GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The American Hockey League on Monday announced that Grand Rapids Griffins goaltender Michal Postava has been selected as the Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending April 19, 2026. 

Postava, a rookie out of Valasske Mezirici, Czechia, went 2-0 this past week, with one shutout, a 1.01 goals-against average and a .960 save percentage. The 24-year-old posted 24 saves in a 5-2 victory at the Iowa Wild on Wednesday before showing a 24-save shutout at the Milwaukee Admirals in an 8-0 win on Friday. Postava’s fourth shutout of the campaign set a franchise rookie record for the most in a single season, and all three of his appearances against Milwaukee resulted in a shutout.

This is the Griffins’ fifth Player of the Week honor this season, marking the most in their AHL history (4 in 2005-06) and tying for the most in franchise history (5 in 2000-01 IHL). 

The fourth-year pro went 17-6-0 during the regular season with four shutouts in 25 appearances, setting single-season franchise records with a 1.71 GAA and a .937 save percentage while never allowing more than three goals in a game. If he had played enough minutes to qualify (39 short), Postava would have ranked first in the league in GAA and save percentage, and he tied for third in shutouts. He finished the regular season on a four-game win streak from April 1-17, showing two shutouts, a 1.00 GAA and a .960 save percentage.

In the franchise’s all-time single-season record book, he placed first in GAA (1.71), first in save percentage (.937) and tied for 10th in shutouts (4). Postava tied a franchise record by becoming the 10th netminder in team history to post back-to-back shutouts from Jan. 17-21. Finally, Postava logged a shutout streak of 156:20 from Jan. 9-25, which was 3:47 short of breaking the franchise record set by Jared Coreau in 2014-15 (160:06). Last season, Postava became a Czech Extraliga champion with Kometa Brno, showing a league-best .940 save percentage with a 1.97 GAA and a 10-7 record in 17 playoff games.

Postava and teammate Sebastian Cossa shared the 2025-26 Harry “Hap” Holmes Memorial Award, as the Griffins allowed the fewest goals (159) in the AHL this season for an average of 2.21 goals per game. This marked the third time the Griffins have won the award and the first since they earned it back to back in 2001-02 and 2002-03. The 159 goals allowed also set a franchise record for the fewest in a season, surpassing the 166 mark from 2003-04 when it played 80 games (2.08 GAA).

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins