WITH GRIFFINS HEAD COACH BEN SIMON “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.” That might sound like an excuse, but it has been the reality for the Griffins more often than not during the past decade. Every team since 2012-13, including the Griffins’ first Calder Cup championship club, has finished the season with a winning record, but six times the organization opened the season with less-than-stellar starts. The 2012-13 team won only two of its first eight games. The defending Calder Cup club started the 2013-14 campaign with only one win in its first six contests. The 2014-15 team that finished with a 100-point season (46-22-6-2) started 3-6-1-0. More recently, the 2017-18 team that finished second in its division started with a less-thanspectacular record of 3-5-0-1. In 2018-19, which was Ben Simon’s first season as the head coach, the Griffins started 2-5. Even the past two seasons saw the Griffins start flat with close to .500 records. So it’s no surprise that nobody was panicking when the Griffins started this season with a record of 2-4-0-1. After 19 games, their slate stood at 8-8-2-1, which suggests that the team – as usual – is starting to head in the right direction. All things considered, Simon said he was relatively happy with where the team stood as it neared the quarter mark of the 2021-22 season. “For whatever reason, starts have not been a huge bonus for us,” Simon said. “Historically, we have had terribly slow starts to our seasons. At the same time, we can’t afford to let games slide away from us so early.” Simon cites the chaotic nature of the first few weeks as a potential cause for the sluggish starts. Getting everyone on the same page takes some time, especially when opportunities to practice are limited. “People get sent down and all of a sudden you’re dealing with guys who are disappointed that they’ve 2 Grand Rapids GRIFFINS
Photo: Sam Iannamico
been sent down,” he said. “Whether it’s right or wrong, guys are generally disappointed, so they’ve got to get their head around it. Now they’re in a hotel room, they’re looking for an apartment, they’re scrambling to move all their things – there’s a lot of stuff going on. “Nearly half of the team is new to the area, so there’s a culture shock. It’s a different city, a different coach, a different team, different systems. It all takes time. There’s always an assimilation period – every team goes through it – but that’s the American Hockey League. We’re no different from any other team in that regard.” Add injuries and call-ups to the mix and the challenge becomes greater. Within the first few weeks, the Griffins already had several players out of their lineup along with almost an equal number of players promoted to Detroit. On Nov. 17, for example, the Griffins were missing the three top centers from their Opening Night lineup. Joe Veleno had been recalled by the Red Wings, Kyle Criscuolo was away from the team for a family funeral, and Chase Pearson was serving a one-game suspension. “Every time someone gets called up, it’s an opportunity for someone else,” Simon said. “We have to make sure guys who are growing into bigger roles and who are being given bigger opportunities are prepared when the time comes.” And some players have responded. Tyler Spezia, Dominik Shine and Turner Elson all have raised their level of play while the team has been missing players. “We’ve leaned on them heavily,” Simon said. “They’ve played big minutes for us and they’re the kind of guys that, as a coach, you know what you’re going to get every shift. They’re character guys who you would gladly go to war with any day of the week.”
