‘A PRETTY COOL JOB’

‘A PRETTY COOL JOB’

Now in his fifth season as the assistant equipment manager for the Griffins, Charlie Kaser loves his work.

Charlie Kaser studied environmental science at Portland State University, but he didn’t need a degree to recognize the place where he naturally felt most comfortable.

While he loved the outdoors, his heart seemed drawn to the climate-controlled indoors, where ice is manufactured for the likes of Penguins, Ducks, Sharks, Panthers, and Coyotes as they compete with Hurricanes, Flames, Lightning, and the Wild.

Hockey was his hallowed ground.

“I always remember going to the rink when I was younger,” he said. “I think the first steps I can remember were on the ice. In fact, it seems like I have more memories at the rink than outside of the rink. Hockey has always been part of our family.”

Born in Kansas City where his father, Bob Kaser, was the radio voice of the IHL’s Blades, he believes the sport had been ingrained into his psyche by the time the family moved to Grand Rapids in 2000 so his dad could do play-by-play for the Griffins.

“As a kid, I remember laying in bed, listening to my dad on the radio,” Kaser said. “I loved that he was calling hockey, but the cool part was that he was on the radio. He could be many miles away and I could still hear his voice. I’d listen to the radio that was plugged in by the bed and once he signed off after the game, I knew that it was my cue to fall asleep.”

Given the opportunity to skate at Van Andel Arena, both Charlie and his younger brother Sam were destined to play hockey, even though it was evident fairly early that NHL stardom would elude them.

“I think I was pretty young when I realized that I would only be playing for fun,” he said. “I don’t know if I can trace it to any specific moment, but there was a point when I realized that playing hockey for a living was probably over for me.”

Charlie and his brother enjoyed hanging around the rink, even serving as stick boys for longtime Griffins equipment manager Brad “Dogg” Thompson. Helping with water bottles, towels and other items of hockey paraphernalia allowed them to stay close to their father as well as the sport.

If their father felt any guilt about being on the road so often away from his family, Charlie is quick to dispel that thought.

“My brother and I have had so many conversations that our dad shouldn’t look at it that way at all,” he said. “We had such a unique experience growing up because not many kids

Kaser is responsible for making sure the Griffins’ dressing room is “clean, presentable and welcoming” every day.

Kaser stays on his toes to provide players with whatever they need during games or practices.

can say they got to spend their days at the hockey rink, often skating in a 10,000-seat building all to ourselves. Not many kids get to go around saying that.”

Even when the possibility of playing the sport professionally faded, both boys kept skating. While Sam was a member of the 2017 Aquinas College men’s team that won an American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) national championship, Charlie played club hockey at Portland State until a couple of concussions ended the fun.

“It was pay-to-play and I didn’t feel like paying to have my head knocked around anymore,” he said. “I figured I should probably take care of myself a little more. So I stopped and focused more on school,” said Charlie, who had headed west to find his future.

Instead, his career came to him. In August 2018, he got a call from Thompson, who was losing his assistant after Andrew Stegehuis accepted the position of head equipment manager for the AHL’s Rochester Americans.

Was Charlie interested in taking the job?

“I figured I could always finish school later,” he said. “I never felt that I needed a college degree to feel fulfilled in life, but it was a hard decision based on all of the out-of-state tuition that my parents had invested. Still, I knew that I had wanted to end up in hockey ever since I had been a stick boy during high school.”

Kaser had been in Syracuse when the Griffins won their first Calder Cup in 2013 and the excitement had always stuck with him.

“To see everyone’s efforts culminate in a championship is something you never forget,” he said. “To be on the ice and to be in the team photo with the Cup is very special, especially when you think about all the sacrifices that everyone made to get to that point.”

Now in his fifth season as the team’s assistant equipment manager, Kaser knows he made the right decision. His life has been consumed with hockey sticks, skates, socks, helmets, pads, and tape – but he would not have it any other way.

“Everything and anything is what we do,” Kaser said. “It’s doing everything from sewing jerseys to doing the laundry after the game or practice. It’s preparing the dressing room so it’s nice every day, so it looks clean, presentable, and welcoming. We’re making sure everything looks the same every day – nothing out of place and nothing that we cannot find.

“We want the guys to feel comfortable to do what they’re paid to do, and that’s playing hockey.”

And the job of the equipment staff is not just about gear.

“Our job is to make the players’ lives as easy as possible. We want them to come in, put on their equipment, go out on the ice and do what they need to do, then take off their equipment and go home. If we can put them at ease because we’re already on top of things, we’ve done our jobs.

“You can hand some guys a set of gloves and you won’t hear from them for two months until they need another pair. Other guys need a lot of fixing; they ask for a lot more little things. We’re always there for whatever they need. We never want them to feel like they can’t ask. We strive to be approachable so they feel like they can come to us for whatever they need.”

Sometimes all they want is to talk. Sometimes, there’s a psychological angle to the work. “You have to deal with so many different personalities through the course of a season that so much of the job is learning things outside of the equipment aspect,” Kaser said.

“Dogg always says, ‘We may not be able to make them better hockey players but we can make sure that they’re better human beings just by being polite and treating people with respect. He’s taught me to be there for anybody – no matter if it’s a player, coach, or staff. Be ready and be on your toes, even if all they want to do is talk.”

Kaser contends that he could not ask for a better teacher than Thompson, who has mentored assistants who have graduated to the NHL. Vegas Golden Knights head equipment manager Chris Davidson-Adams recently worked his 1,500th professional game while Jim Heintzelman, assistant equipment manager with the Chicago Blackhawks, was recently honored for his 1,000th NHL game.

“Dogg welcomed me with open arms and showed me the ropes,” Kaser said. “Even now, after five years, he’s still teaching me so much about this job – how to do things the correct way, how to act around the players, management, or whoever else. He’s given me all the tools I need.”

Kaser credits Thompson with creating a positive environment.

“We may have the most fun of any staff in the league, but we still get our jobs done. We’re still ready to go when guys need us. That’s one of the biggest things I’ve learned. Take your job seriously but you’re never going to get through a full season unless you have fun.”

The hardest part of being an assistant

Kaser helps manage the enormous quantity of equipment necessary to supply a hockey team.

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equipment manager is the schedule.

“You have a lot of late nights and early mornings, so you don’t get a lot of sleep throughout the season,” Kaser said. “You learn to run on the adrenalin and coffee or whatever gets you going. After a while you get used to it a little, but some mornings are worse than others.”

Sometimes it means trying to function with barely an hour of sleep.

“We might have a Friday night game and the team that we’re playing on Saturday will be busing in late from Milwaukee, so I have to be here at 3 or 4 in the morning to help load them in,” he said. “I’ll manage to get a couple of hours of sleep and then come back to the arena to get all of our stuff set up in the morning.

“Often we’re pulling into the arena at three in the morning and you still have an hour or more of work to do. Those are the times when you’d like to go home and get some sleep, but we still have a job to do.”

Kaser leans on help from several locker room attendants. Shaine McKenna and Kyle Stauffer are helpers on the home side while Tim Glasscock and Shane Mooney have become veterans in working ai166802238022_12317 Griffiti ad2.pdf 1 11/9/22 2:33 PMwith the visiting teams.

From the beginning, Kaser was astounded by the amount of detail – just the sheer number of bags and various equipment that is required, and the stuff is not cheap. Player skates might cost $800 while extra sticks can run the team $150-200.

Kaser learned pretty early that he needed a checklist.

“On my first bus trip, I ended up forgetting our skate sharpener, which is surprising because it’s one of our bigger pieces of equipment,” he said. “I’m not sure how it happened, but I was still learning. Fortunately, the other team had an extra sharpener that we could use. It wasn’t my proudest moment, but I haven’t forgotten it since and I don’t think I’ll ever forget it again – knock on wood.”

Kaser has come a long way. This past fall, he was chosen to accompany Red Wings equipment manager Paul Boyer on road trips to Pittsburgh, Chicago, Washington, and Toronto.

“It was pretty cool to go to PPG Paints Arena and watch Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin play. And it was special to go to a sold-out United Center and feel that atmosphere while watching Jonathan Toews. It was surreal to be a part of Hockey Night in Canada in Toronto. And my girlfriend was able to come to the game in

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Kaser is grateful for the opportunity to start his career in Grand Rapids.

Washington and say hi while I was on the bench during warmups.

“Even though they were only exhibition games, the experience gave me goosebumps. To work in those historic buildings and see future Hall of Famers like Alexander Ovechkin is something I’ll always remember.”

Kaser is grateful that he has found his calling.

“There’s not a lot of people who get to do what we do,” he said. “Sure, there’s a lot of work and the hours might not be the best, but you have to take a step back and realize we get to be a part of a journey that not many people get to experience.

“As hard as the lifestyle can appear, I get to work in a hockey rink. I don’t have to work behind a desk – nothing against people that work at a desk – but the opportunity to travel to so many great places and create great memories with the players, coaches, and staff is unique and special.

“We could be doing a lot worse things but we get to watch hockey for a living. It’s something that I hope I can do for a long time in my life. Someday I hope to bring my kids into it and give them the same childhood that I enjoyed growing up so they can have cool stories when they’re older.

“I can honestly say it’s a pretty cool job to have.”

GO TO THE BOX! GO TO THE BOX!

Longtime supporters of reading programs in hundreds of schools and dozens of public libraries across West Michigan, the Griffins “branched” out this fall to create their own custom-made Griffins Little Free Libraries.

These hockey-themed, “take a book, share a book” libraries have a bookshelf modeled after a hockey rink’s penalty box along with several Griffins-specific design elements. They have been installed inside three local community ice rinks – Griff’s IceHouse at Belknap Park in Grand Rapids, Griff’s IceHouse West in Holland, and Griff’s Georgetown – while a fourth library was won by the Hoyle Family of Comstock Park through a writing contest for kids.

Each Griffins Little Free Library is stocked with books about hockey and a wide variety of subjects for both kids and adults. Nine hundred gently used books were donated for this project, from Griffins fans through a book drive held in the spring and through partnerships with six local libraries.

Visitors to the rinks are encouraged to take a book home for free or just enjoy one while they’re at the rink. The public is also invited to share the joy of reading by donating any books that are appropriate for all ages.

The libraries were designed and constructed by Grand Haven resident Mike Fraser, who previously collaborated with the Griffins to build a Van Andel Arena playhouse (2009) and a “Griffins Slapshot Swingset” (2015), both of which were raffled off to benefit the Griffins Youth Foundation. FASTSIGNS of Grand Rapids donated the signage and graphic elements for this library project.

DISPLAY YOUR COMPANY’S LOGO ON OUR LIBRARIES

Each library offers “dasher board” opportunities to display a company’s logo on one of six panels. Sponsors will also be acknowledged on a sign posted next to the library in each of the three rinks, which combined welcome more than 300,000 people each year for tournaments, leagues, lessons and other programming. For questions about the Griffins Little Free Libraries or sponsorships, please call (616) 988-0246.

STICK TAPS TO THE MANY DONORS AND SUPPORTERS OF THIS PROJECT

Griffins Fans Mike Fraser FASTSIGNS of Grand Rapids Rich Buitenhuis Grand Rapids Public Library Kent District Library Gary Byker Library of Hudsonville Georgetown Township Public Library Herrick District Library Howard Miller Public Library Griff’s IceHouse at Belknap Park Griff’s IceHouse West Griff’s Georgetown

RECORDBOOKAND Through games of Dec. 1, 2022 LEADERS

GAMES PLAYED

All-Time

Travis Richards Active Leader Brian Lashoff (2nd) Single-Season 5 players tied 2020-21 Tyler Spezia GOALS

All-Time

Michel Picard Active Leader Kyle Criscuolo (T37th) Single-Season Donald MacLean (2005-06) 2020-21 Riley Barber ASSISTS

All-Time

Michel Picard Active Leader Taro Hirose (11th) Single-Season Jiri Hudler (2005-06) 2020-21 Jonatan Berggren 655 595 *82 74

158 45 *56 28

222 96 60 43 POINTS All-Time Michel Picard 380 Active Leader Taro Hirose/Brian Lashoff (T25th) 125 Single-Season Michel Picard (1996-97) 101 2020-21 Jonatan Berggren 64 PLUS/MINUS

All-Time Travis Richards +131

Active Leader Brian Lashoff (T35th) Single-Season Ivan Ciernik (2000-01) 2020-21 Dan Renouf PENALTY MINUTES +26 *+41 +14

All-Time

Darryl Bootland Active Leader Dominik Shine (14th) Single-Season Darryl Bootland (2005-06) 2020-21 Dominik Shine 1,164 363 390 141

* = Led League

Travis Richards Dominik Shine Tom McCollum

Michel Picard Victor Brattstrom Brian Lashoff

All-Time

GOALIE GAMES PLAYED Tom McCollum Active Leader Victor Brattstrom (T16th) Single-Season Joey MacDonald (2004-05) 2020-21 Calvin Pickard GOALS AGAINST AVERAGE

All-Time

Martin Prusek Active Leader Victor Brattstrom (26th) Single-Season Martin Prusek (2001-02) 2020-21 Calvin Pickard WINS

All-Time

Tom McCollum Active Leader Victor Brattstrom (T23rd) Single-Season Joey MacDonald (2004-05) Mike Fountain (2000-01) 263 40 *66 43

1.83 3.45 *1.83 2.58

123 11 34 *34 21 SHUTOUTS

All-Time Joey MacDonald 20

Active Leader Victor Brattstrom/ Jussi Olkinuora (T22nd) Single-Season 6 players tied 1

6

2020-21 Victor Brattstrom/Calvin Pickard 1 SAVES

All-Time

Tom McCollum Active Leader Victor Brattstrom (16th) Single-Season Joey MacDonald (2004-05) 2020-21 Calvin Pickard SAVE PERCENTAGE 6,640 1,031 1,785 1221

All-Time

Martin Prusek Active Leader Victor Brattstrom (25th) Single-Season Joey MacDonald (2003-04) 2020-21 Calvin Pickard 0.930 0.890 0.936 0.918

2020 - Chris Terry

2019 - Chris Terry

2018 - Matt Lorito

2015 - Teemu Pulkkinen 2020 - Matthew Ford

2018 - Matt Puempel

2016 - Jeff Hoggan and Xavier Ouellet

2014 - Alexey Marchenko

GRIFFINS IN THE ALL-STAR GAME

2019-20 Matthew Ford, Chris Terry 2018-19 Chris Terry 2017-18 Matt Lorito, Matt Puempel 2016-17 Matt Lorito, Robbie Russo, Todd Nelson (head coach) 2015-16 Jeff Hoggan (captain), Xavier Ouellet 2014-15 Xavier Ouellet, Teemu Pulkkinen 2013-14 Alexey Marchenko, Jeff Blashill (co-coach) 2012-13 Chad Billins, Petr Mrazek, Gustav Nyquist 2011-12 Gustav Nyquist 2010-11 Ilari Filppula, Brendan Smith 2009-10 Patrick Rissmiller 2008-09 Jakub Kindl, Daniel Larsson 2007-08 Jonathan Ericsson, Jimmy Howard 2006-07 Derek Meech, Kip Miller (captain) 2005-06 Valtteri Filppula, Jiri Hudler, Donald MacLean 2004-05 Niklas Kronwall, Joey MacDonald 2003-04 Jiri Hudler, Niklas Kronwall, Travis Richards (captain), Nathan Robinson 2002-03 Marc Lamothe, Mark Mowers 2001-02 Chris Bala, John Gruden, Kip Miller, Martin Prusek, Petr Schastlivy, Bruce Cassidy (head coach), Gene Reilly (asst. coach) 2000-01 Mike Fountain, Joel Kwiatkowski, Travis Richards, Todd White, Bruce Cassidy (co-coach) 1999-00 John Gruden, Jani Hurme, Kevin Miller, Petr Schastlivy 1998-99 Robert Petrovicky, Maxim Spiridonov 1997-98 Ian Gordon, Kerry Huffman, Michel Picard 1996-97 Jeff Nelson, Michel Picard, Pokey Reddick

The AHL All-Star Classic was not held in either 2020-21 or 2021-22 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Penalty Calls

BOARDING Called for any action which causes an opponent to be thrown violently into the boards.

CHARGING Taking a run at an opposing player using more than three strides to build up speed.

CROSS CHECKING A check or block delivered by a player with both hands on the stick and no part of the stick on the ice.

DELAYED PENALTY Referee extends his arm and points to the penalized player until the penalized team regains possession of the puck.

HIGH STICKING Making contact with an opponent while carrying the stick above shoulder hight.

HOLDING Clutching an opposing player’s body with the hands, arms or legs.

HOOKING The use of the stick or blade to impede the progress of an opponent.

INTERFERENCE When a player impedes the progress of an opponent who is not in possession of the puck.

MISCONDUCT 10-minute or disqualification penalty for excessive or additional misbehavior on the ice.

ROUGHING Called for engaging in fisticuffs or shoving.

SLASHING Striking an opposing player with the stick.

SPEARING

Called for using the stick like a spear.

TRIPPING

Called for using the stick, arm or leg to cause an opponent to trip or fall.

UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT Called for unsportsmanlike actions such as disputing an official’s decision, grabbing the face mask of a player, etc.

WASH-OUT When used by the referee, it means goal disallowed. When used by linesmen, it means there is no icing or no offside.

ABBOTSFORD CANUCKS BAKERSFIELD CONDORS BELLEVILLE SENATORS BRIDGEPORT ISLANDERS CALGARY WRANGLERS CHARLOTTE CHECKERS CHICAGO WOLVES CLEVELAND MONSTERS COACHELLA VALLEY FIREBIRDS COLORADO EAGLES GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS HARTFORD WOLF PACK HENDERSON SILVER KNIGHTS HERSHEY BEARS IOWA WILD LAVAL ROCKET LEHIGH VALLEY PHANTOMS MANITOBA MOOSE MILWAUKEE ADMIRALS ONTARIO REIGN PROVIDENCE BRUINS ROCHESTER AMERICANS ROCKFORD ICEHOGS SAN DIEGO GULLS SAN JOSE BARRACUDA SPRINGFIELD THUNDERBIRDS SYRACUSE CRUNCH TEXAS STARS TORONTO MARLIES TUCSON ROADRUNNERS UTICA COMETS WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON PENGUINS

IT ALL

STARTS HERE

1...........Pavol Demitra...........................3/17/97 STL at PHX 2...........Kevyn Adams..........................10/1/97 TOR vs. WSH 3...........Tyler Moss...............................10/28/97 CGY vs. PIT 4...........Michel Picard..................................1/6/98 STL at SJ 5...........Jeff Nelson............................10/10/98 NSH vs. FLA 6...........Patrick Traverse......................10/10/98 OTT at COL 7...........Mark Greig...................................1/7/99 PHI vs. NYI 8...........Radim Bicanek...........................2/1/99 OTT at VAN 9...........Robert Petrovicky.......................2/15/99 TB at NYI 10.........Andrei Vasilyev..........................3/5/99 PHX vs. DET 11.........Todd Hlushko..............................4/25/99 PIT vs. NJ 12.........Patrick Lalime...........................10/2/99 OTT at PHI 13.........Glen Metropolit.....................10/2/99 WSH at FLA 14.........Kevin Miller............................10/31/99 OTT at ATL 15.........Karel Rachunek......................10/31/99 OTT at ATL 16.........Erich Goldmann...................11/11/99 OTT vs. NSH 17.........Yves Sarault..............................11/20/99 OTT at NJ 18.........John Gruden..........................11/30/99 OTT vs. CHI 19.........Mike Fountain.............................12/3/99 OTT at NJ 20.........Dave Van Drunen...................12/13/99 OTT at TOR 21.........Petr Schastlivy..............................1/3/00 OTT vs. NJ 22.........John Emmons...........................1/6/00 OTT vs. PHX 23.........Slava Butsayev.........................1/28/00 OTT at BUF 24.........Aris Brimanis............................2/13/00 NYI at NYR 25.........Dieter Kochan...........................3/28/00 TB vs. DAL 26.........Jani Hurme...................................4/9/00 OTT vs. TB 27.........Shane Hnidy.............................10/5/00 OTT at BOS 28.........Donald MacLean..................10/14/00 TOR vs. OTT 29.........David Oliver..............................11/4/00 OTT vs. CBJ 30.........Jamie Rivers...........................11/12/00 OTT at CAR 31.........Sean Gagnon........................11/26/00 OTT at NYR 32.........Joel Bouchard.......................11/29/00 PHX at COL 33.........Mike Crowley.........................12/8/00 ANA at MIN 34.........Ivan Ciernik................................1/23/01 OTT at NYI 35.........Darren Rumble.............................2/6/01 STL at COL 36.........Joel Kwiatkowski.....................2/19/01 OTT at BUF 37.........Todd White...............................2/19/01 OTT at BUF 38.........Chris Neil...................................10/3/01 OTT at TOR 39.........Toni Dahlman.........................1/3/02 OTT vs. WSH 40.........Steve Martins...........................1/11/02 OTT at FLA 41.........Kip Miller......................................1/17/02 NYI at SJ 42.........Jody Hull........................................2/4/02 OTT at TB 43.........Dmitry Afanasenkov......................2/6/02 TB at FLA 44.........Simon Lajeunesse.........................3/7/02 OTT at SJ 45.........Martin Prusek..........................3/23/02 OTT vs. ATL 46.........Chris Bala...................................3/27/02 OTT at NYI 47.........Neil Little..................................3/28/02 PHI at CAR 48.........Josh Langfeld.............................3/30/02 OTT vs. TB 49.........Gaetan Royer..............................4/1/02 TB vs. NYR 50.........Jason Spezza..........................10/24/02 OTT at BOS 51.........Sean Avery...............................10/29/02 DET vs. SJ 52.........Jason Doig................................12/3/02 WSH at PIT 53.........Jason Williams........................12/5/02 DET at PHX 54.........Patrick Boileau.....................12/19/02 DET vs. DAL 55.........Stacy Roest..............................2/20/03 DET vs. EDM 56.........Wade Brookbank..................10/9/03 NSH vs. ANA 57.........Julien Vauclair.......................10/25/03 OTT at MTL 58....... Jiri Hudler...........................10/29/03 DET vs. STL 59.........Curtis Joseph.........................10/30/03 DET at NSH 60.........Darryl Bootland.....................11/8/03 DET vs. NSH 61.........Mark Mowers........................11/19/03 DET vs. CBJ 62.........Nathan Robinson.................11/28/03 DET vs. NYI 63.........Blake Sloan.................................12/4/03 DAL at LA 64....... Niklas Kronwall..................12/10/03 DET at BUF 65.........Ryan Barnes..........................12/15/03 DET vs. FLA 66....... Chris Kelly..............................2/5/04 OTT vs. TOR 67.........Marc Lamothe........................2/23/04 DET at EDM 68.........Anders Myrvold.......................2/26/04 DET at CGY 69.........Mathieu Chouinard..................2/29/04 LA at ANA 70.........Brett Lebda.................................10/5/05 DET vs. STL 71.........Mark Eaton.................................10/5/05 NSH vs. SJ 72.........Chris Osgood............................10/29/05 DET at CHI 73.........Kyle Quincey..........................11/25/05 DET at ANA 74.........Jimmy Howard........................11/28/05 DET at LA 75.........Valtteri Filppula........................12/15/05 DET at FLA 76.........Rob Collins.............................12/17/05 NYI vs. COL 77.........Manny Legace...........................1/5/06 DET vs. STL 78.........David Gove..............................1/31/06 CAR at MTL 79.........Tomas Kopecky.............................2/28/06 DET at SJ 80.........Alexandre Giroux.......................3/25/06 NYR at TB 81.........Joey MacDonald.......................10/19/06 DET at SJ 82.........Derek Meech..............................12/7/06 DET vs. STL 83.........Matt Ellis..................................12/18/06 DET at CBJ 84.........Matt Hussey..............................1/26/07 DET at STL 85.........Sheldon Brookbank......................2/6/07 NSH at PIT 86.........Danny Syvret.........................2/27/07 EDM vs. PHX 87.........Mark Hartigan........................11/29/07 DET vs. TB 88.........Drew MacIntyre.......................12/13/07 VAN at SJ 89.........Peter Vandermeer.................2/10/08 PHX vs. NSH 90.........Jonathan Ericsson....................2/22/08 DET at CGY 91.........Garrett Stafford........................2/23/08 DET at VAN 92.........Darren Helm..............................3/13/08 DET vs. DAL 93.........Mattias Ritola.........................3/15/08 DET vs. NSH 94.........Clay Wilson...............................3/25/08 CBJ at NSH 95.........Darren McCarty.........................3/28/08 DET vs. STL 96.........Krys Kolanos................................11/4/08 MIN at SJ 97.........Landon Wilson....................11/22/08 DAL vs. ANA 98.........Bryan Helmer.....................11/28/08 WSH vs. MTL 99.........Chris Chelios .........................12/13/08 DET at PHX 100.......Aaron Downey........................1/29/09 DET vs. DAL 101.......Justin Abdelkader..................1/31/09 DET at WSH 102.......Ville Leino...............................1/31/09 DET at WSH 103.......Aaron Gagnon.....................10/16/09 DAL vs. BOS 104.......Scott Parse...............................10/24/09 LA at PHX 105.......Doug Janik..............................11/3/09 DET vs. BOS 106........Ryan Keller...............................11/25/09 OTT at NJ 107.......Jakub Kindl............................12/3/09 DET vs. EDM 108.......Kris Newbury.......................12/14/09 DET vs. PHX 109........Darren Haydar..........................2/10/10 COL vs. ATL 110.......Andreas Lilja...............................3/1/10 DET at COL 111........Jeremy Williams.....................10/24/10 NYR vs. NJ 112.......Jan Mursak.............................12/27/10 DET at COL 113.......Chris Mueller........................12/28/10 NSH vs. DAL 114.......Tomas Tatar.....................12/31/10 DET vs. NYI 115.......Cory Emmerton.......................1/22/11 DET vs. CHI 116........Patrick Rissmiller......................2/23/11 ATL at BUF 117 ......Tom McCollum ........................3/30/11 DET vs. STL 118 .....Gustav Nyquist ..............11/1/11 DET vs. MIN 119 ........Fabian Brunnstrom...................11/5/11 DET vs. ANA 120 ......Brendan Smith.................11/17/11 DET at SJ 121......Mark Cullen................11/29/11 FLA at CAR 122.......Chris Conner.............................12/2/11 DET at BUF 123.......Joakim Andersson................12/27/11 DET vs. STL 124......Ty Conklin .........................3/21/12 DET at NYR 125......Riley Sheahan.....................4/7/12 DET vs. CHI 126.......Brian Lashoff.............................1/21/13 DET at CBJ 127.......Mike Knuble..............................1/26/13 PHI at FLA 128.......Jamie Tardif................................2/2/13 BOS at TOR 129.......Petr Mrazek ..........................2/7/13 DET at STL 130....... Jonas Gustavsson...................2/19/13 DET at NSH 131.......Carlo Colaiacovo........................4/1/13 DET vs. COL 132.......Danny DeKeyser.....................10/2/13 DET vs. BUF 133......Luke Glendening..........10/12/13 DET vs. PHI 134.......Xavier Ouellet...........................10/21/13 DET vs. SJ 135.......Adam Almquist .....................11/4/13 DET at WPG 136.......Chad Billins..............................11/5/13 CGY at MIN 137.......Patrick Eaves...........................12/14/13 DET vs. PIT 138.......Tomas Jurco.............................12/15/13 DET vs. TB 139.......Jordin Tootoo.........................12/19/13 DET vs. CGY 140.......Alexey Marchenko.....................1/4/14 DET at DAL 141.......Teemu Pulkkinen .................3/14/14 DET vs. EDM 142.......Landon Ferraro.......................3/18/14 DET vs. TOR 143......Calle Jarnkrok...................3/21/14 NSH at CGY 144.......Mitch Callahan..........................3/25/14 DET at CBJ 145.......Ryan Sproul...............................4/13/14 DET at STL 146.......Andrej Nestrasil.......................10/9/14 DET vs. BOS 147.......Stephen Weiss......................11/24/14 DET vs. OTT

148.....Mattias Janmark...........10/8/15 DAL vs. PIT

149......Dylan Larkin.....................10/9/15 DET vs. TOR 150..... Kevin Porter..........................10/10/15 PIT at ARI 151......Andreas Athanasiou.....11/8/15 DET vs. DAL

152.....Tomas Nosek..............12/26/15 DET at NSH

153.......Eric Tangradi..............................1/25/16 DET at NYI 154......Anthony Mantha.............3/15/16 DET at PHI 155.......Alan Quine..................................4/9/16 NYI vs. PHI 156.......Martin Frk.............................10/18/16 CAR at EDM

157.....Tyler Bertuzzi................11/8/16 DET at PHI

158.......Jared Coreau..............................12/3/16 DET at PIT 159......Nick Jensen........................12/20/16 DET at TB 160.......Drew Miller..............................2/28/17 DET at VAN 161.......Robbie Russo.............................3/7/17 DET at TOR

162.....Dan Renouf.................. 3/27/17 DET at CAR

163.......Ben Street.................................3/28/17 DET at CAR

164.....Evgeny Svechnikov........4/3/17 DET vs. OTT

165.......Matt Lorito................................4/8/17 DET vs. MTL 166.......Kyle Criscuolo........................11/17/17 BUF at DET 167.......Dominic Turgeon......................1/14/18 DET at CHI 168.......Joe Hicketts.................................1/22/18 DET at NJ 169.......Dennis Cholowski....................10/4/18 DET vs. CBJ 170.......Libor Sulak................................10/4/18 DET vs. CBJ

171.....Filip Hronek..................10/4/18 DET vs. CBJ

172.......Wade Megan.............................11/1/18 DET vs. NJ 173.......Christoffer Ehn.......................11/6/18 DET vs. VAN 174.......Eddie Pasquale............................12/4/18 TB at DET

175.....Michael Rasmussen.......2/7/19 DET vs. VGK 176.....Filip Zadina.....................2/24/19 DET vs. SJ

177.......Matt Puempel..........................3/23/19 DET at VGK 178.......Dylan McIlrath............................3/25/19 DET at SJ 179.......Jake Chelios................................3/29/19 DET vs. NJ

180.....Givani Smith............. 10/25/19 DET vs. BUF

181.......Calvin Pickard.........................11/29/19 DET at PHI 182.......Madison Bowey....................12/14/19 DET at MTL 183.......Taro Hirose..................................2/6/20 DET at BUF

184.....Gustav Lindstrom.......... 2/6/20 DET at BUF 185.....Joe Veleno .................... 4/27/21 DET at CBJ

186.......Mathias Brome...........................5/7/21 DET at CBJ

187.....Moritz Seider...............10/14/21 DET vs. TB

188.......Riley Barber.............................12/18/21 DET vs. NJ 189.......Gemel Smith...............................2/2/22 DET vs. LA 190.......Luke Witkowski........................3/12/22 DET at CGY 191.......Chase Pearson...........................3/24/22 DET at NYI 192.......Harri Sateri.................................4/7/22 ARI vs. VAN 193.......Turner Elson..............................4/26/22 DET at TOR

194.....Matt Luff.................... 10/27/22 DET at BOS 195.....Austin Czarnik..............11/6/22 DET at NYR 196.....Jonatan Berggren..... 11/10/22 DET vs. NYR

Bold = Has played in the NHL this season (as of Dec. 1, 2022)

Italics = Had name engraved on the Stanley Cup after playing for Grand Rapids All photos by Getty Images

Don’t miss any of the action this season! Listen To Bob Kaser’s play-by-play on Newsradio WOOD 106.9 FM / 1300 AM. Stream the action on iHeartRadio!

*ALL PLAYOFF GAMES AND WHEN REGULAR SEASON CONFLICTS ARISE.

A BIG THANKS TO OUR RADIO SPONSORS FOR THEIR HELP IN BRINGING GRIFFINS HOCKEY TO YOU THIS SEASON.

GRIFFINS PICTURE CROSS

Completely fill in the correct squares to reveal the hidden picture of someone all Griffins fans know and love. Numbers around the board tell you how many filled squares are in each row or column. A single number means there are that many consecutive filled squares somewhere in that 15-square row or column. You need to determine where. Multiple numbers mean there are that many consecutive filled squares separated by one or more gaps. Don’t guess! The picture can be filled in logically. To make solving the puzzle easier, you can mark squares that you know are unfilled with an X. Good luck!

PARTING SHOT

GOING WITH THE FLOW

The Griffins welcomed the return of Chase Pearson and his long locks to the lineup during the weekend of Nov. 25-26. The Georgia native recorded an assist in his first game of the season. Photo by Nicolas Carrillo

Crisp.