Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
The defensive foundation took hold early for the Grand Rapids Griffins, so the wins quickly followed – even if the goals did not.
Now the offense has arrived as well, and the Griffins are positioned to take a run at first overall in the AHL as this season’s first quarter reaches its conclusion. The Griffins are 12-4-1-0, including two separate five-game winning streaks, and have shown that they know how to avoid having one bad night turn into multiple bad nights.
Grand Rapids won four of its first five games despite managing only nine goals for. Thanks to a recent run of offense, the Griffins have risen to the middle of the pack, tied for 15th in the AHL at 3.06 goals per game, but fortunately it has not come at the expense of their defensive play. Along with a league-low 2.18 goals-against per game, Grand Rapids ranks second on the penalty kill at 89.7 percent, and their goaltenders’ combined .933 save percentage is tops in the AHL.
As always, Detroit Red Wings management has made sure to plant a deep group of veterans in Grand Rapids, players who are able to push prospects on and off the ice, but also be willing to take a back-seat role if needed in order to allow those young players key opportunities. But what is most encouraging for the Detroit front office is that it’s the drafted talent, amassed over several years since executive vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman’s return to the organization, who are driving much of this season’s success. Much like Yzerman did in helping to set up the Lightning to win back-to-back Stanley Cup titles, AHL development is paramount with his Detroit posting as well. Yzerman wants his draft picks to develop, and he wants them to do so in a winning, competitive environment, something that he made quite clear in publicly expressing his unhappiness with the Griffins missing the Calder Cup Playoffs in 2022-23.
Good teams have a knack for not letting one loss grow into two, three, or more. After a rare slip-up on Friday night – a 5-2 loss at home against Iowa – the Griffins made sure not to let that performance become something more concerning in a Sunday rematch. They built a 4-1 lead by the seven-minute mark of the second period and eventually took a 5-2 win.
Jakub Rychlovsky, an undrafted 23-year-old forward who led the Czech Extraliga last season with 26 goals, had a goal and an assist in the win; he signed a two-year deal with the Red Wings this past June. Ondrej Becher, another Czech forward who picked up a goal on Sunday, was passed over in his first two draft years before the Red Wings made him a third-round selection in 2024 after a 32-goal, 96-point season with Prince George of the Western Hockey League. Forward Amadeus Lombardi was a fourth-rounder in 2022 who had five goals in 70 games as a rookie last season; he has already blown past that number by piling up eight goals in his first 17 games and leading the team in scoring with 14 points.
The Red Wings have often opted to place their top picks in Grand Rapids as well. Rather than it being viewed as a demotion, executing a development plan with the Griffins is viewed as a crucial component for nearly all of the organization’s prospects. Top-10 draftees Moritz Seider (6th overall in 2019), Simon Edvinsson (6th in 2021), Michael Rasmussen (9th in 2017), Filip Zadina (6th in 2018) and Marco Kasper (8th in 2022) all went through apprenticeships with the Griffins before going on to Detroit.
A consistent message matters, too; head coach Dan Watson has been in the organization since 2009-10 when he got his start as an assistant with Toledo, the organization’s ECHL affiliate.
That’s why forward Nate Danielson, who went to the Red Wings as the ninth overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, is making his transition to the pro game in Grand Rapids, with nine points in his first 17 games. Defenseman Shai Buium, a second-rounder in 2021, is with the Griffins following a standout collegiate career at the University of Denver. Blueliners Antti Tuomisto, Eemil Viro and William Wallinder continue their learning in the AHL. Up front Cross Hanas and Elmer Söderblom are back for their third seasons with the Griffins. Carter Mazur has been limited to three games in 2024-25 but had 17 goals as a rookie last season.
And of course in net there is Sebastian Cossa, one of the prime pieces of Detroit’s long-range plan. The Red Wings have brought Cossa along slowly after taking him 15th overall in the 2021 NHL Draft, largely leaving him in the ECHL as a rookie before he made himself a full-time AHL goaltender last season. This year, the 22-year-old Cossa has excelled, going 7-4-1 with a 2.08 GAA and a .931 save percentage, ranking among the AHL’s leaders in every category.
Each of the next two weekends feature three games in three days for the Griffins. Then it’s off four a four-game, six-day road swing to Colorado and Texas. Rebounding after a tough night is crucial in this league.
“We want to make sure that [Van Andel Arena] is a hard place to play,” Watson told reporters after Friday’s loss to Iowa. “We want to make sure that our fans go home as happy as possible, as many times as possible.”
On the American Hockey League beat for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.
