This Week’s Games

GRIFFINS (30-3-2-1) vs. Milwaukee Admirals (16-16-2-1) // Wed., Jan. 21 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

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

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey 

Season Series: 3-0-2-0 Overall, 2-0-1-0 Home. Sixth of 12 meetings overall, fourth of six at Van Andel Arena  

All-Time Series: 120-87-7-11-8 Overall, 66-40-2-4-3 Home

NHL Affiliation: Nashville Predators 

Noteworthy: The Griffins and Admirals will meet for the third time in the last four games. Grand Rapids has faced Milwaukee more than any other opponent – 234th all-time meeting – and the Griffins’ 120 victories are the most against any foe. 

GRIFFINS at Manitoba Moose (19-14-3-0) // Fri., Jan. 23 // 8 p.m. EST // Canada Life Centre
GRIFFINS at Manitoba Moose // Sun., Jan. 25 // 3 p.m. EST // Canada Life Centre

Listen: 96.1 The Game at 7:45 p.m. EST on Friday and WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 2:45 p.m. EST

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey 

Season Series: 3-0-0-0 Overall, 0-0-0-0 Road. Fourth and fifth of eight meetings overall, first and second of four at the Canada Life Centre 

All-Time Series: 83-47-1-1-10 Overall, 38-26-0-0-3 Road

NHL Affiliation: Winnipeg Jets 

Noteworthy: All three meetings this season were played between Oct. 17-24 with the Grand Rapids going 3-0 with a 13-4 scoring margin. The Moose are currently in third place in the Central Division with 41 points (19-14-3-0).

A Happy New Year: Despite dropping three of the last four games, the Griffins have continued their league-record start with a 30-3-2-1 ledger and 63 points through 36 games. Grand Rapids tied the 2005-06 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (29-3-2-1, 61 pts.) for the best start in the AHL’s 90-year history through 35 games. Grand Rapids also reached 60 points three games faster than any team in the AHL’s 90-year history (2005-06, W-B/Scranton, 29-3-2-1, 61 pts. in 35 games). The team saw its franchise-record tying 15-game win streak from Nov. 22-Dec. 27 come to an end in overtime on Dec. 31, which also tied for the sixth-longest run in AHL history. In addition, the Griffins’ 19-game point streak from Nov. 22-Jan. 7 (18-0-1-0) ended on Jan. 9, which tied for the longest run in franchise history. The Griffins are 14-0-1-1 on the road and 16-3-1-0 at home. The 16-game points streak on the road is tied with the 2010-11 Milwaukee Admirals (10-0-4-2) for the longest in AHL history. Grand Rapids ranks first in the AHL in points (63), has an 18-point cushion over Chicago for first place in the Central Division, and is 28 points up on a playoff spot.

Just Getting Started: Rookie netminder Michal Postava collected his first AHL shutout on Saturday with 10 saves in a 2-0 victory over Milwaukee. His 10 saves set a new franchise record for fewest in a shutout. This was Postava’s third game since returning from a lower-body injury that kept him sidelined from Nov. 12-Dec. 14. After beginning the campaign 5-0, the 23-year-old suffered his first AHL defeat on Jan. 9 against Texas. Postava is now 6-1-0 with a 1.68 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage in eight games. 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. During the regular season with Kometa Brno, Postava ranked among the Czech Extraliga leaders in save percentage (.921, 5th), GAA (2.39, 11th), wins (23, 4th), games played (42, T2nd) and shutouts (3, T7th). As an undrafted free agent, Postava signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Detroit Red Wings last summer. 

Sparkling Stars: The AHL on Thursday announced that Griffins goaltender Sebastian Cossa and forwards John Leonard and Dominik Shine will serve as the team’s representatives at the 2026 AHL All-Star Classic presented by BMO, to be held Feb. 10-11 at the BMO Center in Rockford, Illinois. They will join their head coach, Dan Watson, who was previously announced as the coach for the Central Division. The three all-star player selections are the most for the Griffins since 2013 (Chad Billins, Petr Mrazek, Gustav Nyquist). Including Watson, the four all-star representatives are the most in team history since four players were chosen for the 2004 event in Grand Rapids (Jiri Hudler, Niklas Kronwall, Travis Richards, Nathan Robinson). Cossa becomes the first Griffins goalie to earn consecutive all-star selections, and the first Griffins player since Chris Terry (2019 and 2020). This is also Leonard’s second straight all-star selection, as he was chosen for last year’s event as a member of the Charlotte Checkers, while captain Shine will compete in his first-ever all-star game.   

Boosted Lineup: The Griffins have seen a few players come back from injuries in the last couple of weeks. Defenseman Shai Buium made his season debut on Jan. 9 after suffering an upper-body injury during the NHL preseason with Detroit, while forward Amadeus Lombardi returned last Tuesday after spending Nov. 22-Jan. 9 sidelined with an upper-body injury. Finally, goaltender Michal Postava returned to the crease on Jan. 3, which was his first game since Nov. 9 after enduring a lower-body injury. Fellow Red Wings prospect Carter Mazur remains on the injury report and has not played since Oct. 28 after producing six points (4-2—6) in his first five games. 

What’s The Password?: The Griffins’ defense remains the best in the AHL, as it ranks first with 1.83 goals allowed per contest. Providence is the closest to Grand Rapids with 2.08 goals allowed per game. Grand Rapids posted its sixth shutout of the season last Saturday against Milwaukee, which is the most since the team registered eight in 2016-17. The Griffins shut out their opponent in two straight games from Dec. 21-27 for the first time since Feb. 15-17, 2018. The Griffins have allowed more than two goals just six times in their last 30 games and have averaged just 1.64 goals allowed in their last 14 outings, which includes four shutouts. In fact, the team has allowed more than two goals just eight times all season (22.2%). In addition, the team’s penalty kill is first in the AHL at 87.3%. In net, Sebastian Cossa sports a 1.81 GAA with a .932 save percentage, while rookie netminder Michal Postava possesses a 1.68 GAA and a .939 save percentage. Grand Rapids also has three of the top five plus-minus ratings among defensemen. The Griffins have four defensemen who have played at least 100 games in the NHL in Erik Gustafsson (516) (currently with Detroit), Justin Holl (396), Ian Mitchell (110), and William Lagesson (107), totaling 1,129 appearances. 

Leaders of the Pack: The Griffins currently lead the Central Division and are 18 points above second-place Chicago and 28 points up on a playoff spot. Grand Rapids is 23-2-2-1 against its division rivals and has outscored them 104-54, suffering its first regulation defeat against the division on Jan. 9 against Texas. Last season, it took the Griffins 47 games to reach 23 wins against the division (23-20-3-1) compared to 28 games this season. Twenty-eight of the remaining 36 games for Grand Rapids will be against the Central Division (77.8%), which includes five of the next six contests. The Griffins will see the most games against the Milwaukee Admirals (7) followed by the Chicago Wolves (6) and Rockford IceHogs (5). 

The Brick Wall: Sebastian Cossa, the 15th overall pick in 2021, collected his fourth shutout of the season on Dec. 27 at Milwaukee in just his 16th game. His four shutouts are the most by a Griffin since 2016-17 (Eddie Pasquale). He then showed a career-high 47 saves on Jan. 2 against Chicago, which tied Jared Coreau’s franchise record for saves in a home game. Cossa has won the last two AHL Goaltender of the Month awards (November and December), becoming the first netminder in franchise history to receive the honor twice in the same season. The 23-year-old also became just the third goaltender in team history to win the award twice in any fashion, joining Jared Coreau (Feb. 2018, Dec. 2015) and Jimmy Howard (Dec. 2007, March 2006). Cossa has a 17-2-2 record with a 1.81 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage. He enjoyed a career-high 10-game win streak from Nov. 25-Dec. 27, showing a 1.51 GAA and a .939 save percentage, and a 14-game point streak from Nov. 25-Jan. 13 (12-0-2). In the AHL rankings, Cossa ranks second in GAA, second in save percentage, first in shutouts and first in wins. In parts of four seasons with Grand Rapids since 2022-23, Cossa has notched a 61-27-16 mark with seven shutouts to go along with a 2.38 GAA and a .913 save percentage in 105 outings, becoming just the sixth netminder to reach the century mark with the team.   

Johnny Bravo: John Leonard has 35 points and 22 goals in 27 games with the Griffins this season to go along with two penalty minutes, seven game-winners and a plus-11 rating. In the AHL rankings, the sixth-year veteran is tied for 13th in points, third in goals and first in game-winners. Leonard has jumped back and forth between Detroit and Grand Rapids since Dec. 16, showing four points (2-2—4) in nine games with the Red Wings. He was named the Fortune Tires “Expect More” AHL Player of the Month for November with 16 points (9-7—16) in 10 games and became just the third player in franchise history to win the award, joining Riley Barber (April 2022) and Chris Minard (Feb. 2012). Leonard’s career-best 10-game point streak from Oct. 10-Nov. 19 set a franchise record to begin both a season and a Griffins career, and his career-high six-game goal streak from Oct. 11-Nov. 2 tied for the third-longest run in franchise history. Throughout parts of six AHL seasons since 2020-21, Leonard has 206 points (105-101—206) in 276 games.  

Slowed Down a Smidge: Grand Rapids was shut out for the first time this season on Jan. 9 against Texas and has been held to under three goals in three of the last four games. The Griffins now have 10 goals in their last five contests (2.00 per game) compared to 17 goals in the previous five outings (3.40 per game from Dec. 21-Jan. 3). However, the Griffins still rank first in the AHL with 3.64 goals per game. The team has outscored its opponents 131-66 and is 22-0 when scoring the game’s first goal. The Griffins have outscored their opponents 61-32 at home, while possessing a 70-34 advantage on the road. Grand Rapids has its largest scoring margin against its opponents in the third period (52-24). In addition to ranking first in goals, the Griffins place 11th in shots per game (29.6). John Leonard leads the team and ranks third in the AHL with 22 goals, while Eduards Tralmaks ranks second on the roster with 15 and Dominik Shine places third with 14.   

Going for Gold: On Jan. 6, Team Latvia announced that forward Eduards Tralmaks will represent the country at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games from Feb. 6-22. Tralmaks becomes the seventh player to participate in an Olympics while playing for the Griffins. Tralmaks is also the fifth current or former Griffin to be named to an Olympic roster for 2026, joining USA’s Dylan Larkin, Germany’s Moritz Seider, Czechia’s Filip Hronek and Slovakia’s Tomas Tatar. Tralmaks, a native of Riga, Latvia, has 20 points (15-5—19), six penalty minutes and a plus-18 rating in 36 games with the Griffins this season. He ranks among the team leaders in goals (2nd), points (T5th), and plus-minus rating (T3rd), while tying for 14th in the AHL in goals and tying for ninth in plus-minus rating. Tralmaks has competed for Team Latvia at the two previous World Championships in 2024 and 2025, showing a combined nine points (4-5—9) in 14 games. At last year's World Championship, Tralmaks led Latvia in points (3-4—7) and assists, while ranking second in goals in seven games. Also in 2024-25, he potted one goal in three Olympic qualifying games with Latvia.

Power Struggle: On Dec. 30, the Griffins ranked eighth in the AHL with a power-play percentage of 22.7%. However, Grand Rapids went without a power-play goal in seven straight games from Dec. 31-Jan. 16 (0-for-17) and has just four man-advantage goals in its last 14 outings (4-for-43, 9.3%). The Griffins now rank 14th in the power-play rankings at 19.4%. The road power play places fifth at 25.4% but the home power play is tied for 30th at 12.2%, which includes a 1-for-19 mark in its last eight home games. Sheldon Dries, Dominik Shine and Eduards Tralmaks are all tied for the team lead with four power-play tallies.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:  
Michael Brandsegg-Nygard—Tied for seventh in plus-minus (+19), tied for third in game-winners (5), tied for fourth among rookies in assists (16), tied for ninth among rookies in points (24), first among rookies in plus-minus (+19), eighth among rookies in shots (77), first among rookies in game-winners (5)
Sebastian Cossa—Second in GAA (1.81), second in save percentage (.932), first in shutouts (4), first in wins (17)
x Erik Gustafsson—Tied for ninth in plus-minus (+18), tied for 10th among defensemen in points (20), tied for seventh among defensemen in assists (18), tied for third among defensemen in plus-minus (+18), tied for seventh among defensemen in power-play goals (2)
Justin Holl—Tied for ninth in plus-minus (+18), tied for third among defensemen in plus-minus (+18)
William Lagesson—Second in plus-minus (+23), first among defensemen in plus-minus (+23)
John Leonard—Third in goals (22), tied for 13th in points (35), tied for first in shorthanded goals (3), first in game-winners (7)
Ian Mitchell—Tied for 11th among defensemen in plus-minus (+14)
Eduards Tralmaks—Tied for 14th in goals (15), tied for ninth in plus-minus (+18)
Antti Tuomisto—Tied for 14th in plus-minus (+17), tied for sixth among defensemen in goals (6), sixth among defensemen in plus-minus (+17)

Milestones: Last Saturday against Milwaukee, Austin Watson competed in his 850th pro game and Sheldon Dries scored his 150th AHL goal.   
Sheldon Dries—Four points from 300 as a pro
William Lagesson—Two assists from 100 as a pro
Dominik Shine—One unassisted goal from claiming sole possession of the franchise record of 11 
Dan Watson—One game from 600 as a pro head coach

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins