2024-25 Griffiti - Issue #2

TIRELESS TEAMMATE DOMINIK SHINE

We’re big fans of the Griffins. We’re also big fans of their fans.

Huntington is proud to support the Grand Rapids Griffins, through all the wins and losses. No matter the outcome, it’s a joy to watch you from the stands, competing your hearts out. From all your fans at Huntington, go Griffins!

Vol. 28, No. 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

26........ THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE

Griffins veteran Dominik Shine is enjoying the limelight, having built a successful pro career with one team while discovering the joys of fatherhood.

34........ BETWIXT AND BETWEEN

Defenseman William Lagesson has made a career out of playing in the middle, shifting his talents between the AHL and NHL.

42........ CHANGE OF HEART

Longtime NHL defenseman Brendan Smith has fond memories of his time in Grand Rapids.

50........ HOCKEY HEALER

As the head athletic trainer for the Griffins, Austin Frank welcomes the challenge of keeping the team healthy and in a position to achieve peak performance.

58........ DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE

More and more sports fans are finding women’s pro volleyball to be just as exciting as pro hockey.

2 Chalk Talk 4.........Scouting Report

......AHL Team Directory

......Detroit Red Wings 22 Promotional Calendar

40 Meet the Griffins

......Griffins Records

......Griffins All-Stars

......Penalty Calls

AHL Teams Map

......It All Starts Here

......Kids Page

......Parting Shot

Unselfish and hardworking, Dominik Shine has become a fixture in the Griffins’ lineup by being committed to the success of the team.

Photo by Mark Newman

WITH GRIFFINS HEAD COACH DAN WATSON

As the Griffins reached mid-November on the calendar, there was little doubt that the team was trending in the right direction.

After scoring only 22 goals over the first 10 games of the 2024-25 season, the Griffins’ offense suddenly came alive, tallying 23 goals in a five-game stretch (Nov. 7-16) that saw the team hold the opposition to a meager nine goals in the same span.

“We’ve been working on some structure and the biggest thing is getting pucks to the net a little bit more,” Griffins head coach Dan Watson said. “It’s a matter of choosing the right time to shoot pucks and then getting to the blue paint.

“I think that’s the key for all our guys, to make sure that we’re willing to go to the net. And we’ve been doing that. We’ve scored a few goals from a distance, but most of our goals are coming within three feet of the net.”

The Griffins found themselves in first place with a record of 11-3-1-0 despite being outshot in every contest until game No. 14, when they took more shots than the Chicago Wolves during a 5-1 victory at Van Andel Arena.

With an average of 24 shots per game, the Griffins ranked dead last in the AHL, nearly two fewer than the 31st-ranked team ahead of it in the rankings and 10 shots under the league leader. Although the Griffins’ coaching staff values chances created more than the number of shots, the differential was concerning. “There’s going to come a time when it could catch up to us,” Watson said.

So the recent offensive turnabout is encouraging.

“Our guys are working on their shooting,” Watson said. “A lot of teams are good defensively in this league and are good at blocking shots. In a recent

game, we had 21 shots that were blocked or missed the net. Once we clean up those types of things, our shot totals will increase.”

For the first month of the season, the Griffins won games with excellent defense and outstanding goaltending. Their 30 goals allowed as of Nov. 21 marked their second-fewest ever through a season’s first 15 games.

“I think our team defense is collectively very good,” he said. “When you look at our makeup, we have a lot of guys who are more defensively-minded. We’ve got some physicality, so I think we’re a little harder to play against. And our goaltending has been spectacular.”

The lack of offense early in the season might have been due, in part, to several missing pieces. Marco Kasper, Carter Mazur, and Tim Gettinger were expected to be major contributors this season and have been largely missing from the Griffins’ lineup, with Kasper in Detroit at the same time that Mazur and Gettinger were recovering from injuries. Their absence has meant increased opportunity for others, and Watson has been pleased with how many players have risen to the occasion.

“Every line is contributing – it’s not just one line or two or three certain guys,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of contributors right now, and we need that depth. We need guys to step up and fill some big shoes.”

Dominik Shine, the subject of the cover feature in this issue of Griffiti, is just one example of many who have met the challenge. Through the first six weeks of the season, the former fourth-line checking forward was leading the Griffins in scoring.

“His game has changed during his tenure in Grand Rapids,” Watson said. “He started as a fourth-

line guy. He was more of an agitator and fought a little bit. He’s now a guy who wins [different] battles. He’s willing to go to the net front. He has the skill to make plays and score goals. He does things right.”

Watson noted that Shine was second on the team in 5-on-5 scoring last season. “He can play with anybody,” he said. “When we needed a guy to complement [Joe] Snively and [Sheldon] Dries, someone who was willing to do a little bit of the work, Shine fit in nicely and he’s been rewarded for his play.”

The Griffins also have looked to the leadership of veteran Austin Watson, a former first-round pick who has played more than 500 games at the NHL level.

“He’s got the pulse of the team, he makes our team go,” said Watson, who is not related to the 14-year pro. “We missed him when he got called up. We could certainly feel it. He’s all about the team, sticking up for his teammates, and I think he has that contagious energy that builds within the locker room.”

Rookie Nate Danielson has benefited from having Watson on his wing. “Austin has more skill than what people think. You can see the way he sees the game, the way he thinks. The most impressive thing is he does it night in and night out.”

2024-25

The Griffins’ leading goal scorer through the first six weeks was Amadeus Lombardi, who had topped last year’s 70-game goal production in just 15 games this season with a half-dozen tallies to his credit.

“Amadeus is making the right plays now. He’s shooting more and he’s getting to the net, so his confidence with the puck is extremely high. And when you have confidence with the puck, good things happen. That said, he’s still working on his defensive game.

“With the minutes that he’s playing right now, we need him to be a 200-foot player. But I would say his progression, from the time he got here last year to now, he looks like a completely different player.”

Of course, player development is what the AHL is all about. Watson hopes all of his players continue to take another step forward this season.

“We’re getting results right now because our team is dedicated to working hard, trying to play to our identity. We’re not an overly skilled team, which means we need to outwork and wear down our opponents.

“When you compare last season to where we’re sitting at this time, we’re definitely in a better spot. It’s still early and things can happen, but we wanted to get off to a good start and the guys are responding.”

GRIFFINS HOCKEY OPERATIONS STAFF

General Manager Shawn Horcoff

Head Coach Dan Watson

Assistant Coach Steph Julien

Assistant Coach Brian Lashoff

Goaltending Coach Roope Koistinen

Video Coach Erich Junge

Athletic Trainer Austin Frank

Assistant Athletic Trainer Katie Berglund Physical Therapist Zack Harvey

Equipment Manager Brad Thompson

Asst. Equipment Manager Kyle Hornkohl

Jack Rummells

SCOUTING REPORT

CHICAGO

DEC. 6, JAN. 15

Chicago has an entirely new coaching staff this season, as Cam Abbott was named the 14th head coach in franchise history this past summer. Spiros Anastas and Dan Price are the team’s assistant coaches and John Stanier serves as the video coach. Anastas spent two seasons as a Griffins assistant coach from 2012-14, helping Grand Rapids claim its first Calder Cup in 2013.

MILWAUKEE

DEC. 20

Through the first nine games of this season, Milwaukee was tied for second in the AHL with 16 points (8-1-0-0). The Griffins were the only team to defeat the Admirals over their first nine contests, doing so with a 3-0 victory in the season opener on Oct. 11. Playing his first season with Milwaukee, center Vinnie Hinostroza led the team and ranked first in

The Wolves are Grand Rapids’ second-most frequent opponent, as they have met 202 times prior to the 2024-25 campaign, and the Griffins’ 101 wins are also their second-most against one foe. Grand Rapids has strung together back-to-back winning seasons against Chicago (10-5-1-2, .639) for the first time since 2015-17 (14-3-1-0, .806).

the AHL with 16 points (5-11—16) in the opening nine games. The veteran has competed in 171 AHL games since 2014-15, logging 142 points (5686—142). He has spent most of his time in the NHL, showing 151 points (54-97—151) in 374 games across nine campaigns since 2015-16.

TEXAS

DEC. 22

There are a couple of Michigan ties on the Stars’ roster in Michael Karow and Antonio Stranges. Karow spent his fifth and final collegiate season with Michigan Tech University in 202122, compiling 10 points (2-8—10) in 38 games. Stranges hails from Ann Arbor and spent three seasons with the Little Caesars youth program in Detroit from 2015-18, showing a combined 52 points (31-21—52) in 63 appearances.

CLEVELAND

DEC. 31, JAN. 17, JAN. 18

Eleven-year veteran Rocco Grimaldi has been a thorn in opponents’ sides since he joined the AHL in 2014-15. Through 437 AHL outings, the 31-year-old had 374 points (176-198—374) and 216 penalty minutes. Grimaldi was kept at bay in his first four campaigns against Grand Rapids with just four points (2-2—4) in 11 games. However, since the 2021-22 season, Grimaldi has racked up 27 points (9-18—27) in his last 22 contests against the Griffins, including 10

MANITOBA

JAN. 10, JAN. 11

The Moose have two former first-round draft choices on their roster in Brad Lambert and Chaz Lucius. Lambert, selected 30th overall in 2022 by Winnipeg, had 64 points (24-40—64) through 86 AHL games, including six points (1-5—6) in the first eight games this season. The Jets’ 18th overall pick in 2021, Lucius had 20 points (4-16—20) in 32 AHL outings and two points (0-2—2) through three contests this year.

ROCKFORD

JAN. 29

Through the Griffins’ first 11 games this season, two of their three regulation losses had come at the hands of the IceHogs. The Griffins were outscored 8-2 in the first two games of the series, dropping both contests 4-1. Against all other opponents in the opening 11 games, the Griffins had a plus-12 scoring margin (24-12).

Rockford’s roster features Frank Nazar and Artyom Levshunov, both of whom played their college years

Former Griffin Magnus Hellberg (2022-23) is featured on Texas’ roster for the first time in his 15-year career. Hellberg competed in four games for Grand Rapids in 2022-23 and registered a 2-2-0 record with a 2.50 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage. Through his first four games with the Stars, Hellberg held a 4-0-0 mark with a 2.71 goalsagainst average and a .926 save percentage.

points (3-7—10) in eight games last year with Chicago.

Monsters goaltender Jet Greaves is in his fourth season with the franchise and, as of press time, had a 62-43-12 record to go along with a 3.03 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage in 123 AHL appearances. Against the Griffins, Greaves’ numbers are much improved, as he has an 8-3-1 ledger, a 2.52 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage through 13 career meetings.

Manitoba’s Dmitry Kuzmin and the Griffins’ Amadeus Lombardi spent two seasons together with the OHL’s Flint Firebirds from 2021-23. In their final season together in 2022-23, the duo posted a combined 161 points (59-102—161) in 132 games, as Kuzmin led the team’s defensemen with 59 points (14-45—59) and Lombardi paced the roster with 102 points (45-57—102).

in the Great Lakes State. Nazar, the 13th overall pick by Chicago in 2022, spent two seasons at the University of Michigan from 2022-24 and showed 48 points (19-29—48) in 54 outings. Nazar also collected a gold medal for Team USA at the 2024 World Junior Championship. Levshunov was the second overall pick by Chicago in 2024 and spent one season with Michigan State University, logging 35 points (9-26—35) in 38 games in 2023-24.

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Dear Griffins Fans,

Looks aren’t everything, but when it comes to the Grand Rapids Griffins’ 2024-25 season, visuals are taking center stage.

The outlook for Dan Watson’s squad appears bright, after he led the Griffins to a second-place finish in the Central Division in 2023-24, guided the team back to the Calder Cup Playoffs, and won a playoff series in his first season as our head coach. This year’s roster will again be filled with some of the brightest and most exciting prospects in the sport, from goaltender Sebastian Cossa to dynamic offensive talents like Carter Mazur, Marco Kasper, and Nate Danielson. Fresh faces include Sheldon Dries and Joe Snively, the latter a Calder Cup champion with Hershey each of the last two seasons who envisions hosting both his and the Griffins’ third cups next spring.

They and their teammates will sport a new look on the ice this season thanks to our first jersey redesigns in almost a decade, updates that respect our tradition but introduce a new flair. While our logo and color scheme of red, black, metallic silver, and metallic gold are unchanged, red and gold both take on new prominence in our home and road jerseys. Red – a continued nod to our 23 years of affiliation with the Detroit Red Wings – replaced black on the shoulders while gold replaced silver in the trim, complementing the gold in the Griffins’ logo and conjuring images of ancient lore, when griffins were believed to be guardians of golden treasures.

Speaking of treasures, Van Andel Arena has a big new one this season, a long-awaited and highly anticipated addition to our award-winning game presentation: a four-sided, center-hung videoboard that will further enhance your fan experience. Boasting the same technology and display resolution as those at Comerica Park, these impressive videoboards will provide fans a more intimate and convenient view of live action and highlights than ever before, dramatically impacting the way you experience a game.

Video improvements extend to AHLTV, which has joined the FloSports platform as AHLTV on FloHockey. Whether you’re watching a game played in Grand Rapids or on the road, you’ll enjoy an improved, state-of-the-art video stream. And great news for those who can’t get enough hockey: your AHLTV on FloHockey subscription will not just give you access to every regular-season and Calder Cup Playoff contest for all 32 AHL teams, but to more than 21,000 other pro, college and junior hockey games on FloHockey.

Here’s hoping we all enjoy a memorable season that, in the end, is picture perfect.

Sincerely,

Dan DeVos Chief Executive Officer Grand Rapids Griffins

A Message from The President

Scott Howson PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Hockey League

Dear Fans,

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 2024-25 American Hockey League season, the latest chapter in a tradition of excellence that can be traced back to our league’s founding nearly nine decades ago.

The AHL is as proud as ever of its role as the top development league for nearly all of the players, coaches, executives, trainers, broadcasters and officials who you see throughout the National Hockey League today. Generations of our great fans have cheered on future superstars, Stanley Cup champions and Hockey Hall of Famers as they have come through the AHL.

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 2024-25 Hockey League season, the latest chapter in a excellence that can be traced back to our league’s

This season is sure to be another memorable one, from the excitement of opening night to the pageantry of the AHL All-Star Classic in Coachella Valley to the pure emotion of the Calder Cup Playoffs.

On behalf of all of our teams, thank you for your continuing support of the AHL.

Sincerely,

Scott Howson President & CEO | American Hockey League

The AHL is as proud as ever of its role as the top development league for nearly all of the players, executives, trainers, broadcasters and officials throughout the National Hockey League today. of our great fans have cheered on future superstars, Stanley Cup champions and Hockey Hall of Famers

This season is sure to be another memorable excitement of opening night to the pageantry All-Star Classic in Coachella Valley to the pure the Calder Cup Playoffs.

A TRADITION OF

Percentage of all NHL players in 2023-24 who were graduates of the AHL BY THE

Former AHL players who skated in the NHL last season

THE BEGINNINGS

Embarking on its 89th season in 2024-25, the American Hockey League is continuing a tradition of excellence that began in 1936 when the Canadian-American Hockey League joined with the International Hockey League to form what is today known as the AHL. Eight teams hit the ice that first season, representing Buffalo, Cleveland, New Haven, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, Springfield and Syracuse.

Frank Calder, the National Hockey League’s president at the time, was instrumental in the forming of this new league, and his name would be given to its championship trophy. The first Calder Cup was won by the Syracuse Stars in 1937; the Hershey Bears captured their leaguebest 13th championship last spring.

From those roots, the American Hockey League has grown into a 32-team, coastto-coast league that provides fans with exciting, high-level professional hockey while preparing thousands of players, coaches, officials, executives, trainers, broadcasters and more for careers in the NHL.

AHL players who also played in the NHL in 2023-24

Former 1st- and 2nd-round NHL draft picks who skated in the AHL in 2023-24

L.

THE PLAYERS

In today’s National Hockey League nearly 90 percent of the players are AHL alumni, including 2023-24 Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck, Lady Byng Trophy recipient Jaccob Slavin and Bill Masterton Trophy winner Connor

Ingram. The 2024 Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers were stocked with AHL graduates including former league scoring champion Carter Verhaeghe and two-time AHL All-Star Brandon Montour.

During the 2023-24 season, a total of played in the National Hockey League. There were 349 players both leagues last year alone, and 251 former first- and second-round NHL draft picks in the AHL last season, including David Jiricek

Lukas Reichel

Kasper

Yaroslav Askarov

Clarke Cup Playoffs MVP Lapierre

THE LEGENDS

For nearly nine decades, the American Hockey League has been home to some of the greatest players in the history of our sport. In fact, there are 133 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame who have been affiliated with the AHL during their careers All-time greats from Milt Schmidt and Gump Worsley to Roberto Luongo and Martin St. Louis came through the AHL ranks and now find themselves enshrined in Toronto, and the coveted Calder Cup is inscribed with the names of legendary AHL alumni like Johnny Bower, Larry Robinson, Gerry Cheevers, Andy Bathgate, Tim Horton, Al Arbour, Emile Francis, Patrick Roy, Doug Harvey and Billy Smith.

THE COACHES

At the start of the 2024-25 season, the National Hockey League featured 22 head coaches who were former AHL bench bosses, including Paul Maurice of the 2024 Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers and Kris Knoblauch of the Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers.

Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper, New Jersey’s Sheldon Keefe, San Jose’s Ryan Warsofsky, Colorado’s Jared Bednar, Washington’s Spencer Carbery and Seattle’s Dan Bylsma are also among the current NHL coaches who spent time in the American Hockey League before making the jump.

Through the Griffins’ long-running Charitable Goals program, local companies team up with Griffins players to help raise money for various charities. Every time the player scores a goal or makes a save, the company makes a donation toward a mutually agreed upon charity.

AHL DIRECTORY

EASTERN CONFERENCE

ATLANTIC DIVISION:

Bridgeport, Charlotte, Hartford, Hershey, Lehigh Valley, Providence, Springfield, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

NORTH DIVISION: Belleville, Cleveland, Laval, Rochester, Syracuse, Toronto, Utica

BRIDGEPORT ISLANDERS

NHL Affiliation:: ........................ New York Islanders

Home Ice: Total Mortgage Arena (8,412)

General Manager: Chris Lamoriello

Head Coach: ......................................Rick Kowalsky

Entered AHL: .............................................2001-02

Calder Cups: None

Seasons in Playoffs: ................................... 10 of 21

2023-24 Record: .................25-38-7-2, 59 pts./.410 Website: .......................... bridgeportislanders.com

CHARLOTTE CHECKERS

NHL Affiliation: ............................. Florida Panthers

Home Ice: Bojangles’ Coliseum (8,500)

General Manager: Gregory Campbell

Head Coach: .................................. Geordie Kinnear

Entered AHL: .............................................2010-11

Calder Cups: One (2019)

Seasons in Playoffs: ..................................... 8 of 12

2023-24 Record: .................39-26-7-0, 85 pts./.590

Website: ............................. charlottecheckers.com

HARTFORD WOLF PACK

NHL Affiliation: .......................... New York Rangers

Home Ice: XL Center (15,635)

General Manager: ............................... Ryan Martin

Head Coach: ...................................... Grant Potulny

Entered AHL: .............................................1997-98

Calder Cups: One (2000)

Seasons in Playoffs: ................................... 17 of 25

2023-24 Record: .................34-28-7-3, 78 pts./.542 Website: ............................. hartfordwolfpack.com

HERSHEY BEARS

NHL Affiliation: ...................... Washington Capitals

Home Ice: Giant Center (10,500)

General Manager: ............................. Bryan Helmer

Head Coach: .........................................Todd Nelson Entered AHL: .............................................1938-39

Calder Cups: 13 (1947, 1958, 1959, 1969, 1974, 1980, 1988, 1997, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2023, 2024) Seasons in Playoffs: ................................... 71 of 84 2023-24 Record: ...............53-14-0-5, 111 pts./.771 Website: hersheybears.com

LEHIGH VALLEY PHANTOMS

NHL Affiliation: ......................... Philadelphia Flyers

Home Ice: ..................................PPL Center (8,420)

General Manager: Alyn McCauley

Head Coach: ......................................Ian Laperriere

Entered AHL: 1996-97 (as Philadelphia Phantoms) Calder Cups: .................................Two (1998, 2005) Seasons in Playoffs: 14 of 26 2023-24 Record: .................32-31-6-3, 73 pts./.507 Website: .............................. phantomshockey.com

PROVIDENCE BRUINS

NHL Affiliation: ................................. Boston Bruins

Home Ice: ............................ Dunkin’ Donuts Center Providence (11,273)

General Manager: Evan Gold

Head Coach: ................................... Ryan Mougenel

Entered AHL: .............................................1992-93

Calder Cups: .......................................... One (1999) Seasons in Playoffs: 25 of 30

2023-24 Record: .................42-21-6-3, 93 pts./.646 Website: ..............................providencebruins.com

SPRINGFIELD THUNDERBIRDS

NHL Affiliation: St. Louis Blues

Home Ice: .................... MassMutual Center (6,793)

General Manager: ............................Kevin Maxwell

Head Coach: ............................. Steve Konowalchuk

Entered AHL: 2016-17

Calder Cups: ................................................... None

Seasons in Playoffs: ....................................... 2 of 6

2023-24 Record: 30-37-3-2, 65 pts./.451 Website: springfieldthunderbirds.com

WILKES-BARRE/ SCRANTON PENGUINS

NHL Affiliation: .......................Pittsburgh Penguins Home Ice: ...............................Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza (7,500)

General Manager: .............................. Jason Spezza

Head Coach: ................................. Keith MacDonald

Entered AHL: 1999-00

Calder Cups: ................................................... None

Seasons in Playoffs: ................................... 19 of 23

2023-24 Record: .................39-24-8-1, 87 pts./.604 Website: wbspenguins.com

BELLEVILLE SENATORS

NHL Affiliation: .............................Ottawa Senators

Home Ice: .................................. CAA Arena (4,365)

General Manager: ............................ Ryan Bowness

Head Coach: David Bell

Entered AHL: .............................................2017-18

Calder Cups: ................................................... None

Seasons in Playoffs: 2 of 5

2023-24 Record: .................38-28-3-3, 82 pts./.569

Website: .................................... bellevillesens.com

ROCHESTER AMERICANS

NHL Affiliation: ................................ Buffalo Sabres

Home Ice: Blue Cross Arena at the Rochester War Memorial (10,662)

General Manager: ......................... Jason Karmanos

Head Coach: ..................................... Michael Leone

Entered AHL: 1956-57

Calder Cups: ......................... Six (1965, 1966, 1968, 1983, 1987, 1996)

Seasons in Playoffs: ................................... 49 of 66

2023-24 Record: 39-23-7-3, 88 pts./.611 Website: ............................................. amerks.com

CLEVELAND MONSTERS

NHL Affiliation: ................... Columbus Blue Jackets

Home Ice: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (18,277/9,447 lower bowl)

General Manager: .................................. Chris Clark

Head Coach: .................................Trent Vogelhuber

Entered AHL: 2007-08 (as Lake Erie Monsters)

Calder Cups: .......................................... One (2016)

Seasons in Playoffs: ..................................... 4 of 15

2023-24 Record: .................40-24-5-3, 88 pts./.611 Website: clevelandmonsters.com

LAVAL ROCKET

NHL Affiliation: ....................... Montreal Canadiens

Home Ice: ..................................Place Bell (10,043)

General Manager: ........................... John Sedgwick

Head Coach: Pascal Vincent Entered AHL: .............................................2017-18

Calder Cups: ................................................... None

Seasons in Playoffs: 2 of 5

2023-24 Record: .................33-31-6-2, 74 pts./.514

Website: ........................................ rocketlaval.com

THE ROAD TO THE CALDER CUP

SYRACUSE CRUNCH

NHL Affiliation: ..................... Tampa Bay Lightning

Home Ice: Upstate Medical University Arena at Onondaga County War Memorial (6,110)

General Manager: .................................Stacy Roest

Head Coach: ......................................Joel Bouchard

Entered AHL: 1994-95

Calder Cups: ................................................... None

Seasons in Playoffs: ................................... 18 of 28

2023-24 Record: .................39-24-4-5, 87 pts./.604 Website: syracusecrunch.com

A total of 23 teams will qualify for the AHL’s 2025 postseason, with five rounds of playoffs leading to the crowning of a Calder Cup champion.

The playoff field will include the top six finishers in the eight-team Atlantic Division, the top five finishers each in the seven-team North and Central Divisions, and the top seven teams in the 10-team Pacific Division.

TORONTO MARLIES

NHL Affiliation: Toronto Maple Leafs

Home Ice: .................... Coca-Cola Coliseum (7,851)

General Manager: .................................Ryan Hardy

Head Coach: ........................................ John Gruden

Entered AHL: 2005-06

Calder Cups: .......................................... One (2018)

Seasons in Playoffs: ................................... 13 of 17

2023-24 Record: 34-26-10-2, 80 pts./.556

Website: marlies.ca

UTICA COMETS

NHL Affiliation: New Jersey Devils

Home Ice: ...... Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium (3,917)

General Manager: .......................... Dan MacKinnon

Interim Head Coach: Ryan Parent

Entered AHL: .............................................2013-14

Calder Cups: ................................................... None

Seasons in Playoffs: 5 of 9

2023-24 Record: 32-29-5-6, 75 pts./.521

Website: ...................................... uticacomets.com

First Round matchups will be best-ofthree series. The two highest seeds in the Atlantic, the three highest seeds in each of the North and Central, and the first-place team in the Pacific will receive byes into the best-of-five Division Semifinals, with the First Round winners re-seeded in each division. The Division Finals will also be best-of-five series, followed by best-ofseven Conference Finals and a best-ofseven Calder Cup Finals.

Rapids

AHL DIRECTORY

WESTERN CONFERENCE

PACIFIC DIVISION:

Abbotsford, Bakersfield, Calgary, Coachella Valley, Colorado, Henderson, Ontario, San Diego, San Jose, Tucson

CENTRAL DIVISION: Grand Rapids, Chicago, Iowa, Manitoba, Milwaukee, Rockford, Texas

ABBOTSFORD CANUCKS

NHL Affiliation: .........................Vancouver Canucks

Home Ice: ...................... Abbotsford Centre (7,073)

General Manager: Ryan Johnson

Head Coach: ................................. Manny Malhotra

Entered AHL: .............................................2021-22

Calder Cups: None

Seasons in Playoffs: ....................................... 3 of 3

2023-24 Record: .................40-25-5-2, 87 pts./.604

Website: .......................... abbotsford.canucks.com

BAKERSFIELD CONDORS

NHL Affiliation: .............................Edmonton Oilers

Home Ice: ............... Mechanics Bank Arena (8,751)

General Manager: Keith Gretzky

Head Coach: ........................................ Colin Chaulk Entered AHL: .............................................2015-16 Calder Cups: None Seasons in Playoffs: ....................................... 4 of 7 2023-24 Record: .................39-27-4-2, 84 pts./.583

........................... bakersfieldcondors.com

CALGARY WRANGLERS

NHL Affiliation: ............................... Calgary Flames

Home Ice: Scotiabank Saddledome (19,289)

General Manager: ................................ Brad Pascall

Head Coach: ............................................. Trent Cull

Entered AHL: 2022-23

Calder Cups: None

Seasons in Playoffs: ....................................... 2 of 2

2023-24 Record: .................35-28-6-3, 79 pts./.549 Website: calgarywranglers.com

COACHELLA VALLEY FIREBIRDS

NHL Affiliation: ................................Seattle Kraken

Home Ice: Acrisure Arena (10,087)

Asst. General Manager: .......................Ricky Olczyk

Head Coach: ....................................... Derek Laxdal

Entered AHL: 2022-23

Calder Cups: None

COLORADO EAGLES

NHL Affiliation: ........................ Colorado Avalanche Home Ice: Blue Arena (5,089) General Manager: ......................... Kevin McDonald Head Coach: .............................. Aaron Schneekloth

ONTARIO REIGN

Seasons in Playoffs: ....................................... 2 of 2

2023-24 Record: ...............46-15-6-5, 103 pts./.715 Website: cvfirebirds.com

HENDERSON SILVER KNIGHTS

NHL Affiliation: .....................Vegas Golden Knights

Home Ice: ............... The Dollar Loan Center (5,567)

General Manager: Tim Speltz

Head Coach: ........................................... Ryan Craig Entered AHL: .............................................2020-21

Calder Cups: None

Seasons in Playoffs: 1 of 3

2023-24 Record: .................28-36-3-5, 64 pts./.444

Website: .................... hendersonsilverknights.com

ONTARIO REIGN

NHL Affiliation: ........................... Los Angeles Kings

Home Ice: .............................. Toyota Arena (9,491)

General Manager: Richard Seeley

Head Coach: ........................................Marco Sturm

Entered AHL: .............................................2015-16

Calder Cups: None Seasons in Playoffs: 6 of 7

2023-24 Record: .................42-23-3-4, 91 pts./.632 Website: ..................................... ontarioreign.com

SAN DIEGO GULLS

SAN JOSE BARRACUDA

NHL Affiliation: San Jose Sharks

Home Ice: .............................Tech CU Arena (4,200)

General Manager: ....................................... Joe Will

Head Coach: John McCarthy

Entered AHL: .............................................2015-16

Calder Cups: ................................................... None

Seasons in Playoffs: ....................................... 4 of 7

2023-24 Record: 24-34-10-4, 62 pts./.431 Website: .......................................sjbarracuda.com

TUCSON ROADRUNNERS

NHL Affiliation: Utah Hockey Club

Home Ice: .............................. Tucson Arena (6,521)

General Manager: ............................ John Ferguson

Head Coach: Steve Potvin

Entered AHL: .............................................2016-17

Calder Cups: ................................................... None

Seasons in Playoffs: ....................................... 3 of 6

2023-24 Record: 43-23-4-2, 92 pts./.639

Website: ........................... tucsonroadrunners.com

CHICAGO WOLVES

NHL Affiliation: ........................ Carolina Hurricanes

Home Ice: Allstate Arena (16,692)

General Manager: ...............................Darren Yorke

Head Coach: ......................................... Cam Abbott

Entered AHL: 2001-02

Calder Cups: Three (2002, 2008, 2022)

Seasons in Playoffs: ................................... 14 of 21

2023-24 Record: .................23-35-7-7, 60 pts./.417 Website: chicagowolves.com

IOWA WILD

NHL Affiliation: .............................. Minnesota Wild

Home Ice: Wells Fargo Arena (8,356)

General Manager: ........................... Matt Hendricks

Head Coach: ....................................... Brett McLean

Entered AHL: 2013-14

Calder Cups: None

Seasons in Playoffs: ....................................... 2 of 9

2023-24 Record: .................27-37-4-4, 62 pts./.431 Website: iowawild.com

GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS

NHL Affiliation: Detroit Red Wings

Home Ice: .......................Van Andel Arena (10,834)

General Manager: ............................Shawn Horcoff

Head Coach: Dan Watson

Entered AHL: .............................................2001-02

Calder Cups: .................................Two (2013, 2017) Seasons in Playoffs: ................................... 14 of 21

2023-24 Record: 37-23-8-4, 86 pts./.597

Website: ................................... griffinshockey.com

MANITOBA MOOSE

NHL Affiliation: .................................Winnipeg Jets

Home Ice: Canada Life Centre (7,808)

General Manager: ........................... Craig Heisinger

Head Coach: ..................................... Mark Morrison Entered AHL: 2001-02 (played through 2010-11; re-entered 2015-16)

Calder Cups: ................................................... None Seasons in Playoffs: ................................... 13 of 17 2023-24 Record: 34-35-2-1, 71 pts./.493

Website: ....................................moosehockey.com

MILWAUKEE ADMIRALS

NHL Affiliation: ........................ Nashville Predators

Home Ice: ............................ Panther Arena (9,450)

General Manager: Scott Nichol

Head Coach: ........................................... Karl Taylor

Entered AHL: .............................................2001-02

Calder Cups: One (2004)

Seasons in Playoffs: 18 of 21

2023-24 Record: .................47-22-2-1, 97 pts./.674 Website: ..........................milwaukeeadmirals.com

ROCKFORD ICEHOGS

NHL Affiliation: ....................... Chicago Blackhawks

Home Ice: ................................ BMO Center (5,895)

General Manager: Mark Bernard

Head Coach: ................................. Anders Sorensen

Entered AHL: .............................................2007-08

Calder Cups: None Seasons in Playoffs: 9 of 15

2023-24 Record: .................39-26-5-2, 85 pts./.590 Website: ............................................. icehogs.com

TEXAS STARS

NHL Affiliation: .....................................Dallas Stars

Home Ice: ......... H-E-B Center at Cedar Park (6,778)

General Manager: Scott White

Head Coach: ........................................ Neil Graham

Entered AHL: .............................................2009-10

Calder Cups: One (2014) Seasons in Playoffs: 10 of 13

2023-24 Record: .................33-33-4-2, 72 pts./.500

Website: ......................................... texasstars.com

Grand Rapids GRIFFINS

Since beginning their affiliation with the Detroit Red Wings in 2002, the Grand Rapids Griffins have sent more than 100 players to Hockeytown. Detroit’s current crop of Griffins alumni includes Michael Rasmussen, 2022 Calder Trophy recipient Moritz Seider, and captain Dylan Larkin.

DETROIT RED WINGS

TOP AFFILIATE: Grand Rapids Griffins • 23rd Season

ARENA: Little Caesars Arena • Seating Capacity: 19,515

CONTACT: (313) 471-7000 • detroitredwings.com

STANLEY CUPS: 1936, 1937, 1943, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2008

MANAGEMENT

EXECUTIVE VP/GENERAL MANAGER: Steve Yzerman

VP/HOCKEY OPERATIONS: Nicklas Lidstrom

ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGERS: Shawn Horcoff, Kris Draper, Aaron Kahn

COACHING STAFF

HEAD COACH: Derek Lalonde

ASSISTANT COACHES: Bob Boughner, Alex Tanguay, Jay Varady

GOALTENDING COACH: Alex Westlund

VIDEO COORDINATOR: L J Scarpace

ASSISTANT VIDEO COORDINATOR: Jeff Weintraub

GRIFFINS WHO HAVE EARNED THEIR WINGS

Justin Abdelkader 2008-09

Adam Almquist 2013-14

Joakim Andersson 2011-12

Zach Aston-Reese 2023-24

Andreas Athanasiou 2015-16

Sean Avery 2002-03

Riley Barber 2021-22

Ryan Barnes 2003-04

Jonatan Berggren 2022-23

Tyler Bertuzzi 2016-17

Patrick Boileau 2002-03

Darryl Bootland 2003-04

Madison Bowey 2019-20

Mathias Brome 2020-21

Fabian Brunnstrom 2011-12

Mitch Callahan 2013-14

Jake Chelios 2018-19

Alex Chiasson 2022-23

Dennis Cholowski 2018-19

Ty Conklin 2011-12

Chris Conner 2011-12

Jared Coreau 2016-17

Kyle Criscuolo 2021-22

Austin Czarnik 2022-23

Danny DeKeyser 2013-14

Aaron Downey 2008-09

Patrick Eaves 2013-14

Simon Edvinsson 2022-23

Christoffer Ehn 2018-19

Matt Ellis 2006-07

Turner Elson 2021-22

Cory Emmerton 2010-11

Jonathan Ericsson 2007-08

Adam Erne 2022-23

Landon Ferraro 2013-14

Valtteri Filppula 2005-06

Martin Frk 2017-18

Luke Glendening 2013-14

Mark Hartigan 2007-08

Darren Helm 2007-08

Joe Hicketts 2017-18

Taro Hirose 2019-20

Jimmy Howard 2005-06

Filip Hronek 2018-19

Jiri Hudler 2003-04

Matt Hussey 2006-07

Ville Husso 2024-25

Michael Hutchinson 2023-24

Doug Janik 2009-10

Nick Jensen 2016-17

Albert Johansson 2024-25

Tomas Jurco 2013-14

Marco Kasper 2024-25

Jakub Kindl 2009-10

Tomas Kopecky 2005-06

Niklas Kronwall 2003-04

Marc Lamothe 2003-04

Josh Langfeld 2006-07

Dylan Larkin 2015-16

Brian Lashoff 2012-13

Brett Lebda 2005-06

Ville Leino 2008-09

Gustav Lindstrom 2019-20

Matt Lorito 2016-17

Matt Luff 2022-23

Joey MacDonald 2006-07

Donald MacLean 2005-06

Anthony Mantha 2015-16

Alexey Marchenko 2013-14

Darren McCarty 2007-08

Tom McCollum 2010-11

Dylan McIlrath 2018-19

Derek Meech 2006-07

Wade Megan 2018-19

Drew Miller 2016-17

Kevin Miller 2003-04

Mark Mowers 2003-04

Petr Mrazek 2012-13

Jan Mursak 2010-11

Anders Myrvold 2003-04

Alex Nedeljkovic 2022-23

Andrej Nestrasil 2014-15

Kris Newbury 2009-10

Tomas Nosek 2015-16

Gustav Nyquist 2011-12

Xavier Ouellet 2013-14

Chase Pearson 2021-22

Calvin Pickard 2019-20

Matt Puempel 2018-19

Teemu Pulkkinen 2013-14

Kyle Quincey 2005-06

Michael Rasmussen 2018-19

Dan Renouf 2016-17

Mattias Ritola 2007-08

Jamie Rivers 2003-04

Nathan Robinson 2003-04

Stacy Roest 2002-03

Robbie Russo 2016-17

Moritz Seider 2021-22

Riley Sheahan 2011-12

Brendan Smith 2011-12

Givani Smith 2019-20

Elmer Soderblom 2022-23

Ryan Sproul 2013-14

Garrett Stafford 2007-08

Ben Street 2016-17

Libor Sulak 2018-19

Evgeny Svechnikov 2016-17

Eric Tangradi 2015-16

Tomas Tatar 2010-11

Jordin Tootoo 2013-14

Dominic Turgeon 2017-18

Joe Veleno 2020-21

Jakub Vrana 2022-23

Austin Watson 2024-25

Jason Williams 2002-03

Luke Witkowski 2021-22

Filip Zadina 2018-19

* not including conditioning stints for Curtis Joseph (2003-04), Chris Osgood (2005-06), Manny Legace (2005-06), Chris Chelios (2008-09), Andreas Lilja (2009-10), Jonas Gustavsson (2012-13), Carlo Colaiacovo (2012-13), Stephen Weiss (2014-15), Gemel Smith (2021-22) and Magnus Hellberg (2022-23).

Photo credit: Getty Images

MARK YOUR CALENDAR 2024-25

DEC. 6

Ninth Annual Red Kettle Game presented by The Salvation Army/Red Kettle Jersey Auction

DEC. 22

Gridiron Griffins presented by Hope Network/Gridiron Griffins Jersey Auction

DEC. 31

27th Annual New Year’s Eve Celebration presented by Captain Morgan/Post-Game Fireworks/6 p.m. Start

JAN. 11

DC Superheroes Night presented by Michigan First Credit Union/ Batman Bobblehead Giveaway/ Character Appearances

JAN. 18

Dino Night presented by Acrisure/Adult Dino Night Jersey Giveaway/Dino Night Jersey Auction

JAN. 18-19

20th Annual Great Skate Winterfest at Rosa Parks Circle, benefiting the Griffins Youth Foundation

FEB. 1

Princess Night presented by Lake Michigan Credit Union/ Character Appearances/ Pre-Game Tea Party

FEB. 17

18th Annual Griffins & Sled Wings Sled Hockey Game at Griff’s IceHouse at Belknap Park, benefiting the Grand Rapids Sled Wings and the Griffins Youth Foundation

FEB. 23

MARCH 1

Star Wars Night presented by DTE/Character Appearances

MARCH

10

11th Annual Hockey, Hops & Hope at Fox Subaru, benefiting Easterseals MORC

Mental Health Awareness & Sensory-Friendly Game presented by Comerica Bank/Mental Health & Sensory-Friendly Jersey Auction/ Simon Edvinsson Flying Toasters Bobblehead Giveaway

MARCH 14

13th Annual Purple Community Game presented by Van Andel Institute/Purple Jersey Auction

MARCH 22

Beer City Hockey Night presented by Adventure Credit Union/Beer City Hockey Jersey Auction/Beer City Hockey Hat Giveaway/8 p.m. Start

APRIL 12

Fan Appreciation Night presented by Huntington Bank

CHECKPROMOTIONS OUT THESE SEASON-LONG

Be sure to make note of these promotions occurring regularly throughout the season! Take advantage of cheap beer and dogs, free tickets, military and student discounts and more!

$2 BEERS AND $2 HOT DOGS

Every Friday, enjoy $2 domestic drafts and $2 hot dogs from 6-8 p.m., at select stands while supplies last.

MILITARY NIGHTS

Every home game, current members of our military can purchase up to four Upper Level Faceoff or Crease tickets for $16 each, four Upper Level Center Ice tickets for $19 each or four Lower Level Faceoff tickets for $23 each with a valid military ID. The offer also extends to veterans who present a VA ID or discharge papers.

COLLEGE DISCOUNT

College students can buy online using their school .edu email address or show their ID at every Friday game to purchase an Upper Level Faceoff or Crease ticket for $16, an Upper Level Center Ice ticket for $19, or a Lower Level Faceoff ticket for $23. Limit one ticket per ID if purchasing in-person. Visit griffinshockey.com/college to purchase College Night tickets and sign up for text alerts.

FREE RIDE FRIDAY ON THE RAPID

Ride the Rapid to and from any Friday game and enjoy a complimentary fare by showing your ticket to that night’s game. Visit ridetherapid.org for schedule information, routes and maps.

WINNING WEDNESDAYS

Presented by Michigan First Credit Union, every time the Griffins win at home on Wednesday, each fan in attendance will receive a free ticket to the next Wednesday

game. To redeem a Winning Wednesday ticket, please visit the box office following the Winning Wednesday game, The Zone during normal business hours, or the Van Andel Arena box office prior to the next Wednesday game beginning at 5:30 p.m. Fans who exchange their Winning Wednesday ticket at The Zone on a non-game day will receive 20% off the purchase of one item (excluding jerseys). One discount per person present.

LIBRARY NIGHTS

For all Wednesday and Sunday games, fans can present their Grand Rapids Public Library card or Kent District Library card at the Van Andel Arena box office on the night of the game or at The Zone anytime during the store’s regular business hours to purchase an Upper Level Faceoff ticket for $18 (regularly $24), an Upper Level Center Ice ticket for $21 (regularly $27), or a Lower Level Faceoff ticket for $25 (regularly $30). Limit four tickets per card per person, subject to availability.

FRIENDS & FAMILY 4-PACKS

These packs are available for all Saturday games during the 2024-25 season and include four or more game tickets, and $20 or more in concession cash. Visit griffinshockey.com/f4p or call (616) 774-4585 ext. 2.

SUNDAY IS FUN DAY

For all Sunday games, enjoy $1 small Pepsi drinks and $1 small ice cream cups from 3-5 p.m., while supplies last.  For the game

on Feb. 23, the promotion will run from 4-6 p.m., while supplies last.

PEPSI READING GOALS

Children with Griff’s Reading Goals bookmarks who have completed the required three hours of reading can redeem their bookmark for two free Upper Level tickets to any of the following games: Bookmark #1 – Dec. 22; Bookmark #2 – Feb. 19, Feb. 23, March 12, and April 2.

POST-GAME OPEN SKATES

Bring your skates to the rink and take to the ice for a post-game open skate on Dec. 31, Feb. 21, and April 12. As a reminder, Van Andel Arena has a no-bag policy, but security will allow fans to use bags to bring in their skates.

POST-GAME AUTOGRAPH SESSIONS

Select players will sign autographs from the Griffins’ bench after the games on Jan. 11 and Feb. 1.

APPLIED INNOVATION ISLAND

Presented by Applied Innovation, this section, located on the terrace level above section 118, provides the best seats in the house for groups of up to 30 people, with La-Z-Boy chairs and an array of unprecedented amenities. Call (616) 744-4585 ext. 4.

THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE

Griffins veteran Dominik Shine is enjoying the limelight, having built a successful pro career with one team while discovering the joys of fatherhood.

Story and photos by

Mark Newman

Shine has played more seasons in a Griffins uniform than every player except Brian Lashoff and Travis Richards.

An undrafted free agent, Shine was originally signed to an amateur tryout near the end of the 2016-17 season.

Dominik Shine has experienced his share of highs and lows during his time in Grand Rapids, so he is appreciating the moment.

At age 31, Shine is taking great pleasure in the good fortune that is brightening his day at present. One month into the 2024-25 season, he was the Griffins’ leading scorer – a pleasant statistical surprise for the former fourth-line forward. He is also basking in the bliss of first-time fatherhood –his wife Taylor gave birth to their son, Cooper, on April 26, 2023.

Life is good.

It’s a sterling state of affairs for Shine, now in his ninth season with the Griffins, the thirdlongest playing tenure in the organization’s history behind only former defensemen Brian Lashoff (14 seasons) and Travis Richards (10). Although he never imagined his pro career in Grand Rapids would last as long as it has, the achievement corresponds to his continuing commitment.

Shine’s playing record is possibly the most orderly that has ever belonged to a player who has worn a Griffins jersey – four years of junior hockey with the USHL’s Lincoln Stars and four years at Northern Michigan University before nine seasons in Grand Rapids.

Sure, Shine wishes there might have been a game or two in the NHL along the way, but he’s happy to have found a home with Grand Rapids.

“I’ve always wanted a chance to play in the NHL, and that hasn’t happened for me, but the way I was raised is you just keep your head down and you work, and that’s what I’ve been trying to do,” he said.

“As long as I can keep doing that, I should have a job. I think that’s what’s kept me around here for nine years now. I just go about my business and work as hard as I can, and hopefully, good things happen.”

Shine has fond memories of his arrival in Grand Rapids. He joined the Griffins late in the 2016-17 season, appearing in eight AHL games after completing his senior season in Marquette with Northern’s Wildcats. He did not appear in any games during the team’s Calder Cup Playoff run, but witnessing history – the Griffins proceeded to win their second championship in five years – left an indelible mark.

“I’ll never forget the guys in the locker room that first year. That’s what I’ll always remember,” he said. “I still talk to a lot of them. I still play fantasy football with a number of them.

“When you’re coming into the league, you build those relationships that stay with you. Maybe you don’t have kids and you’re just a single guy living in Grand Rapids, so you enjoy going out with your friends and stuff like that. It’s the relationships that matter.”

Shine could feel that he was joining a special group.

“When I came into the AHL, we obviously had a great team because we won the Cup that year. We had good teams the following couple of years, too, but we just didn’t get it done. It was fun to be a part of those good teams. We had a little slump for a couple of years, but you could feel it building back up and we’re finally getting back to where we need to be.”

He can attest to the truth that time flies when you’re having fun. He doesn’t think long to offer the advice that he might give to his younger self.

“As a young guy, the microscope is on you a little bit with coaches. So on the ice, I would say to keep things simple, make the right plays, and that will create opportunities for you in the offensive zone. Don’t try to force anything that’s not there. You’ve got to learn how to be a reliable player. Once you’re a reliable player, then you can take more chances.

“Off the ice, enjoy time with your teammates because it all goes fast. They will become some of your best friends that you will meet, so really enjoy those times, especially on the road when you go to fun cities in California or Texas. Enjoy those times with your teammates because you’ll remember that stuff.”

Shine rattles off the names of former teammates with whom he stays in touch: Dylan McIlrath, Eric Tangradi, Taro Hirose, Turner Elson, Dan Renouf, Calvin Pickard, and Tyler Spezia, the latter being his best friend in hockey.

“The way hockey works is sometimes you make friendships and sometimes you get to play together. It’s pretty special when you do,” he said. “I cherish those times with all my teammates.”

He believes he is a better player today because of his teammates. He certainly has become a more disciplined player.

“I kinda had a little temper when I played my first couple years,” he said. “Sometimes taking a penalty put us in a bit of a spot, you know, so I had to learn to be a little smarter. As you get comfortable and you’re playing well, I think the game slows down a bit, you can take a breath, and make the right play. So I think it’s just a matter of calming down when you’ve got the puck, seeing

Shine scored a careerhigh 17 goals during the 2021-22 season, when he led the team with 141 penalty minutes.

Shine tallied a career-high 33 points last season.

the whole ice, and things like that.”

It took Shine six years to top 20 points in a season, but his offensive production increased significantly in the past three seasons, a fact that he attributes to a combination of playing time, quality linemates, and generally becoming a smarter player.

“I think the main thing is ice time. Watty [Griffins head coach Dan Watson] has given me a chance to play. It’s the first year I’ve ever been on a power play, so that’s been helpful. I’m playing with skilled players who have produced in the league. So, it’s a combination of all those things and maybe timing, too.

“You play hockey your whole life, you go through phases, and there are times when you can get better and grow. Over the past couple of years, my 5-on-5 game has been really good and that’s where I’ve gotten a lot of my points. It’s just a combination of things, like playing with better players and playing more minutes. It’s been good.”

Shine has always taken pride in doing whatever it takes – the essence of a good team player. During the COVID-shortened season, Shine and Spezia played a few games on defense when the team found itself shorthanded due to

virus protocols.

“I had never actually played defense, so it was fun,” he recalled. “I told [then-head coach] Ben Simon that I played ‘D’ before, just so he would put me there. It was different. There’s not as much skating and it’s hard to make a good play when guys are forechecking you because you don’t always see what’s coming behind you.

“Sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do to stay in the league. I knew I wanted to stay in Grand Rapids, so I saw it as an opportunity to do something. It’s those kinds of things that keep you around. It paid off in the long run.”

Shine is thankful that his wife, Taylor, has been at his side for most of his journey. They met during her freshman year of high school while he was playing for the USHL team in Lincoln, Nebraska.

She played volleyball at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she earned a degree in mechanical engineering. Today, she is a project manager in new product development at Stryker, where she works on next-generation medical devices in the instruments division.

“She means everything to me,” Shine said. “She works a full-time job and still takes care of our son when I’m on the road. I owe it all to her. She took a chance and moved to Grand Rapids several years ago, so she’s always been here for me, and now Cooper as well. It’s been amazing to see her become a mom.”

Becoming a father was a life-changing experience for Shine, as it is for most parents.

“It puts everything into perspective,” he said. “Obviously, I care about hockey a lot and I want to do well, but if I have a bad game or something, I go home and he just smiles and doesn’t care. He hugs me and it changes everything. I think it’s been really helpful to take my mind off things at the rink.

“Whether the public sees it or not, the season can be tough. As an athlete, your whole world revolves around this sport, and because it’s such a short time in your life, it seems so important. Having a child gives you a different perspective. It’s been really good for me.”

Cooper is a “really good kid,” although he didn’t sleep very well for a long time, according to Shine. At 18 months, he is just starting to talk and he’s becoming increasingly aware of his

surroundings. For a little boy, a hockey locker room visit is like walking into a gathering of superheroes in uniform.

“He knows it’s me and he knows my teammates,” Shine said. “He sees them and gets all fired up when he sees the equipment. I think it’s just really cool. For him, growing up around it, it’s going to be pretty influential in his life.”

Shine thinks about his relationship with his father and the importance sports played in his life growing up.

“I love sports. That’s something my dad and I always had in common,” Shine recalled. “We played sports. That’s what we did. He’d come home from work and we’d go outside and play football for a couple of hours or throw a baseball.

“That’s something I want to do with Cooper. I think he definitely likes sports. I just don’t know which ones he likes. So I’ll let him play. I’ll let him figure it out. Maybe it won’t be sports. Whatever he decides, I want to support him. Let him go.”

Shine plans to teach his son how to rollerblade first and then teach him how to stand up on skates. For now, he is simply enjoying bringing his boy to the locker room.

“Whether it’s coming to the locker room after

A Detroit native, Shine ranks in the top 10 of the Griffins’ alltime penalty minute leaders.

a game or taking him to breakfast, I feel like there are things that I want to do that he will remember at some point,” he said. “He’s young now, but as he gets a little older, I hope they are things he’ll remember.”

Cooper is motivating Shine to keep playing as long as possible. “It’s definitely made me want to play a little longer, just for him to experience some stuff,” he said. “I know it’s something that I’ll probably cherish down the road.”

In the meantime, Shine will find satisfaction in acting as a mentor to his younger teammates.

“I like the idea of a team, and you’re always with these guys – maybe you’re good right away, maybe not – but I like figuring it out with a group of guys and getting better. I think that’s something you can look back on and be proud of, changing the culture or growing as a team. That’s something I enjoy doing. I don’t want to move around and try new teams.

“This is a tough league to play in. It’s tough travel. It’s hard hockey, and I just try to get better each year. I think this team has something. We’re doing well right now and I think we’re only going to get better.”

Join

Shine enjoys spending his free time with his wife, Taylor, and their 18-month-old son, Cooper.

MARCH 10, 2025 | 6:30 - 9:00 PM FOX Subaru: 6115 28th Street SE Grand Rapids, MI

For more information, visit www.EastersealsMORC.org and navigate to our

William Lagesson has made a career out of playing in the middle, shifting his talents between the AHL and NHL.

BETWIXT AND BETWEEN Defenseman

Story and photos by Mark Newman

William Lagesson has made a living of coming and going, neither here nor there for long, always adjusting to the present circumstances.

For many athletes, bouncing back and forth between leagues is an exhausting experience, often prompting an existential crisis that results in a crushing blow to confidence. For Lagesson, it has become a way of life.

When the Swedish-born defenseman signed with the Red Wings last summer, he was joining his sixth NHL organization in four years. That might be unsettling for many, but the 28-year-old defenseman has never unpacked his suitcase for long.

It’s become standard practice for Lagesson ever since he first left his home in Gothenburg on the west coast of Sweden, where he loved the outdoors when he wasn’t playing hockey or soccer at a high level.

His grandfather on his father’s side had played for the Swedish national team in basketball, but the sport conflicted with the others, so William’s summers were spent playing soccer and winters playing hockey.

“My dad [Rickard Lagesson, owner of the Gothenburg engineering firm Andersson & Hultmark] enjoys fishing, so we did that a lot when I was growing up, too,” he said. “He’s been taking me since I was a little kid. We have boats close to the ocean and usually go out every summer.

“It’s been a thing just to spend time with him and

Lagesson has seen NHL action with the Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Anaheim Ducks.

enjoy his company. We catch micro trout and cod. If we hunt, it’s deer. Obviously, we did it a little bit more back in the day, but I still try to find some time with him to do that.”

His dad encouraged him to play but left the coaching to the professionals. As a teen, Lagesson developed his talents in the famed Frölunda hockey program, for the hockey club’s U16, U18, and U20 teams while playing dozens and dozens of games at the international level.

Participating in the World Junior Championship was a life-changing experience. The games put a spotlight on his skills that would see him develop into a mobile, twoway defenseman who was selected in the fourth round (91st overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

“I think the experience meant a lot,” he said. “Just to get to know all the good players back home and in my age group internationally, to measure where I was at the time. I think that really helped me build confidence going forward.”

Following his draft, Lagesson decided to leave home and play in North America.

“I think it was a good step for me to come over and play here,” he said. “Moving up to the SHL [Swedish Hockey League] was a big step. I saw some players do that and they became seventh defensemen where you only play a few shifts per game. You don’t get much ice time.

A native of Gothenburg, Sweden, Lagesson is considered a mobile, two-way defenseman with sneaky offensive skills.

“I think at that age, it’s important to play as much as possible so you can develop still. Maybe I could have stayed in Frölunda and got to play a little bit in the SHL, but I made the decision to go play USHL.”

Dubuque, Iowa, it seems, represented a rather startling culture shock.

“It was like nothing I’d seen before, but the people there were nice,” he said. “Hockey was a big deal in town because they didn’t have too much going on. I was still going to high school, but all the hockey guys were treated like stars. So it was fun even though my English was not great that first year.”

Lagesson looked at several different U.S. colleges but ultimately chose UMass-Amherst.

“I decided to go to UMass because I knew I could have a big role right away,” he said. “I didn’t want to go to a school where I didn’t play much my first year or two, because I knew there was a chance I wasn’t going to stay all four years. So I wanted to have a big role right away.”

His two years were productive, even though he found himself in the middle of a rebuild. The Minutemen went 8-24-4 and 5-29-2 in his two seasons at the school, which included a coaching staff change between his freshman and sophomore years..

“It is what it is,” he said. “Being on not-so-good teams was a good learning experience, to see what it’s all about. I liked the school. It’s where I met my wife,

Amanda, whose parents are Swedish but grew up in New Jersey.”

Lagesson signed his first pro contract with Edmonton after two seasons at UMass and the Oilers promptly decided to send him back to Sweden. The club loaned him to Djurgardens in the SHL rather than the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors.

“The team explained they had a lot of ‘D’ prospects and they were trying to find a solution where it was going to be best for me,” he said. “They thought one year in the SHL would allow me to develop my game before heading to the AHL.”

He admits that he had more than a few reservations about playing in Stockholm, where the Djurgardens team is based.

“I was like ‘I don’t know’ at first because I had my expectations,” he said. “Gothenburg, where I’m from, is the second-biggest city in Sweden and there’s a rivalry of sorts with Stockholm, but I was wrong. It’s a big city, but I lived in a good area, fairly close to the rink, and the city had some of the nicest people I’ve ever met.”

After a solid year in the SHL, Lagesson returned to North America, making his AHL debut during the 2018-19 season. The move to Bakersfield proved to be a godsend. Not only did Lagesson use the time to sharpen his skills but he was part of a team that tied the second-longest win streak in AHL history with 17

consecutive victories.

The cast of characters on the Condors included Mitch Callahan, who spent six seasons (2011-2017) in Grand Rapids and helped the Griffins win two Calder Cups. “I was a little scared of him at first, but then I got to know him and he’s an awesome guy,” Lagesson said.

“We had a lot of good guys – an unbelievable team that was super-close with a lot of really good players. I remember we didn’t talk about the streak because we didn’t want to jinx it. We had that momentum where everything clicks, where – even though you’re losing by one or two goals going into the third – you know that you’re going find a way to win those games.”

Lagesson made his NHL debut during his second season in Bakersfield. “I had a couple of times where I got called up but I didn’t get to play before I got sent back down,” he said. “My family had come over for the holidays and we were staying in Colorado after an away game there when Edmonton called me up.”

His family quickly arranged to join him in Edmonton, where he made his NHL debut against the New York Rangers on New Year’s Eve 2019.

“I remember we were up 6-1 and they changed goalies and put in Henrik Lundqvist, which was pretty cool to play against him in my first game,” said Lagesson, who had been skating with the Hall of Fame netminder during his summers in Sweden since his junior days.

“They scored four goals in the third period and almost came back. So it was a rollercoaster of a game, but we ended up winning 7-5, so it was a memory for a lifetime. And to have my family there was awesome.”

Lagesson appeared in eight games with Edmonton during the 2019-20 season, playing alongside a couple of other players his age who were already becoming superstars – namely, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. It helped that he had been skating with players of the caliber of Lundqvist, Erik Karlsson, Daniel Alfredsson, Loui Ericsson, and others back home in Sweden for several years.

“I was nervous at first to skate with those guys, but it’s good to see what veteran players are doing every day,” he said. “You get to see the routines they do in terms of practice and workouts and all that.”

Just as Lagesson was making inroads to establishing himself as an NHL player, COVID-19 put a halt to everything. With the NHL season on hold, he played for two hockey clubs in Sweden before finishing the 2020-21 season with the Oilers, appearing in 19 games.

The following year, Lagesson appeared in 30 games with Edmonton. “Everything was going good and then I jammed my wrist,” he said. “I got hit and my wrist got super swollen. I couldn’t move it and so it was bad timing for it to happen.

“I was out for two months, maybe two-and-a-half months, and they wanted me to come back because the team wasn’t doing very well. It was maybe a bit too

early – I had tape from here to here (motions from his wrist to his forearm) and I couldn’t move it, couldn’t shoot really. I wasn’t 100 percent and after that, I was in and out of the lineup.”

In March 2022, the Oilers traded Lagesson along with a conditional second-round pick and a seventhround pick to Montreal for defenseman Brett Kulak. “I had mixed feelings,” he said. “It was the first time I got traded and I was leaving my first organization but I was trying to see the positive, so I was excited about going to a new team and getting a new opportunity there.”

Things didn’t quite work out the way he hoped. “I got there and I don’t really know what happened, but I only played three games,” he said. “I was sitting pretty much in the stands the whole time I was there, and then obviously they didn’t want to re-sign me.”

Lagesson signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Carolina Hurricanes in July 2022 but never played with the NHL team, spending the entire 2022-23 season with Carolina’s AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. He appeared in 65 AHL games, scoring a career-high 10 goals and 32 points.

“I remember going down there [to Carolina] and it felt like they already had their minds made up with the team,” he said. “They had a good ‘D’ corps, so I spent the whole season in Chicago. I played a lot of minutes, which I needed because I had spent a lot of games in the stands the past few years. It felt good to get back on the ice and play a lot again.”

Nevertheless, Lagesson opted to sign a one-year, two-way contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs last season. He was assigned to the AHL’s Toronto Marlins to start the 2023-24 campaign, but an injury to Jake McCabe opened the door for his return to the NHL.

He quickly established himself as a solid, third-pair option for Toronto, where he appeared in 30 games. Like in Edmonton, he flourished in a lineup filled with superstars: Austin Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner, and John Tavares.

Playing in a city where hockey is a most serious business, Lagesson contends he felt little pressure.

“I felt like I had a nothing-to-lose mindset,” he said. “I knew the team needed some energy, someone who plays tough, so I went up there and I knew the role that was needed for the team. It was a great team; those guys are a lot of fun to be around. I got to play quite a bit, got to play some good minutes, including the PK [penalty kill].”

For Lagesson, the best part was that his dad got included in the Leafs’ annual fathers’ trip. After a 4-0 victory in Nashville, the dads headed to Long Island, where his father had been a foreign exchange student many years earlier.

“It was kind of full circle for him, so it was a great experience,” Lagesson said. “It was fun to see him enjoy himself. He had the best time. Toronto spoiled them with dinners, nice hotels, and all that. It was a really fun time.”

Lagesson has learned to become a leader on and off the ice while splitting the past six seasons between the AHL and NHL.

Unfortunately for Lagesson, the good times did not last. The Maple Leafs put him on waivers ahead of the NHL trade deadline to free up cap space. He was claimed by Anaheim and finished the season with the Ducks, going scoreless in 10 games. He is still in pursuit of his first NHL goal after playing in 100 games at the top level.

Anxious for another new start, Lagesson was excited to sign with the Red Wings on the first day of free agency this past summer. “My agent called and said we have a deal with Detroit but we have to act quick. So we took the deal and here I am.”

He thinks Grand Rapids is an ideal fit for Amanda, who studied journalism at UMass-Amherst, and their son, Loui, and the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever they call Ducky.

“It doesn’t matter if I’ve played bad or anything like that,” he said. “I just go home and I see them and they’re as happy as ever to see me. It kinda takes your mind away from hockey, which is something you need sometimes.”

Becoming a father is better than he could have ever imagined.

“It’s been amazing,” Lagesson said. “Just to see him grow and take step by step. All that’s been

unbelievable. He’s changed our lives. You see what life is about, I guess. He just brings so much joy to me and my wife, so it’s been great.”

Loui, who will be two years old in February, is just starting to talk.

“My wife grew up in New Jersey, so she speaks almost all English with him,” he said. “I try to mix in some Swedish here and there. So he’s speaking some words in English and some words in Swedish, but it’s mostly English.”

On the ice, Lagesson has wasted no time in settling into a leadership role as an alternate captain for the Griffins.

“When I’m playing my best, I’m moving pucks quick, making quick decisions, playing hard and physical, making it tough for the other team’s top guys to create offense or get to the net,” he said. “We’ve been winning a lot of games in the beginning here, so we’re off to a good start.”

Besides an NHL goal, Lagesson is in hot pursuit of his first pro championship.

“A lot of good things are happening,” he said. “I like winning, so you do whatever takes to help the team. I would love to win a championship.”

2024 - 25 GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS ROSTER

6-5,

Josiah Didier

from the biggest of the big, to the littlest of the little.

Whenever you shop Meijer, you help support the Grand Rapids Griffins and hundreds of local sports teams across the Midwest.

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VILLE HUSSO Goaltender

6-3, 205 lbs.

Born: 2/6/95 Helsinki, Finland

AMADEUS LOMBARDI Forward

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GABRIEL SEGER

Forward

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Born: 11/15/99

Uppsala, Sweden

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ANTTI TUOMISTO Defenseman

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HUNTER JOHANNES

Forward

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Eden Prairie, Minn.

CARTER MAZUR Forward

6-0, 188 lbs. Born: 3/28/02 Jackson, Mich.

DOMINIK SHINE

Forward

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EEMIL VIRO Defenseman

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MARCO KASPER Forward

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BROGAN RAFFERTY Defenseman

6-1, 200 lbs. Born: 5/28/95 West Dundee, Ill.

JOE SNIVELY Forward

5-10, 180 lbs. Born: 1/1/96 Herndon, Va.

WILLIAM WALLINDER Defenseman

WILLIAM LAGESSON Defenseman

6-2, 214 lbs. Born: 2/22/96 Gothenburg, Sweden

JAKUB RYCHLOVSKY

Forward

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Born: 8/7/01

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ELMER SODERBLOM

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Born: 1/13/92

Ann Arbor, Mich. 22

AUSTIN WATSON Forward

51 Grand Rapids GRIFFINS

Longtime NHL defenseman

Brendan Smith has fond memories of his time in Grand Rapids.

Story by Mark Newman

CHANGE OF HEART

Brendan Smith was a first-round pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, so he had certain expectations when he joined the Red Wings organization as a 21-year-old after three years at the University of Wisconsin.

The defenseman thought he had a job waiting in Detroit, so Grand Rapids was the last place he wanted to be. He now admits that he didn’t join the Griffins with the best state of mind.

“My little brother [Reilly Smith] always wanted to play for the Red Wings. And so that was his dream. And then I was drafted by them, so that was my goal,” Smith recalled. “But that’s not how it worked back then. Prospects usually had to play at least one year in the minors. It was to ensure that players would have longevity in their careers, and that would ultimately help them in the future by not pushing them too early. And so I was told to go to Grand Rapids.”

In his head, Smith might as well have heard “hell” instead.

“I didn’t know anything about Grand Rapids, when I probably should have done a little more research,” he chuckles. “But I guess when you’re young like that, your mind is set and you have one goal. And for me, it was the Red Wings.

“And so it was an interesting feeling right off the bat. Your goal as a young kid is to play in the NHL and you go to camp to try to make the Red Wings, right? And so I was a little devastated when I got sent down.”

Smith admits that he did not come with the best attitude. That quickly changed, however.

“As soon as I came into Grand Rapids and saw Van Andel Arena and the whole area around it, I fell in love quickly. We had a bunch of really good guys on the team, too, which also helped that transition. It turned what I felt was a crappy situation into a really great time.”

Now a member of the Dallas Stars, one of this season’s leading Stanley Cup contenders, Smith recently played his 700th NHL game. He believes his three seasons (2010-13) with the Griffins were crucial to his development as a young hockey player.

As a highly touted prospect, Smith admits that he was probably too confident for his own good when he joined the Griffins.

“I think I came in like that,” he said. “When you’re young, you expect things. And that’s not how it is, especially in pro sports. And so for me, my time [with the Griffins] was very humbling. I think it was very good for me.

“This season marks 14 years for me in the NHL. I think without my time in Grand Rapids, I probably don’t play as long as I have to this moment. So I owe a lot to Grand Rapids, for sure. And I owe a lot to that organization. Everything that they’ve done for me, I think, has kind of molded me into the man I am today.

“You’ve got to take your ups and downs and learn to grow from them. And I had a lot of both of those in Grand Rapids. So it was fantastic.”

When he thinks about his beginnings in pro hockey, Smith wishes he could turn back the clock and

Smith was a first-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Smith has played more than 700 NHL games with Detroit, the New York Rangers, Carolina, New Jersey, and Dallas.

“soak it all in.”

“It’s crazy how fast time has flown,” he said. “Everybody talks about enjoying the journey. For me, I pictured the NHL as the only goal. And so there were moments when I felt like I don’t want to be here or I don’t belong here because I want to go to the next level. That’s where I wanted to be.”

Smith is thankful for the many mentors that he encountered during his time in Grand Rapids.

“As my ‘D’ partner, Doug Janik was massive for me, on and off the ice because he had a family,” Smith said. “He was very welcoming to me and very open to any questions and suggestions and anything that I would think of. And when you’re young, you have so many questions. I’m sure he probably got fed up with me multiple times, but he never really showed it.

“So Janik would probably be my number one. But we had lots of good guys – [Greg] Amadio and [Chris] Minard would be two others – and they were great guys who all looked after me. They were just so open to me as a young guy. They tried to help me grow.”

Smith remembers Amadio taking him car shopping.

“It was like they were trying to help me learn how to be a pro and how to make the right decisions,” he said. “I think a lot of what they’ve taught me has made me who I am. If I saw them now, I would want to thank them because of everything they’ve done. I was fortunate to have good mentors.”

Smith credits Curt Fraser and Jim Paek, the Griffins’ head coach and assistant coach, respectively, at the

time, with having a strong hand in helping him become the kind of solid, dependable defenseman that is valued by NHL organizations.

“Honestly, they were very good for my development because I was pretty raw,” Smith said. “There would be moments where I would make huge errors or mistakes. And they were always great at never taking ice time away. I felt that they were always very respectful and just trying to teach me.

“I was always very highly competitive, so when I was making mistakes, it wasn’t out of lack of effort. It was always because I was trying to help the team win or trying to do too much. And so the whole idea as far as they were concerned was the KISS method –Keep It Simple, Smart, or whatever ‘S’ word you want to put there.

“Jimmy Paek was so good to me and such a good coach for me as a young player. ‘Fraz’ was everything you would want as a head coach for a man at a young age. They were always very communicative with me and always tried to help me out. So they were very good with me in that respect.”

They were patient when Smith was often impatient.

“I feel like I’m a very in-the-moment kind of person, but there were moments where I would get down on myself because I didn’t get a call-up or somebody else got a call-up. It’s all petty stuff that when you’re just young, you don’t know how to deal with those things. I wish I could have told myself to just relax. Just be yourself and enjoy the moment. Enjoy the journey. It’s

going to work out.

“I’m positive Doug Janik told me that. I’m sure that I heard it from other people, too. Chris Chelios was a big-time mentor for me at the time and I’m positive that he told me as well. But you’re just so young and dumb, you don’t hear it. I wish I could have taken other people’s advice then.

“But looking back at it now, it brings a smile to my face.”

He smiles again when he remembers the 2012-13 season. A lockout year for the NHL, he began his third season with the Griffins while the NHL was settling its labor dispute. He played 32 games in Grand Rapids before eventually finishing the season with the Red Wings once the lockout ended.

After appearing in 33 regular-season games and all 14 Stanley Cup Playoff games with Detroit, Smith did not join teammates Gustav Nyquist, Joakim Andersson, Brian Lashoff, and Danny Dekeyser when they were sent to Grand Rapids during the Griffins’ run to their first Calder Cup championship.

“I forget how it worked, but I was not allowed to go down because I had played too many pro or NHL games,” he said. “I was relieved that I had made it and was now an NHL player because that was my goal, but it hurt that I couldn’t keep playing. I was very, very happy for them when they won, but I was a little sad that I wasn’t there because I had been a part of the team at the start of the year.

“The guys talked to me the whole time. I was very proud of them. That championship was well-deserved because that was a great team. And so I experienced both sides – I was both happy and sad because I loved playing with them, and everything about it was fun.”

On the positive side, Smith had finally earned a spot in the veteran-loaded lineup put together by then-Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock.

“My first conversation with Babcock was like, ‘If you’re going to make the team, you need to be head and shoulders better than the older guy.’ Of course, that has kind of changed. Now the younger guy gets the job. But back then, that was the rule because it was all about winning and having the best product on the ice.”

Smith is grateful that he got to play with Red Wings legends like Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg.

“I was very fortunate to come into a fantastic team,” he said. “In my mind, Pavel was the best player that I’ve ever played with or against to this day. One of my better attributes is battling for pucks and I learned a lot of that from Pavel – like stick position and using your body.

“I don’t lose many battles because I would play oneon-ones with Pavel after practice, and the little things I learned elevated my game. That has not changed in 14 years. You’ve got to win puck battles, and he taught me a lot of stuff I didn’t know coming out of Wisconsin, And these are things that are still a big part of what I still do today.

Smith played the past two seasons with the New Jersey Devils.

Smith credits his time in Grand Rapids for molding him into the person he is today.

“Guys like Datsyuk and Zetterberg were just playing to try to get better at their game and they helped me in the process. They were true professionals and they’re all going to be Hall of Famers if they’re not already. So it was awesome to watch those guys. I was lucky to learn from them and I want to thank those guys for that.”

It didn’t hurt his development to learn from two of the best blueliners to ever don the Winged Wheel. Watching Nick Lidstrom and Niklas Kronwall every day was a blessing afforded very few defensemen at the time.

“For me, it was watching and learning how they held themselves to account,” he said. “The biggest thing I noticed was how they conducted themselves off the ice, what they did in the gym. It was almost like Nick was a robot. He did the same stuff religiously and made sure his body was in the best shape possible.

“Some people might call it superstition, but it was all routine. They did that stuff because they knew it worked. I tried to take those aspects and put them into my own game to the point where everything became routine.

“The NHL is the best league in the world, and you have to do certain things to be able to grind for 82 games a season. I was probably too nervous to ask them the kind of questions I was asking Doug Janik and the other guys in Grand Rapids, so in Detroit, it was more visual learning and picking up tips that way. I tried to emulate what worked for them because I felt like it

should work for everyone, and those things helped me get to where I am today.”

Smith established himself as a regular in Detroit. In six seasons with the Red Wings, he appeared in 291 regular-season games and 27 postseason games. He was in the process of negotiating a long-term contract when the Detroit organization traded him to the New York Rangers in February 2017 for second-round and third-round picks.

“I always thought I was just going to play with the Red Wings forever,” he said. “In the back of my mind, I was never going to leave, but that was me being naive again. It was the end of an era because it was going to be the first time we weren’t going to make the playoffs after 25 years. Management had to change their tone to get picks and start the process all over again. So being traded was sad.”

Smith joined a Rangers team that got into the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the top wild-card team in the Eastern Conference.

“I realized that this was an opportunity for me to continue to play into the postseason,” he said. “I love the playoffs. That’s all I want to play. The regular season is great and I enjoy it, but it’s nothing like playoff hockey, which is fantastic.”

New York beat the Montreal Canadiens in the opening round but got knocked out in six games by the Ottawa Senators during the second round. Smith, who had four assists in 12 playoff games with the Rangers,

was rewarded with a new four-year contract.

As much as things were looking up, Smith was in for a rude awakening the subsequent season when the team started struggling and he was placed on waivers. The Rangers assigned Smith to their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, after he went unclaimed.

“That was very difficult,” he said. “It was probably the toughest moment of my entire life, let alone career. We did not have a good start to the year and they began to blow up the team. They sent out a letter saying that we’re doing a whole rebuild, which I thought was a little unusual, but it was a wake-up call when I had to go play in the minors.

“There were some very, very dark moments because the day I was sent down was actually my birthday. It was a tough time in my life, probably the toughest, but I decided to pull up my trousers, stop crying about it, and start with my mind.

“I had to really think about things. What do I have to do to reestablish myself? How do I get myself in the best shape physically and mentally? Because I saw a lot of people get sent down and they kinda fizzled out. So I had a new goal of trying to make the NHL again. I figured if I’d done it once before, I could do it again.

“I worked myself back into the lineup and I’ve been grinding ever since.”

Smith spent five seasons with the Rangers. “New York was another place I didn’t expect to fall in love with, but my wife and I did exactly that,” he said.

Smith hopes to help Dallas capture its first Stanley Cup in 26 years.

“There’s a lot of pressure in New York because their fan base knows hockey and they’re rabid about winning. If you’re not playing well, they’ll let you know. You can hear the boos.

“When you’re winning, you’re on top of the world, but when you’re playing poorly as a team, it can be a little hellish. I loved my time there. We had a great time. We had our kids there.”

Smith and his wife, Samantha, have two kids. Son Nolan is six and daughter Ryenn is four. Becoming a father had a profound effect.

“I talked about the maturing process and when you have kids, it changes you in a second because you really have to figure out where you’re going in life, because every decision you make impacts your family,” he said. “You learn to make smart decisions.”

Sharing his hockey experience with his family means everything.

“Having my little guy come to the hockey games and cheer me on is a fantastic moment. My daughter being at the front of the glass and blowing me kisses is something that I’ll cherish forever. I truly love it. Even at their ages, they know hockey. They know what Dada does and they love to be a part of it.

“My goal was just to make the NHL, but now with a family your outlook on life changes. You try to be the best version of yourself so that they can kind of see that and grow into the best version of themselves.”

Smith left New York to sign a one-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes for the 2021-22 season, which was abbreviated when he suffered a fractured skull from blocking a shot.

“That was scary. I know my wife was quite scared,” he recalled. “I couldn’t hear out of one ear for seven months. I slept really well, I guess, but it was interesting playing because I couldn’t hear people on one side. I had to check over my shoulder a lot more because I couldn’t hear the skates. A lot of times when you’re going back for a puck, you use all your senses and sometimes I couldn’t hear them, so it was something I had to learn.”

“Other than that, it was a great year.”

Smith spent the past two seasons with the New Jersey Devils. He earned a little unwanted notoriety in January 2024 when he delivered a clean hit to an onrushing Connor Bedard, breaking the jaw of the highly touted Chicago Blackhawks rookie.

“It’s a tricky situation,” Smith explained. “If I don’t hit him, he probably dangles me, so I didn’t lower my shoulder, I just tried to finish the check. I don’t try to hurt or injure anybody. I try to play hard and so it was an unfortunate situation.

“I was sad that he got injured and was out for so long because he’s such a great player. I was able to reach out to him and tell him that I hoped for a quick recovery and wish him all the best. I told him I was looking forward to watching him play.”

Smith loves having his family at rinkside to watch him play.

Chicago fans, however, did not take kindly to Smith’s play.

“The amount of publicity and messages was just ruthless,” he said. “My wife was getting horrible things sent to her when she had no place in this at all. Some of the messages made me chuckle but the messages went too far with my wife, but I guess that’s the world we live in.”

This season, Smith is plying his trade for the Dallas Stars, and for the third year in a row he is the oldest player on the team.

As an aging veteran, he is learning what it’s like to not play every day but he hopes to contribute any way he can to help the team win the championship that has alluded him since his days in Grand Rapids.

Smith saw his brother Reilly win the Stanley Cup as a member of 2023 Vegas Golden Knights and would love nothing more than to win that elusive ring. He would consider it a fitting testament to the time that he spent in West Michigan so long ago.

“I loved being a Griffin – I had a great time,” Smith said. “I have a lot of great memories, so much so that I remember thinking when I was called up and the city of Detroit was going through bankruptcy, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if the Red Wings could move?’

“That’s how much I loved Grand Rapids.”

Smith played three seasons with the Griffins from 2010-13.

As the head athletic trainer for the Griffins, Austin Frank welcomes the challenge of keeping the team healthy and in a position to achieve peak performance.

HOCKEY HEALER

Story and photos by Mark Newman

Austin Frank is no miracle worker. Bruised egos and damaged confidence are beyond the powers of his profession.

But when you’re talking about the normal aches and pains associated with hockey, or the management, prevention, and recovery from injuries, the Griffins’ head athletic trainer is the man.

“One of my college professors said, ‘People – and athletes in general – don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care.’ And so for me, I just show the athletes, ‘Hey, I’m here for you.’ I’ll go out of my way to do things for them,” Frank said.

“As soon as you can develop that level of trust, they will believe in you. They think, ‘OK, I’m going to listen to this guy.’ You start from there, especially when you’re in a brand new experience, and you just build from there.”

Now in his second season with the Griffins’ staff, Frank believes the fact that he played a lot of sports growing up provides a greater understanding of each hockey player who comes under his care. Every athlete is different, and the quicker he discerns their needs, the better he can help them continue to play at a peak level.

Born in Saginaw, he attended high school in

Fenton, which is when “athletic trainer” showed up second on the list of potential paths suggested by one of those career placement tests you take as a teenager.

“I had no idea what it was, but I knew I wanted to be in the medical field,” he said. “My older brother, who is now a PA [physician assistant], was already going that route at Michigan and my mom is a nurse. I had always been interested in the human body, I love sports and felt drawn to the whole team aspect, so I guess it all just merged into athletic training.”

Frank, who played hockey and football through high school, admits that he knew almost nothing about the profession before he pursued his education in the field.

“We didn’t have an athletic trainer in high school,” he said. “It’s crazy to think about now, but we went through all of our high school sports without any real medical coverage. There would be an ambulance there on game days, but we never had anyone on the sidelines.”

He was planning to attend Hope College and play hockey, before his interest in a non-playing career led him to Western Michigan University.

“I ended up going on an overnight visit for hockey [at Hope] and they said I could interview to get into their athletic training program but I would have to

Austin Frank is in his second season as head athletic trainer for the Griffins.

delay my enrollment to the spring, which meant I would be going to school longer than I wanted,” he said. “I wanted to be out of school in four years.”

Frank already had a friend at Western and had liked the university when he visited, so he decided to head to Kalamazoo. “I took one course at Western Michigan and I was hooked,” he recalled.

With the possibility of combining his love of sports with working in the medical field, Frank found his passion.

“I thought being an athletic trainer could be a cool role to play within a team and an organization,” he said. “I think how the human body works is superfascinating, and to be able to fill that role behind the scenes and do this job every day was something I could enjoy without it feeling like a 9-to-5 job that I was just doing for a paycheck.”

Once he was accepted into the program, Frank started working with the men’s and women’s soccer teams. “From there, I got accepted to be the one student with the men’s ice hockey team for my whole junior year,” he said. “During my senior year, I spent time at Plainwell High School and worked on the sidelines for football, did some wrestling and soccer while also helping out with hockey at Western.”

He recognized that the value of his studies was

only surpassed by his experience working in the field.

“That was what led me to choose North Carolina State to pursue my master’s degree,” he said. “Handson experience and learning from clinicians who do it every day is invaluable. When you’re able to apply what you learn in the classroom, it’s cool to see it all click.”

His education ensured that he gained experience working with contact and non-contact sports as well as female athletes.

“I wanted to build on my undergrad knowledge and diversify myself with more hands-on time, so I pursued a master’s degree in sport management at NC State,” he said. “I took all my classes online so I could completely immerse myself in the day-to-day work of being an athletic trainer.”

In Raleigh, Frank worked mainly with the men’s tennis and men’s soccer teams, but he also spent time with women’s tennis and women’s soccer teams as well as other sports, including gymnastics, football, and basketball. “I wanted to learn. I needed hands-on experience because that’s how I learn,” he said.

“I was able to do just about everything I had hoped to do, and those were probably some of the longest hours I ever worked. It was all day, every day, and then I went to class at night. It was fun and it

Frank tackles the challenge of diagnosing, treating, and rehabilitating the various injuries endured by hockey players.

was a blast.”

Working with athletes in different sports helped him understand the demands of being an athlete and how his work could help them remain as close to their peak physical performance as possible.

“I think it gave me a good appreciation for the different sports and an understanding of the demands of each sport,” he said. “You’re able to pull bits of knowledge and discover the things that work as well as the things that don’t work, and you adapt those things into how you practice every day.”

His first job out of school was at Kent State University, where he served as an athletic trainer for the men’s basketball program for two years. He also oversaw a graduate assistant and covered other sports, everything from baseball to women’s field hockey.

“All the experience helps you build this toolbox of skills that you can apply in whatever sport that you work,” he said. “Wherever you go, the human body is the same but the demands of each sport change the steps you take. Each experience was different and gave me another perspective.”

Frank eventually ended up back at his alma mater after he accepted the job as the primary athletic trainer for the Western Michigan hockey team. He admits that he almost missed his

opportunity to return.

While at Kent State, he had been offered the athletic trainer position for the men’s basketball program at Yale, but a phone call about the possibility of landing a job with the hockey program at Western changed his mind.

“I ended up turning down the Yale men’s basketball job without an actual offer from Western, just hoping that I would get the job,” he said. “It was a huge curveball, but it was an easy decision for me.”

For Frank, it was the perfect stepping stone to his dream of working in professional hockey.

“At the time, that was as close to a dream job as I could have gotten,” he said. “Coming back to Western, where I went to school and where I started in athletic training, and then working underneath Brian Bauer, who was director of sports medicine at the school, was just awesome.

“There was a little bit of familiarity there. I knew the campus. I knew the area. The training room hadn’t changed a bit since I left and some of the same trainers were still there, so it was nice to go back.”

Frank might still be working with the Broncos –he loved his job at Western – if he had not spotted a posting for the Griffins’ position through the Professional Hockey Athletic Trainers Society.

“Western was a great job, but there are limitations

Frank enjoys the camaraderie that comes with being a valued member of the team.

From 2021-23, Frank was the primary athletic trainer for the men’s hockey team at Western Michigan University.

with it being college athletics,” he said. “My ultimate goal was professional hockey, and so to have the opportunity to apply for a job within the Red Wings organization just 45 minutes north of Kalamazoo, I decided to put my name in the hat.”

He quickly assimilated himself into the Red Wings organization.

“The whole experience has been great,” he said. “Having mentors like [Red Wings head athletic trainer] Piet Van Zant and [assistant athletic trainer] Russ Baumann is pretty cool because they have so many years on the job and they’ve seen it all. They were nothing but welcoming when I joined here.”

Adjusting to working with pro athletes was not as big a jump from college as one might expect. “The schedule is longer and there is a bigger age gap between the youngest and oldest players, but they’re still going to have the same aches and pains.

“You treat them the same, or at least you try to. The younger players typically have a lot to learn in terms of the right way to take care of their body, and how much time it truly takes to be a pro.

“Whether it’s on the ice or off the ice, being a pro involves taking care of their body with sleep, hydration, and the right nutrients. It’s coming here when they don’t want to, even on their off days. There’s a whole organizational approach that we follow.

“From taking appropriate supplements to a strength-based assessment that breaks down every joint of the body in terms of what they need to get stronger and more mobile to protect them from injury, we do the same things that the Red Wings do.”

At the NHL level, players have access to everything from an underwater treadmill to in-ground hot and cold tubs, sauna, steam room, salt float tank, and even a cryogenic chamber that uses extreme sub-freezing temperatures for quicker healing.

“Here we have a whole range of therapeutic modalities at our disposal – laser therapy, cupping therapy, electrical stimulation, and dry needling, which is acupuncture,” Frank said, rattling off some of the various techniques he uses to keep players on the ice.

“There are a lot of things that can help with various symptoms, the pain and tightness, and stuff like that. Ultimately it’s getting them on a corrective exercise program that addresses that, whether it’s weakness or a dysfunction. There’s a whole bunch of stuff we can do on the back end to get them out of a cycle of nagging injuries.”

Frank’s first job out of school was at Kent State University, where he was the primary athletic trainer for the men’s basketball team.

So whether it’s taping and bandaging or providing additional protective equipment, Frank faces the challenge of helping players stay on the ice. Or, in some cases, staying off the ice.

Frank sends out a confidential daily injury report to the whole organization, from Detroit down to Toledo, so that everyone in the know is kept in the loop.

“On Monday mornings, our staff sits down here in Grand Rapids to discuss the week ahead, upcoming travel, any restrictions, whether it’s in the weight room or on the ice. We try and plan out certain things, whether it’s someone coming back from a long-term injury or determining timelines for testing. We’ll communicate all those things with management, the coaches, and the Detroit medical staff.”

Hockey players are known for having high pain thresholds, so telling a guy that he has to sit out is almost adding insult to injury.

“It’s a fine line, for sure, and that’s what makes our job so hard,” he said. “You can only change the healing process so much, and so while we try to speed up the process with the different things we can do, some injuries can take multiple weeks for the healing process to complete because we do not want

to risk complicating the injury or further damage.”

Decisions are based on input from various parties. “It’s utilizing our whole department, whether it’s myself, the physical therapists, strength coaches, or team doctors, so we make sure we’re speaking with a unified voice,” he said.

While he wishes he never had to sideline a player due to injury, Frank said the decision is always made in the best interest of the player.

“There are instances where you’ve got to be the bad guy, but at the end of the day, they understand,” he said. “It’s not fun to be that guy, and I don’t want to be that guy. I’d rather be the other guy, saying, ‘Yep, he’s good, everything’s great,’ but sometimes you’ve got to be the bad guy and say, ‘Hey, this is best for the health and safety of the player.

“As much as I have a responsibility to get them back on the ice, I have just as much responsibility to keep them off the ice for their health and safety.”

And that decision-making process doesn’t materially change during the playoffs.

“On average, hockey players are the toughest athletes, which makes my job a little bit easier. But it can also make my job harder, because these guys want to play through just about anything they can.

“If it’s a pain-tolerance thing, there might be a

little more leniency, but there are some things that, no matter what game it is, they’re not going to be allowed on the ice. It’s ultimately the athlete’s choice to play, but they can’t override me. If I say no, and they say yes, it’s still a no.

“But if I say yes, and they say no, then it’s a no. I can’t force them to play, but I can tell them they can’t. During the playoffs, when your season can be done in a night or the next night, they’re often willing to push through and recover in the summer.”

Frank said the best part of his job is the relationships that develop.

“You see everything,” he said. “From the good to the bad, from the early mornings to the late nights, you get a little bit of everything, so you build a tight bond with everybody. We’ve got a great staff and they make it easy to come to work every day and just enjoy it.

“I’ve got a guy across the hall [Griffins equipment manager Brad Thompson] with 2,000 games under his belt. He just knows so much about hockey – the ins and outs of the league – and he’s dealt with different coaches and different management. He’s seen Calder Cups and Stanley Cups. He’s a guy you definitely want in your corner, right?

“He’s been around so long, he knows how to extend the padding on pants or provide extra protection with shoulder pads or shin pads. Brad and Kyle [Hornkohl, the Griffins’ assistant equipment manager] are like little craftsmen. They do these little additions that are designed to protect the players.

“For example, our captain Josiah [Didier] is known for blocking shots. He has reinforced padding everywhere. If we can do something to lessen the blow, it may make my job easier down the road.”

Frank said the fact that the Griffins got off to the best start in team history is just what the doctor ordered. “Things are always easier when you’re winning, that’s for sure,” he said, noting that even the ever-present aches and pains might hurt a little less when a team is enjoying success.

Whether it’s shoulders or hips – the most common hockey injuries – or a wrist or an ankle, Frank is happy to be tasked with the responsibility of helping the players return to the ice as quickly and safely as possible.

“If you’re not a good communicator, you’re not going to survive in this position,” he said. “If you communicate properly, you’ll instill confidence and they’ll trust you to do the best you can do. And that’s all you can ask.”

DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE

DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE

More and more sports fans are finding women’s pro volleyball to be just as exciting as pro hockey.

Cindy Storer (right) was a volleyball fan even before she started following the Griffins.

Storer enjoys coming to Van Andel Arena on a regular basis, whether it’s watching the Griffins or Rise, or attending concerts at the downtown facility.

Hockey and volleyball seem to have little in common beyond being sports. For a growing number of Grand Rapids fans, however, they share several important characteristics – the action is enjoyable, exciting, and entertaining.

Cindy Storer, a retired employee of medical device maker Stryker, and Ryan DeMorr, an aviation tax specialist with a family of five, are just two examples of many who see value in buying season ticket packages to both the Griffins and the Grand Rapids Rise, the latter gearing up for its second season of Pro Volleyball Federation play.

Although Storer and DeMorr represent different generations of ticket buyers, they share similar stories about their devotion to both teams – even though their interests and inducements to attend the events are not the same.

Storer has been getting tickets to Griffins games “since day one,” which means she has been attending games at Van Andel Arena since 1996.

“I’m a huge sports fan – I always have been,” she explained. “I have season tickets for the Griffins and Rise, plus I have a premium seat at Van Andel Arena for all the concerts. I go to everything. I was a season ticket holder for

the [Arena Football League’s Grand Rapids] Rampage and it broke my heart when they left.

“Going to the ArenaBowl [the AFL’s 15th championship game won by the Rampage in August 2001] was the coolest thing I’ve ever been at. I could see John Elway’s white teeth across the way. I’m serious, we’re like, ‘Hey, there’s John Elway, look at his teeth.’ It was hilarious.”

Her interests often take her on the road. She has a 10-game Red Wings mini-package and saw the Detroit Lions at Ford Field this season. She saw U2 at Sphere in Las Vegas and traveled to Red Rocks near Denver to see her favorite artist, Brandi Carlisle, whom she also caught at The Gorge Amphitheater in Washington state.

As far as she is concerned, there is nothing like watching a sporting event or a concert and being there in person.

“It’s like an adrenaline rush – I call it my drug of choice. There’s just something about being there in person. I read a study not that long ago that said people who attend concerts and sporting events on a regular basis add seven years to their lives. It makes sense to me because you’re not sitting at home rotting.

“I have friends my age who don’t do

anything. I’m like, ‘Really?’ because you only get one chance here.”

Fortunately, the Griffins and Rise play practically in her backyard. She lives in Midtown, one block outside Heritage Hill, so everything is just a hop, skip, and jump from her doorstep. She tries to attend as many events downtown as possible.

“We enjoy going to the arena and going to the games because it’s a nice, family event.”

– Ryan DeMoor

“I want to support whatever’s going on in our city,” she said. “I think Dan DeVos has been a savior for the city. What this guy has done to bring sports to downtown is, to me, amazing. I live about a mile away from the arena, and when I first bought my house, the only things that existed downtown were Cottage Bar and Z’s Restaurant. There was nothing down there.

“People need to appreciate all the movers and shakers in our town who have invested their money to make things happen.”

As a Red Wings fan, her support of the Griffins came naturally. “I like to watch the guys start playing here and then all of a sudden you see them playing with the Red Wings, and I think that’s pretty cool.

“I love the Griffins. I just love what they bring to the community and that they continue to draw people still to this day, which I think is great. I cried when they won the Calder Cup at home [in

2017]. When you go to 20 to 30 games a year, you get invested in the team.”

It was an easy decision to buy Rise tickets when she heard Grand Rapids would have an entry in Pro Volleyball Federation’s inaugural 2024 season.

Storer played volleyball at Central Michigan University for four years in the Title IX-era ‘70s, “back when you didn’t have to be an athlete to play,” she chuckled.

“Volleyball is a whole different thing now,” she said. “The girls today are so strong and so athletic,” she said. “To me, it’s just like poetry watching them. It’s amazing to me how good they are.”

One of the first in line to purchase Rise season tickets, Storer said the quality of action makes the team an easy buy.

“Once people see it, I think they are sold on the sport,” she said. “I know I have a lot of friends who have bought game packages. I buy the full season package because I’ll be going to every one of them. I don’t usually miss volleyball.”

Storer is anxious to see what kind of team has been assembled by head coach Cathy George for the Rise’s second season. She thinks George has the perfect personality to be the face of the franchise.

Watching the Rise is a family affair for Ryan DeMoor.

“When I talk to new people and ask them, ‘What made you want to come,’ a good portion of them will say, ‘Well, after I got to talk to Cathy...’ When you have a coach who people can relate to, I think it makes a big difference.

“I think Cathy is fantastic. She’s been around the game for a long time so she’s got the experience and credibility to be a good ambassador for the sport. I think the organization made a great choice when they got her to be the coach.”

“You can see either team for a pretty reasonable price… it’s affordable for somebody to go to see either team a few times a year, compared to what you’re paying for a Lions ticket, which is insane.” – Cindy Storer

The price is also right for Ryan DeMoor and his family of five. He has four seats at Rise and Griffins games, which he shares with some combination of his wife Marisa; son Kian, 16; and daughters Natalie, 13, and Jillian, 11.

“We enjoy going to the arena and going to the games because it’s a nice, fun, family event,” said DeMoor, who runs the tax and compliance department at MySky, an international aviation services company.

Storer has angled to get seats that give her the best view of the play, whether it’s hockey or volleyball.

“You can see either team for a pretty reasonable price,” she said. “You can get a great seat to a Rise game for $30 and you can see the Griffins, even if you’re in the lower bowl, for even less than that. So it’s affordable compared to what you’re paying for a Lions ticket, which is insane.”

“We like taking advantage of promotions like $2 hot dogs or just getting a bag of popcorn and a pretzel and sitting down in our seats and watching the action. We enjoy the game-day experience of both sports.

DeMoor, who started in the Grand Rapids Amateur Hockey Association (GRAHA) program when he was 8, played hockey through high school and college, so he has been attending Griffins games since the team came into existence.

“I enjoy the speed of the game and the skill

DeMoor loves hockey but the rest of his family loves volleyball even more.

DeMoor and his family enjoy the various promotions offered by the Rise and Griffins.

required to play the sport,” he said. “But it wasn’t until the Rise started play that we decided to officially get a ticket package from the Griffins.”

DeMoor explained that the rest of his family enjoy volleyball even more than hockey, so they bought a half-season package for the Rise and enjoyed themselves so much that they decided to opt for a Griffins package as well.

“My wife comes from a volleyball family,” he said. “She played volleyball growing up and her brother has been a coach in the volleyball world for a long time, so when they announced there was going to be a professional volleyball league and Grand Rapids was going to have a team, we thought it was really cool.

“We love watching Big Ten women’s volleyball and we record all of the matches, so when we could watch that kind of quality of play right here, it spurred us to buy half-season tickets to the Rise. And after going to six games, we found it extraordinarily enjoyable.”

That led DeMoor and his family to buy a Griffins ticket package.

“With a 10-game package, we focused on the schedule so that we will be able to see a

different opponent almost every game,” he said. “We looked at family conflicts – birthdays, for example – and then looked at different promotions to choose our games.”

For instance, DeMoor said he is looking forward to attending the Griffins’ DC Superheroes Night on Jan. 11.

“It’s my son’s birthday so we’ll take a friend of his, along with my brother-in-law who happens to be a huge Batman fan and there’s a Batman Bobblehead giveaway.”

DeMoor said the family is excited about both teams’ championship aspirations going forward. He was in the building for the Griffins’ Calder Cup-clinching win in 2017 and said the family even thought about flying to Omaha for last season’s PVF Championship.

“My wife’s favorite team is Nebraska, so we considered going out to Omaha,” he said. “It was exciting to see the Rise in the playoffs last year and watch them get to the final. Obviously, we had hoped the outcome would have been a little different, but it was still a really good inaugural season.

“We’re excited about the coming season.”

RECORD BOOK AND LEADERS

Through games of Nov. 14, 2024

Tom McCollum

Sebastian Cossa

Travis Richards

Darryl Bootland

Dominik Shine

Michel Picard

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

GRIFFINS IN THE ALL-STAR GAME

2023-24 Jonatan Berggren, Simon Edvinsson

2022-23 Brian Lashoff (captain)

2019-20 Matthew Ford (captain), 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 Red

2020 - Chris Terry

2023 - Brian Lashoff

2024 - Jonatan Berggren

2019 - Chris Terry

2018 - Matt Lorito

2015 - Teemu Pulkkinen

2013 - Chad Billins

2020 - Matthew Ford

2018 - Matt Puempel

2016 - Jeff Hoggan and Xavier Ouellet

2014 - Alexey Marchenko

2013 - Gustav Nyquist

2013 - Petr Mrazek

Bright Futures Begin Here

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.

ELBOWING

Called when a player uses an elbow to impede an opponent.

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.

KNEEING

Called when a player uses a knee to impede an opponent.

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

2024-25

AHL TEAM MAP

IT ALL STARTS HERE

GRIFFINS IN THE NHL

Since their inception in 1996, the Griffins have sent 209 players to the National Hockey League, and 20 former players or coaches have gone on to win the Stanley Cup. In fact, a Griffins alumnus has had his name engraved on Lord Stanley’s chalice in each of the last five years, 11 times in the last 17 years, and 13 times in the last 20 seasons. In chronological order, here are the 28 goalies and 181 skaters who have worn an NHL sweater after playing for Grand Rapids, along with the dates of their NHL debuts/returns.

Former Griffins Gustav Nyquist of the Nashville Predators and Filip Hronek of the Vancouver Canucks fight for position during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Nyquist (2013) and Hronek (2017) each won a Calder Cup with Grand Rapids.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

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

Jody Hull 2/4/02 OTT at TB

.........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

68

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

197.......Magnus Hellberg.................. 12/14/22 DET at MIN

198.......Elmer Soderblom ................. 12/14/22 DET at MIN

199.....Jakub Vrana ................ 2/21/23 DET at WSH

200 Adam Erne 3/2/23 DET vs. SEA

201 Alex Chiasson 3/4/23 DET at NYI

202.....Simon Edvinsson.......... 3/18/23 DET vs. COL

203.....Alex Nedeljkovic ...........3/23/23 DET vs. STL

204.....Zach Aston-Reese .......12/11/23 DET at DAL

205 Michael Hutchinson 12/23/23 DET at NJ

206.....Ville Husso ...................2/13/24 DET at EDM

207.....Albert Johansson ...... 10/12/24 DET vs. NSH

208.....Austin Watson ........... 10/14/24 DET at NYR

209.....Marco Kasper ............. 10/19/24 DET at NSH

Bold = Has played in the NHL this season (as of Nov. 15, 2024)

Italics = Had name engraved on the Stanley Cup after playing for Grand Rapids

Don’t miss any of the action this season!

Listen to Bob Kaser’s play-by-play both home and away, and Larry Figurski’s analysis for home games, on Newsradio WOOD 106.9 FM / 1300 AM. Stream the action on iHeartRadio!

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

MEATBALL MARCHES

(= AHL TEAM SCRAMBLE)

UNSCRAMBLE THE GOOFY WORDS – KNOWN AS ANAGRAMS – TO FORM THE NICKNAMES OF VARIOUS AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE TEAMS. GOOD LUCK!

ANAGRAMS

1. Realism

2. Sabre

3. Set Norms

4. Tsars

5. Vowels

6. Rains Came

7. Sea Gel

8. Brush End Dirt 9. Flock Paw 10. Chi Egos 11. Salad Rim 12. Spa Month 13. Sniff Rig 14. Nine Pugs

TEAM NICKNAMES

Grand Rapids GRIFFINS

Chicago WOLVES

Cleveland MONSTERS

Colorado EAGLES

Hartford WOLF PACK

Hershey BEARS

Lehigh Valley PHANTOMS

Milwaukee ADMIRALS

Rochester AMERICANS

Rockford ICEHOGS

Springfield THUNDERBIRDS

Texas STARS

Toronto MARLIES

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton PENGUINS

Hockey warrior Austin Watson, a veteran of more than 500 NHL games who is known for his toughness and physical play, scored a goal and added two assists when the Griffins donned military-themed jerseys on their way to a 5-1 victory over the Chicago Wolves on Nov. 15, 2024. The three points on Military Appreciation Night were the most scored by the 13-year pro since he recorded two goals and two assists for the Nashville Predators against Calgary on Oct. 31, 2019.

PARTING SHOT

Photo by Mark Newman

EASY TO DRINK EASY TO ENJOY