GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – With five days remaining until their 2009-10 season opener, the Grand Rapids Griffins have welcomed 11 more players to their roster on assignment from the Detroit Red Wings.

Right wing Jeremy Williams and defenseman Doug Janik joined the Griffins on Saturday, while goaltender Thomas McCollum, defensemen Andy Delmore, Jakub Kindl and Logan Pyett, and forwards Evan McGrath, Jan Mursak, Kris Newbury, Francis Pare and Mattias Ritola were all assigned on Sunday.

The Griffins will stage their first Grand Rapids-area practice today at 10:30 a.m. at Griff's IceHouse, in preparation for their opener this Saturday, Oct. 3 at Peoria.

After starting the season with five straight road games, the Griffins will make their Van Andel Arena debut on Friday, Oct. 23 against the Abbotsford Heat at 7 p.m., the start of an unprecedented three-game weekend to open their home schedule. Single-game tickets for all 40 home games are now on sale at all Star Tickets outlets, including the Zone and Meijer stores, or online through griffinshockey.com, while group, full-season and mini-plan ticket packages are available by calling the Griffins at (616) 774-4585.