season and a 56-41 (.577) mark over only seven playoff campaigns.

2024-25 Season in Review: The Griffins skated in their 29th season a year ago and concluded with a 37-29-4-2 record, 80 points and a points percentage of .556. Grand Rapids finished in third place in the Central Division before being bested 3-0 by Texas in the best-of-five division semifinals. The team sent two players to the 2025 AHL All-Star Classic in Sebastian Cossa and Austin Watson, in addition to having head coach Dan Watson man the bench for the Central Division. Joe Snively led the team in points (21-26-47), Dominik Shine paced the roster in assists (32) and Sheldon Dries posted a team-high 25 goals. Nate Danielson, the ninth overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, led the roster's rookies in points (39), goals (12) and assists (27). Danielson's assist rate tied for ninth among AHL rookies in 2024-25. Defensively, Antti Tuomisto led the team's blueliners in points (27) and assists (24), while Brogan Rafferty ranked first in goals (6) and William Lagesson placed first in plus-minus rating (+13). In net, Cossa led the way with a 21-15-5 record with one shutout to go along with a 2.45 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage in an AHL career-high 41 games. Cossa ranked among the league leaders in games played (T8th), minutes played (2,424:37, 7th), wins (T10th), GAA (11th) and save percentage (T13th).

Shine On, Captain: Earlier today, Dominik Shine was named the 19th captain in franchise history. He returns to Grand Rapids for his 10th season, becoming just the third player in team history to reach the milestone (Brian Lashoff 14, Travis Richards 10). During the 2024-25 AHL season, Shine posted career-high numbers in assists (32), points (46), power-play goals (5), game-winners (4), shots (149), and multi-point outings (11) to go along with 14 goals and 76 penalty minutes in 61 regular-season games. He also signed his first NHL contract on Jan. 27, 2025, and later that evening made his NHL debut against the Los Angeles Kings. Shine became the oldest skater to make his NHL debut since Evgeny Medvedev did so at 33 on Oct. 8, 2015, and the oldest Red Wings player to make his debut since Vaclav Nedomansky did it at 33 on Nov. 18, 1977. On the all-time regular-season franchise leaderboard, Shine ranks third in games played (483), tied for seventh in goals (75), tied for ninth in assists (109), ninth in points (184), sixth in penalty minutes (553), tied for eighth in short-handed goals (5), tied for seventh in game-winners (12), tied for first in unassisted goals (10), and tied for sixth in shots (797).

Championship Pedigree: Newcomer John Leonard joins the Griffins with aspirations of becoming a Calder Cup champion, as he fell just short of that accomplishment last season with the Charlotte Checkers. The Checkers reached the 2025 Calder Cup Finals before being bested 4-2 by the Abbotsford Canucks. Leonard led Charlotte during the postseason in points (8-6-14) and goals (8), while tying for eighth in points and third in goals among all AHL playoff performers. The 27-year-old was named to the 2024-25 AHL Second All-Star Team when he ranked among the league leaders in points (T10th), goals (T2nd), power-play goals (T9th), short-handed goals (T1st) and shots (2nd). Last campaign, he notched career-high totals in games played (72), goals (36), points (61), plus-minus rating (+21), power-play goals (10), short-handed goals (5), game-winners (8), shots (252), and shooting percentage (14.3%). The Amherst, Massachusetts, native was originally selected with the 182nd overall pick by the San Jose Sharks in 2018 and has amassed 171 points (83-88-171) in 249 career AHL outings since 2020-21.

Holy Goalies: The Griffins' goalie room this year will feature a pair of young prospects in Sebastian Cossa and Michal Postava. Cossa, the 15th overall pick in 2021, is a recent draft pick of the Red Wings while Postava, an undrafted free agent out of Czechia, comes to North America for the first time after spending the last three campaigns in the Czechia pro ranks. Postava became a Czech Extraliga champion last season with Kometa Brno and ranked among the league's regular-season leaders in save percentage (5th), goals-against average (T11th), wins (4th) and shutouts (T7th) before placing first in the postseason with a .940 save percentage in 17 outings. Throughout Postava's three-year pro career, the 6-foot-1 netminder has shown a 74-65-9 record with 12 shutouts and a 2.11 GAA in 144 contests. Last season, Cossa was named to his first AHL All-Star Classic and ranked among the AHL regular-season leaders in games played (41, T8th), minutes played (2,424:37, 7th), GAA (2.45, 11th), save percentage (.911, T13th), and wins (21, T10th). The 6-foot-7 goaltender also made his NHL debut with Detroit on Dec. 9 at Buffalo and came away with a 6-5 shootout victory behind 12 saves and three stops in the shootout in a relief effort. In three seasons with Grand Rapids, Cossa has notched a 44-25-14 mark with three shutouts to go along with a 2.52 GAA in 84 outings.

Roster Breakdown: Seventeen players (forwards Ondrej Becher, Alex Doucet, Sheldon Dries, John Leonard, Amadeus Lombardi, Carter Mazur, Jakub Rychlovsky, Dominik Shine, Eduards Tralmaks, and Austin Watson; defensemen Justin Holl, William Lagesson, Ian Mitchell, Antti Tuomisto, and William Wallinder; goaltenders Sebastian Cossa and Michal Postava) on the roster are under contract with the Red Wings, while five players (forwards Tyler Angle, Carson Bantle and Gabriel Seger; and defenseman Alex Kannok Leipert and Jacob Truscott) are playing on a Griffins contract. Six players are Red Wings draft picks (Becher, Cossa, Lombardi, Mazur, Tuomisto, and Wallinder).

The Return: Riga, Latvia, native Eduards Tralmaks returns to North America for the first time since 2022-23, as he spent the last two campaigns in the Czech Extraliga with Rytiri Kladno. He will become just the second player from Latvia to compete for the Griffins, joining Aigars Cipruss. Cipruss played in just one game for Grand Rapids in 1996-97, collecting an assist, and also competed for Team Latvia in the 2002 and 2006 Olympics. Last season, Tralmaks ranked first in the Czech Extraliga with a career-high 51 points (23-28-51) in 48 games, adding career-high totals in goals (23), assists (28) and penalty minutes (66). Throughout two seasons in Czechia, the 28-year-old showed 83 points (44-39-83) and 100 penalty minutes in 100 games. He also competed for Team Latvia at the last two World Championships and posted seven points (3-4-7) in seven games during the 2025 tournament. As a free agent out of the University of Maine, Tralmaks signed with the Providence Bruins in 2021 and skated in three seasons with the franchise, compiling 41 points (22-19-41) in 87 contests. He also spent three games with the ECHL's Maine Mariners from 2021-23 with seven points (4-3-7). During his time as a junior, Tralmaks became a USHL Clark Cup champion in 2016-17 with Chicago and was dubbed the Clark Cup MVP when he posted 12 points (10-2-12) in 14 postseason games.

Still Making History in Year 30: During the offseason, the Griffins signed defenseman Alex Kannok Leipert to a one-year contract. Kannok Leipert, a native of Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, will become the first player from Thailand to suit up for the Griffins. He was also the first player from Thailand to be drafted in the NHL Entry Draft when he was selected 161st overall by the Washington Capitals in 2018. Last season with the Bakersfield Condors, Kannok Leipert posted career-high numbers in games played (59), goals (4), assists (7), points (11) and penalty minutes (93). As a pro, the 6-foot 205-pound blueliner has 23 points (5-18-23), 233 penalty minutes and a plus-nine rating in 182 career outings since 2021-22.

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Images from this story

Grand Rapids Griffins face off with the Texas Stars
Grand Rapids Griffins face off with the Texas Stars
(Nicolas Carrillo)		   



American Hockey League Stories from October 9, 2025


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