Griffins Game #1 * Home Game #1 * AHL Game #3

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Eagles at Griffins
First of four meetings overall, first of two at Van Andel Arena…This is the first-ever matchup between the Colorado Eagles and Griffins...Eagles joined the AHL in 2018 and are the primary affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche...The Eagles have qualified for each of the three AHL postseasons since joining the league...During the 2022-23 campaign, Colorado finished with a 40-22-7-3 overall record, which ranked seventh in the AHL...Eagles’ first-year head coach Aaron Schneekloth competed for Grand Rapids from 2002-04 and showed eight points (1-7—8) in 58 games...The Griffins are 15-18-2-1 (.458) all-time against current Pacific-Division foes in the regular season, including 8-9-0-0 (.471) at home...Grand Rapids will make its first-ever trip to Colorado next weekend on Oct. 20 and will conclude the season series the following night on Oct. 21.

New Coach, Who Dis
Dan Watson was named the 12th head coach in franchise history this past offseason after serving six seasons as head coach of the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye. A season ago, Watson guided Toledo to a 45-19-5-3 (.681) record before going 9-4 in the Kelly Cup Playoffs to reach the Western Conference Finals. The 44-year-old has been with the Red Wings organization for the past 14 seasons, holding multiple roles with the Walleye since the team’s inception. Watson has never missed the playoffs as head coach, reaching the Kelly Cup Finals twice (2019, 2022) and leading Toledo to three division titles (2016-17, 2017-18, 2021-22), three 100-point seasons (2016-17, 2017-18, 2021-22), two regular-season championships (2016-17, 2021-22), and four Western Conference Finals berths (2017, 2019, 2022, 2023). In 2016-17, he garnered the John Brophy Award as the ECHL’s Coach of the Year in his first year as head coach, when the Walleye won the Central Division behind a franchise-record 51 wins (51-17-2-2, .736) and reached the Western Conference Finals. As a head coach, the Glencoe, Ontario, native possesses a 272-112-22-13 (.691) ledger during the regular season and a 51-34 (.600) mark over only five playoff campaigns. Watson leaves Toledo as the franchise’s winningest head coach and the fastest coach in ECHL history to reach 100 wins.

2022-23 Season in Review
The Griffins skated in their 27th season a year ago and concluded the campaign with a 28-36-4-4 record, 64 points and a point percentage of .444. Grand Rapids finished in seventh place in the Central Division, two teams away from a playoff spot, missing the postseason for the second consecutive campaign. Taro Hirose paced the team with a career-high 57 points to go along with another career-best 41 assists. In his first-year with the organization, Joel L’Esperance led the team with 25 goals and tied a career high with 49 points. Former sixth overall pick, Simon Edvinsson paced the team’s rookies with 27 points (5-22—27), which tied for eighth among AHL rookie defensemen. In net, Alex Nedeljkovic registered the lowest goals against average (2.71), the best save percentage (.912) and the best record (13-9-3). The Griffins used a franchise-record 49 players throughout 2022-23, which included a franchise-record eight goaltenders. The 49 players beat out the previous record of 48 set during the 2021-22 campaign.

This Date in Griffins History
2017: The Griffins came out fast and furious in their first and only trip to the SAP Center in San Jose. In a rematch of the 2017 Western Conference Finals, the defending Calder Cup champions use three goals in the second period to defeat the San Jose Barracuda, 7-3.

New Faces in the Crowd
In addition to new head coach Dan Watson, assistant coaches Brian Lashoff and Steph Julien, and goaltending development coach Roope Koistinen (ROH-peh KOI-stih-NIHN) each begin his first year on the staff. Lashoff starts his first season as a coach after spending all or part of 14 seasons on the Griffins’ blue line, including the last three as the team’s captain. Lashoff ranks second on the Griffins’ all-time games played list with 629, behind only Travis Richards’ 655 and his games played rank third in league history among one-team players. Julien was the head coach of the Sherbrooke Phoenix in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) for the past eight seasons. In 2022-23, Julien was named the QMJHL Coach of the Year as well as the QMJHL General Manager of the Year. Koistinen comes to North America for the first time after being with Karpat’s youth programs in Finland since the 2014-15 campaign. The Griffins’ support staff also features many new faces. Austin Frank was named the head athletic trainer, Katie Berglund as the assistant athletic trainer, Zack Harvey as the team’s physical therapist, and Kyle Hornkohl as the assistant equipment manager.

Home Sweet Home
Under first-year head coach Dan Watson, the Griffins will begin a 72-game schedule when they host the Colorado Eagles for the very first time during Opening Night presented by Huntington Bank. Since 2004, the Griffins are 5-3-0-1 (.611) in season openers at Van Andel Arena and have outscored their opponents 29-25. Also since 2004, Grand Rapids is 9-7-2-1 (.553) in season openers at any venue. The Griffins have won five of the last seven home openers.

Roster Breakdown
Nineteen players (forwards Zach Aston-Reese, Jonatan Berggren, Austin Czarnik, Tim Gettinger, Cross Hanas, Taro Hirose, Marco Kasper, Amadeus Lombardi, Elmer Soderblom and Nolan Stevens; defensemen Simon Edvinsson, Albert Johansson, Jared McIsaac, Wyatt Newpower, Brogan Rafferty, Antti Tuomisto, Eemil Viro and William Wallinder; goaltender Sebastian Cossa) on the roster are under contract with the Red Wings, while five players (forwards Joel L’Esperance, Riley Sawchuk, Dominik Shine and Tyler Spezia; defenseman Josiah Didier) are playing on a Griffins contract. Twelve players are Red Wings draft picks (Berggren, Cossa, Edvinsson, Hanas, Johansson, Kasper, Lombardi, McIsaac, Soderblom, Tuomisto, Viro and Wallinder).

High Expectations
This is the first season since 2002-03 - the Griffins first year of affiliation with Detroit - in which the team has endured a complete turnover of head and assistant coaches. In 2002-03, first-year head coach Danton Cole and assistants Todd Nelson and Derek King guided Grand Rapids to a first-place finish in the AHL’s Central Division. In 2001-02, the Griffins’ first season in the AHL and the third and final campaign as Ottawa’s affiliate, head coach Bruce Cassidy and assistant coach Gene Reilly led the griffins to an IHL West Division Title.

Young Guns
The Griffins have six players who are considered rookies this season including forwards Marco Kasper, Amadeus Lombardi, and Riley Sawchuk, defensemen Antti Tuomisto and William Wallinder, and goaltender Sebastian Cossa.

Oldies but Goodies
The Griffins’ roster features five veterans including forwards Zach Aston-Reese, Austin Czarnik, Joel L’Esperance and Dominik Shine, and defenseman Josiah Didier. A player receives veteran status if he has competed in at least 260 games in the NHL, AHL or European elite leagues. Czarnik leads all veterans with 441 professional games played, while Didier (394) ranks second and Shine (357) places third.

The Climb
Dominik Shine will become just the third player in franchise history to reach eight seasons, while Tyler Spezia will be the eighth player to compete in their sixth campaign. Shine ranks seventh with 357 career games played for the Griffins and 10^th with 404 penalty minutes. Taro Hirose also continues to climb the Griffins’ all-time leaderboard, as he enters the season ranked 10^th in points (165) and sixth in assists (124).

Take Me to Your Leader
Forwards Taro Hirose and Joel L’Esperance return to the Griffins following stellar 2022-23 seasons. Hirose paced the team in points (16-41—57) and assists (41) last year while L’Esperance led the squad in goals with 25. Last season, Hirose set new career highs in games played (71), goals (16), assists (41) and points (57), and L’Esperance’s 72 games played and 44 penalty minutes were both career bests. Hirose begins the 2023-24 campaign ranked sixth on the franchise’s all-time regular-season leaderboard for assists with 124. L’Esperance ranked third in the AHL a year ago with 14 power-play goals and second with 247 shots.

You Must Be This Tall to Ride the Rollercoaster
Ten players on the Griffins’ roster are listed at 6-foot-3 or taller, with five players at least 6-foot-5. Elmer Soderblom, standing at 6-foot-8, became the tallest player to play for the Griffins when he made his AHL debut on Dec. 9, 2022 at Springfield. Soderblom edged out former 6-foot-6 players in Jared Coreau, Francois Leroux, Brad Norton, Michael Rasmussen, Dan Turple, and teammate Simon Edvinsson, and 6-foot-7 teammate Sebastian Cossa. In addition to Cossa and Edvinsson, newcomer Tim Gettinger also stands at 6-foot-6 while rookie Antti Tuomisto comes in at 6-foot-5. Both of the Griffins’ goaltenders are at least 6-foot-3.

How Swede It Is
The Detroit Red Wings have a rich tradition of possessing some of the top talent to come out of Sweden, such as Niklas Kronwall and Nicklas Lidstrom, and more recently Lucas Raymond. This year is no different, as the NHL franchise has sent down a handful of Swedes to the Griffins. In fact, five players hail from Sweden, including Jonatan Berggren, Simon Edvinsson, Albert Johansson, Elmer Soderblom and William Wallinder. Grand Rapids also features its first-ever Austrian, Marco Kasper, and two Finnish players in Antti Tuomisto and Eemil Viro. Austria becomes the 19^th country to produce a Griffin.

Pour Me A Draft
The Griffins’ roster is littered with high-end draft picks from previous years. The roster features three former first rounders in Sebastian Cossa (15th overall in 2021), Simon Edvinsson (6th overall in 2021), and Marco Kasper (8th overall in 2022). In addition, Grand Rapids is highlighted with six former second-round picks from the Red Wings, including Jonatan Berggren (33rd in 2018), Cross Hanas (55th in 2020), Albert Johansson (60th in 2019), Jared McIsaac (36th in 2018), Antti Tuomisto (35th in 2019), and William Wallinder (32nd in 2020). The Griffins roster is also comprised of two third round picks and 16 total draft picks.

Milestones
Austin Czarnik—One assist from 200 as a pro
Simon Edvinsson—One assist from 50 as a pro
Albert Johansson—One game from 200 as a pro
Jared McIsaac—Two points from 50 as a pro and as a Griffin
Elmer Soderblom—Two games from 150 as a pro
Tyler Spezia—Two goals from 50 as a pro
William Wallinder—Two assists from 50 as a pro

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins