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AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins Welcome Manitoba for Home Weekend Series

October 15, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Grand Rapids Griffins defenseman Eemil Viro
Grand Rapids Griffins defenseman Eemil Viro
(Grand Rapids Griffins, Credit: Nicolas Carrillo)

This Week's Games

GRIFFINS vs. Manitoba Moose // Fri., Oct. 18 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

GRIFFINS vs. Manitoba Moose // Sat., Oct. 19 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

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

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey (Free Saturday on @FloHockey on X & YouTube, TheAHL on Facebook)

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

All-Time Series: 75-44-1-1-10 Overall, 40-19-1-1-7 Home

NHL Affiliation: Winnipeg Jets

Noteworthy: Manitoba won both games last weekend against the Iowa Wild, outscoring its opponent 9-6. The Moose were the only team in the Central Division to begin the season with a 2-0-0-0 record.

29th Season of Hockey: The Grand Rapids Griffins began 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 last Friday when they defeated the Milwaukee Admirals, 3-0. The Griffins have competed in 2,135 games between the IHL and AHL and have amassed a 1,109-790-27-82-127 regular-season record (.581), to go along with 18 playoff appearances, seven division titles and two Calder Cups (2017, 2013).

Home Sweet Home: Under second-year head coach Dan Watson, the Griffins began a 72-game schedule when they defeated the Milwaukee Admirals, 3-0, in a rematch of last year's Central Division Finals during Opening Night presented by Huntington Bank last Friday. The shutout marked the third for Grand Rapids in 29 season openers and the first in an opener of any kind during its 24 AHL seasons. Since 2004, the Griffins are 7-3-0-1 (.682) in season openers at Van Andel Arena and have outscored their opponents 35-27. Also since 2004, Grand Rapids is 11-7-2-1 (.595) in season openers at any venue. The Griffins are 17-11-0-1 in home openers and have won seven of the last nine. The Griffins are 17-9-2-1 all time in season openers at any venue and have won three of the last four.

The Watson Supercomputer: Dan Watson was named the 12th head coach in franchise history on June 14, 2023, and is in his second season at the helm. Last campaign, 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 310-136-30-17 (.676) ledger during the regular season and a 56-38 (.596) mark over only six playoff campaigns.

Back For More: Last season, Sebastian 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), respectively. Cossa continues to rewrite the record book, as he posted a 35-save shutout in the season opener last Friday against Milwaukee. He became the first Griffins goalie to post an opening-night shutout in 26 years, since Ian Gordon made 33 saves in a 2-0 win over Kansas City on Oct. 9, 1998. Through two outings this year, the 21-year-old has a 2.01 goals-against average and a .941 save percentage.

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 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.

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 Ville Husso) 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. Ten players are Red Wings draft picks (Cossa, Danielson, Hanas, Kasper, Lombardi, Mazur, Soderblom, Tuomisto, Viro, and Wallinder).

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 four 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 five former second-round picks, including Shai Buium (36th in 2021), Cross Hanas (55th in 2020), Justin Holl (54th in 2010), Antti Tuomisto (35th in 2019), and William Wallinder (32nd in 2020). The Griffins' roster also includes two third-round picks from Detroit in Carter Mazur (70th in 2021) and Eemil Viro (70th in 2020), and 16 draft picks total.

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Images from this story

Grand Rapids Griffins defenseman Eemil Viro
Grand Rapids Griffins defenseman Eemil Viro
(Nicolas Carrillo)		   

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