This Week’s Game

GRIFFINS (25-1-0-1) at Milwaukee Admirals (12-12-2-0) // Sat., Dec. 27 // 7 p.m. EST // Panther Arena 

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 6:45 p.m. EST

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey 

Season Series: 1-0-0-0 Overall, 0-0-0-0 Road. Second of 12 meetings overall, first of six at Panther Arena 

All-Time Series: 118-87-7-9-8 Overall, 53-47-5-6-5 Road

NHL Affiliation: Nashville Predators 

Noteworthy: The Griffins enter the contest riding a 14-game winning streak while the Admirals are on a season-high eight-game losing skid. 

A Merry Christmas Indeed: The Griffins have continued their franchise-record start with a 25-1-0-1 ledger and 51 points through 27 games. Grand Rapids reached 50 points three games faster than any team in the AHL’s 90-year history (see table). The Griffins are also the first team in AHL history to win 25 of their first 27 games. The team is currently on a season-high 14-game win streak from Nov. 22-Dec. 21, which is the second-longest run in franchise history (see table). The perfect 8-0 start was the best by an AHL team in four years, and Grand Rapids was the league’s last undefeated team for the first time since the 2000-01 IHL season. The Griffins’ 12-0-0-1 start on the road is the best in franchise history and the 13-1 start at home is also a new franchise best. Grand Rapids ranks first in the AHL in points (51), has a 19-point cushion for first place in the Central Division, and is 27 points up on a playoff spot.

The Well is not Dry: Yesterday, Sheldon Dries was selected as the Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Dec. 21. He logged six points (2-4—6) and a plus-eight rating in three games last week, marking his first-career player of the week award. Dries posted two-point outings in all three contests and began the slate with two assists in Grand Rapids’ come-from-behind 5-2 victory on Dec. 17 at Iowa. The 31-year-old followed that performance with a goal and an assist in Friday’s 6-2 win at Iowa before tallying the game-winner and another helper in Sunday’s 5-0 shutout over Cleveland. The Macomb, Michigan, native ranks third on the roster with 22 points (9-13—22) in 22 games, while also placing second in assists and fourth in goals. In addition, his career-high plus-15 rating is tied for sixth on the team and tied for 10th in the AHL.  

Made the Nice List: The Griffins currently lead the Central Division and are 19 points above second-place Manitoba and 27 points up on a playoff spot. Grand Rapids is 18-0-0-1 against its division rivals and has outscored them 82-36. Last season, it took the Griffins 34 games to reach 18 wins against the division (18-13-3-0). Thirty-seven of the remaining 45 games for Grand Rapids will be against the Central Division (82.2%), which includes the next 12 contests. The Griffins will see the most games against the Milwaukee Admirals (11) followed by the Chicago Wolves (8).  

No Gifts, Just Your Presence: The Griffins’ defense is the best in the AHL, as it ranks first with 1.78 goals allowed per contest. Providence is the closest to Grand Rapids with 2.08 goals allowed per game. Grand Rapids has allowed more than two goals just three times in its last 21 games and has averaged just 1.00 goals allowed in its last five outings. In fact, the team has allowed more than two goals just five times this season (18.5%). In addition, the team’s penalty kill is third in the AHL at 86.1% (68-for-79). Despite ranking first in goals allowed, the Griffins place 14th with 27.9 shots allowed per game. In net, Sebastian Cossa sports a 1.68 GAA with a .936 save percentage, while first-year netminder Michal Postava possesses a 2.15 GAA and a .936 save percentage, and fellow rookie Carter Gylander has a 1.57 GAA and a .943 save percentage. Grand Rapids also has eight of the top 13 plus-minus ratings in the AHL and four of the top five ratings among defensemen. The Griffins have four defensemen who have played at least 100 games in the NHL in Erik Gustafsson (516), Justin Holl (396), Ian Mitchell (110), and William Lagesson (107), totaling 1,129 appearances. 

Presents for All: Grand Rapids has 56 goals in its last 13 contests (4.31 per game) and ranks first in the AHL with 4.04 goals per game. The team has outscored their opponents 109-48 and are 18-0 when scoring the game’s first goal. Last season, it took Grand Rapids 36 games to eclipse 100 goals. The Griffins have outscored their opponents 50-20 at home, while possessing a 59-28 advantage on the road. Grand Rapids has its largest scoring margin against its opponents in the third period (44-17). In addition to ranking first in goals, the Griffins are 16th in shots per game (28.6). John Leonard, who is on recall to Detroit, leads the team and is tied for the league lead with 19 goals, Dominik Shine places second on the roster with 14, and Eduards Tralmaks ranks third with 13.

Written in the Stars: Head coach Dan Watson has been named the coach for the Central Division at the 2026 AHL All-Star Classic presented by BMO, to be held Feb. 10-11 at the BMO Center in Rockford, Illinois. Thanks to Grand Rapids’ 6-2 win on Dec. 19 at the Iowa Wild, the Griffins had clinched the top spot in the division through the end of play on Jan. 11 with a 24-1-0-1 record and 49 points, meriting Watson’s selection. This marked Watson’s second-consecutive all-star nod, as he became just the second coach in franchise history to attend two all-star events and the first in its AHL history (Bruce Cassidy: 2002 AHL, 2001 IHL). The 12th head coach in Griffins history, Watson is in his third season with Grand Rapids after leading the team to back-to-back playoff campaigns and a Central Division Finals appearance in 2024. All-time with Grand Rapids since 2023-24, Watson has a 98-53-12-7 regular-season record (.632) and a 5-7 playoff mark (.417).  

Ready When Called: Rookie netminder Carter Gylander has been impressive this season and collected his first AHL shutout on Dec. 21 against Cleveland (5-0 W, 22 saves). Gylander has a 6-0-1 record with a 1.57 goals-against average and a .943 save percentage in seven games with Grand Rapids. The 24-year-old is currently on an AHL career-high six-game win streak from Nov. 12-Dec. 21 with a 1.32 GAA and a .953 save percentage. In his two-year AHL career with Grand Rapids, Gylander has an 8-1-1 ledger with a 2.17 GAA and a .925 save percentage in 10 appearances. Gylander has spent the majority of the season in the ECHL with Toledo and has totaled a 2.99 GAA and an .896 save percentage in eight games. Last campaign, Gylander aided the Walleye to the ECHL’s Kelly Cup Finals before falling to Trois-Rivieres. He was the 191st overall pick by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. 

Shine On, Captain: On Dec. 7 at Toronto, Dominik Shine became just the third player in franchise history to reach 500 games with the team, scoring a goal in the process. He is in his 10th season with Grand Rapids, becoming just the third player in team history to reach the milestone (Brian Lashoff 14, Travis Richards 10). On Dec. 21 against Cleveland, Shine passed Kip Miller for the fourth-most points in franchise history (210) and on Dec. 17 at Iowa, he surpassed Tomas Tatar for the fourth-most goals in team history (88). He has nine points (4-5—9) in his last seven outings, ranks fifth in the AHL with 14 goals, and ranks second on the team with 26 points (14-12—26) in 22 games. On the all-time regular-season franchise leaderboard, Shine ranks third in games played (505), fourth in goals (89), tied for seventh in assists (121), fourth in points (210), sixth in penalty minutes (571), tied for fifth in shorthanded goals (6), tied for fourth in game-winners (14), tied for first in unassisted goals (10), and tied for third in shots (853). 

Future is Bright: Sebastian Cossa, the 15th overall pick in 2021, is off to a 14-1-0 start this season with a 1.68 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage. He is currently on an AHL career-high nine-game win streak. His three shutouts are the most for a Griffins goalie in a single season since Calvin Pickard in 2019-20. In addition, Cossa’s six-career shutouts tie Daniel Larsson and Pokey Reddick for eighth on the team’s all-time list. In the AHL rankings, Cossa ranks second in GAA, second in save percentage, tied for first in shutouts and first in wins. Cossa was named the AHL Goaltender of the Month for November with a 5-1 record, one shutout, a 1.50 GAA and a .941 save percentage. He became just the fourth netminder in franchise history to win the award, joining Jared Coreau, Jimmy Howard and Simon Lajeunesse. Last season, Cossa was named to his first AHL All-Star Classic and ranked among the AHL regular-season leaders in games played (41, T8th), minutes played (2,424:37, 7th), GAA (2.45, 11th), save percentage (.911, T13th), and wins (21, T10th). In parts of four seasons with Grand Rapids since 2022-23, Cossa has notched a 58-26-14 mark with six shutouts to go along with a 2.39 GAA and a .913 save percentage in 99 outings.  

Veteran Presence: Veteran defenseman Ian Mitchell is on a three-game point streak (2-2—4) from Dec. 17-21, which is one short of tying his career high. In 20 games with the Griffins, Mitchell has 13 points (4-9—13), six penalty minutes and a plus-16 rating. Mitchell is tied for third among AHL defensemen in plus-minus rating and tied for sixth among all skaters. Throughout parts of six AHL seasons since 2020-21, the 26-year-old has 106 points (27-79—106), 70 penalty minutes and a plus-40 rating in 176 regular-season games. In addition, Mitchell has 19 points (4-15—19) in 110 NHL outings with Boston and Chicago. The St. Albert, Alberta, native was selected with the 57th overall pick by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:  
Michael Brandsegg-Nygard—Tied for 10th in plus-minus (+15), tied for second in game-winners (5), tied for 12th among rookies in assists (11), tied for 13th among rookies in points (18), first among rookies in plus-minus (+15), first among rookies in game-winners (5)
Sebastian Cossa—Second in GAA (1.68), second in save percentage (.936), tied for first in shutouts (3), first in wins (14)
Sheldon Dries—Tied for 10th in plus-minus (+15)
Erik Gustafsson—Tied for second in plus-minus (+19), tied for ninth among defensemen in points (17), fifth among defensemen in assists (16), first among defensemen in plus-minus (+19)
Justin Holl—Tied for fourth in plus-minus (+18), second among defensemen in plus-minus (+18)
William Lagesson—Tied for sixth in plus-minus (+16), tied for third among defensemen in plus-minus (+16)
x John Leonard—Tied for first in goals (19), fifth in points (29), tied for 14th in plus-minus (+14), tied for third in shorthanded goals (2), first in game-winners (7)
Ian Mitchell—Tied for sixth in plus-minus (+16), tied for 13th among defensemen in goals (4), tied for third among defensemen in plus-minus (+16)
Dominik Shine—Fifth in goals (14), tied for 13th in points (26), tied for fourth in plus-minus (+18)
Eduards Tralmaks—Tied for sixth in goals (13), tied for 10th in plus-minus (+15)
Antti Tuomisto—Tied for fifth among defensemen in goals (5), tied for 11th among defensemen in points (16), tied for eighth among defensemen in plus-minus (+13)
William Wallinder—Tied for eighth among defensemen in plus-minus (+13)

Milestones: Last Sunday against Cleveland, Dominik Shine surpassed Kip Miller for fourth on the franchise’s all-time points list with 210.  
Sebastian Cossa—One game from 100 as a Griffin
William Lagesson—Four assists from 100 as a pro
Dominik Shine—One unassisted goal from claiming sole possession of the franchise record of 11
Austin Watson—Three goals from 100 in the AHL 
Dan Watson—One win from 100 as head coach of the Griffins

Photo by Alyssa Luke/Griffins