GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grand Rapids Griffins 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. This marks Watson’s second-consecutive all-star nod, as he becomes just the second coach in franchise history to attend two all-star events and the first in its AHL history. 

Thanks to Grand Rapids’ 6-2 win tonight at the Iowa Wild, the Griffins have 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. The 49 points through 26 games mark the best start in the 90-year history of the AHL. The Griffins have gone 18-0-0-1 against their division rivals this season and have remained the top team since the first game of the campaign. 

Prior to last year’s selection, Watson was the first Griffins coach to achieve the honor since Todd Nelson in 2017 and the fourth in franchise history to coach in an all-star game, joining Nelson, Jeff Blashill (2014), and Bruce Cassidy (2002 AHL, 2001 IHL). This will mark Watson’s fourth-career all-star appearance, as he was chosen to coach in the ECHL All-Star Game in both 2017 and 2022 with the Toledo Walleye. 

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. The Glencoe, Ontario, native currently has the Griffins on a 13-game winning streak, which is tied for the second-longest in franchise history. 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).  

In addition to leading the Central Division, Watson has the Griffins positioned first in the Western Conference and the entire AHL. Grand Rapids ranks first in the AHL in both goals per game (4.00) and goals against per game (1.85). In addition, the power play ranks seventh at 23.4% and the penalty kill is tied for fifth at 85.1%. The Griffins have an 18-point cushion over Chicago for first place in the Central Division and are 29 points up on a playoff spot. 

Prior to joining the Griffins, Watson spent six seasons as head coach of the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye from 2016-23, becoming the fastest coach in ECHL history to reach 100 wins and the winningest head coach in Walleye history with a 272-112-22-13 record in the regular season. Watson has never missed the playoffs as head coach, reaching the Calder Cup Playoffs twice, the Kelly Cup Finals twice (2019 and 2022), and leading Toledo to three division titles (2016-17, 2017-18 and 2021-22), three 100-point seasons (2016-17, 2017-18 and 2021-22), two regular season championships (2016-17 and 2021-22), and four Western Conference Finals berths (2017, 2019, 2022 and 2023).

The 2026 AHL All-Star Classic will begin on Tuesday, Feb. 10 with the AHL All-Star Skills Competition followed by the AHL All-Star Challenge on Wednesday, Feb. 11. Rosters for each division will be released at a later date. 

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins