Scouting Report

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 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.”

Photo: Sam Iannamico

Being undermanned has meant the Griffins must work harder to stay competitive. It’s not been easy. The Griffins managed to outshoot their opponents only once in their first 17 games. At this point in the season, Simon is not overly worried about that statistic, but he is concerned.

“You can get outshot 50 to 20, but if 40 of those 50 are from way outside or most are not what we deem quality scoring chances, it’s not a big deal,” he said. “In saying that, we’ve given up way too many chances. We have to make sure that we’re much tighter defensively and that we’re not giving up Grade A chances. We’ve been inconsistent in that regard.”

He also would like to see the Griffins do more to create scoring chances of their own.

“We have to be less selective with our shots. We’re waiting for the opportune shot instead of what might seem like an innocent shot,” he said. “Whether it’s throwing the puck at the goalie’s feet or throwing it toward the net with one of our guys creating a little bit of traffic in a screen situation, we need to create the kind of chaos that leads to secondary scoring chances.

“We need to create situations that take the opposing team out of their structure in the d-zone and produce that split second of uncertainty, which leads to more chances. We certainly have to do a better job of getting more pucks, as well as more bodies and more traffic, to the net.”

Thankfully, goaltender Calvin Pickard has been rock solid between the pipes.

“’Pick’ just seems to win games,” Simon said. “Whether the score is 3-1 or 6-5, he finds ways to win games. I think it comes down to his natural competitiveness. Even in practice, he doesn’t want to allow goals. He competes and he doesn’t let up on anything. He demands a lot of himself, which puts the onus on the other players.

“He’s a vocal guy and he wears his heart on his sleeve, which the guys respect. They like to battle for him, which is not to say that they don’t for any other goalie who might be in the lineup, but they seem to really rally behind Pick. He’s been fantastic.”

Simon is looking for similar consistent play up and down the Griffins’ lineup.

“At this level, everyone can be good for a game or two. The guys who find their way out of this league are the guys who are really good for long stretches of time, and that’s what affords them the opportunity to get called up and be given the chance to do the same things at the next level.

“You’ve got to find a way to keep your foot in the door and not let the door shut on you. Find a way to earn a job and stay there.”

So while Simon was not thrilled with the way his team had started the 2021-22 season, he is seeing enough encouraging signs that he remains confident that the Griffins will be competing for a playoff position next spring.

“I’ve been a part of teams that had great starts but didn’t make the playoffs, and we’ve had horrible starts and won the Calder Cup, so a lot can happen between Oct. 3 and April 15,” he said. “When things go sideways a little bit, you want to make sure you don’t get derailed and you’re able to keep the train on the tracks as best you can.

“It’s making sure you’re doing something every day to improve as an individual and as a team.”

2021-22 GRIFFINS HOCKEY OPERATIONS STAFF

General Manager Pat Verbeek

Head Coach Ben Simon

Assistant Coach Matt Macdonald

Assistant Coach Todd Krygier

Assistant Coach Mike Knuble

Goaltending Coach Brian Mahoney-Wilson

SCOUTING REPORT

TORONTO DEC. 18, DEC. 19

• Top affiliate of the Toronto

Maple Leafs, the Marlies will return to Van Andel Arena for the first time since Nov. 9, 2019, when the Griffins fell 5-2.

Grand Rapids holds a 32-31-3-2 all-time record against Toronto, including a 19-14-1-1 ledger on home ice.

• Toronto finished below the .500 mark last season for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign, standing secondto-last in the pandemic-bred, five-team Canadian Division with a 16-17-0-2 mark.

• Left wing Jack Kopacka is the only Michigander featured on the Marlies’ roster as he was born in Lapeer, Mich. Through 10 games this season, the forward had one goal, two assists and 15 penalty minutes.

MILWAUKEE DEC. 22, DEC. 31, JAN. 5, JAN. 22, JAN. 26

· Cole Schneider returned to the Admirals this season after spending last year with the Texas

Stars, where he totaled 28 points (11-17—28) in 36 appearances.

Through 15 games this season, the left winger had a team-high 17 points (7-10—17).

· The Admirals’ roster includes two former first-round draft picks in Cody Glass and Michael McCarron. Vegas took Glass with the sixth overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. McCarron, a Grosse Pointe, Mich., native, was taken 25th overall by Montreal in the 2013 draft.

· Grand Rapids’ 104 victories over

Milwaukee are the most against any opponent in franchise history.

Furthermore, the Griffins have faced the Admirals more than any club in the AHL, competing in 195 games dating back to the 2001-02 campaign, when both teams joined the AHL from the IHL.

· Iowa concluded the shortened, no-playoffs 2020-21 season in fourth place in the Central

Division with a 17-13-4-0 record, including a 2-2-0-0 ledger against the Griffins. The Wild jumped out to a 9-5-1-0 start this season.

· 2017 Calder Cup champions with the Griffins, Joe Hicketts (2016-21) and Dominic Turgeon (2016-21) are now with Iowa after signing deals with the Minnesota Wild in the offseason. Ryan Kuffner (2019-20) is also featured on the Wild’s roster, while Nate DiCasmirro (2005-06) is an assistant coach for Iowa.

· Grand Rapids began the season series by defeating the Wild 6-5 in overtime in Des Moines on

Nov. 5. The Griffins possess a

CLEVELAND JAN. 8

· Cleveland competed in the

Central Division a year ago for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign, finishing in second place with a 16-10-1-2 record.

Now back in the North Division, the Monsters got off to a 9-3-23 start this season.

· Cleveland’s power play was one of the best in the AHL in 202021, finishing in second place with a conversion rate of 26.9%, just 0.2% less than first-place Hartford. The Monsters’ unit was struggling as November came to a close, though, ranking 27th at 15.5%.

· The Monsters’ roster features two former first-round draft picks in centers Liam Foudy and Brendan Gaunce. Foudy was selected by Columbus with the 18th overall pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, while

MANITOBA JAN. 14, JAN 15

· Mark Morrison is in his first season as Manitoba’s bench boss after spending four seasons with the Anaheim Ducks as an assistant coach. The Moose held a 11-6-1-0 record through the month of November and sat in second place in the Central

Division. is 22-11-0-1 against them, including 13-5-0-0 at Van Andel Arena.

· Forward Bobby Lynch hails from

Grand Blanc, Mich., and played a year of junior hockey in West

Michigan with the Muskegon

Lumberjacks. The third-year pro has logged 36 games in the AHL, totaling 10 points (4-6—10) and 14 penalty minutes. 36-15-4-2 all-time record against Iowa, including 17-6-3-2 at home and 19-9-1-0 on the road.

Vancouver chose Gaunce with the 26th pick in 2012.