Griffins 2022-23 Season in Review

Chapter 27
The 2022-23 season was the Grand Rapids Griffins’ 27th overall season, the 22nd campaign as a member of the American Hockey League and their 21st as the primary affiliate of the 11-time Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings. Grand Rapids concluded with a 28-36-4-4 record (0.444), including 12-17-4-3 at Van Andel Arena and 16-19-0-1 on foreign ice, and a seventh-place finish in the Central Division. The Griffins have competed in 2,061 regular-season games between the International Hockey League and the AHL since 1996-97 and totaled a 1,071-766-27-74-123 (0.574) ledger to go along with seven division titles, 17 playoff appearances and two Calder Cups (2017, 2013).

Follow The Leaders
Games Played: Joel L’Esperance (72)
Points: Taro Hirose (16-41—57)
Goals: L’Esperance (25)
Assists: Hirose (41)
PIM: Wyatt Newpower (68) (fewest to ever lead the Griffins)
Power-Play Goals: L’Esperance (14)
Shorthanded Goals: Austin Czarnik (3)
Game-Winning Goals: Czarnik (5)
Overtime Goals: Jared McIsaac (2)
Plus-Minus: Alex Chiasson (+6)
Wins: Alex Nedeljkovic (13)
Goals Against Average: Nedeljkovic (2.71)
Save Percentage: Nedeljkovic (0.912)

Griffins to Wings
Of the 34 players to compete for the Detroit Red Wings this season, 18 had spent time in Grand Rapids at some point during their careers. A total of 13 players appeared in games for both the Griffins and Red Wings this season (Jonatan Berggren, Alex Chiasson, Austin Czarnik, Simon Edvinsson, Adam Erne, Magnus Hellberg (conditioning), Taro Hirose, Matt Luff, Alex Nedeljkovic, Givani Smith, Elmer Soderblom, Jakub Vrana, Filip Zadina (conditioning)).

Thank You, Captain Lashoff
On April 12, captain Brian Lashoff announced that he would be retiring from professional hockey, bringing a close to a remarkable career that saw him play more seasons in Grand Rapids than any pro athlete in the city’s history. Lashoff spent all of part of 14 seasons (2008-13; 2014-23) on the Griffins’ blueline, including the last three as the team’s captain, and seven campaigns (2012-15; 2016-20) with the Detroit Red Wings. An Albany, N.Y., native, Lashoff ranks second on the Griffins’ all-time games played list with 629, behind only Travis Richards’ 655. His games played rank third in league history among one-team players, trailing only Bill Needham (981, Cleveland Barons 1956-71) and Arnie Kullman (753, Hershey Bears 1948-60). Lashoff was a two-time Calder Cup champion (2017, 2013) with the Griffins, joining Nathan Paetsch and Mitch Callahan as the franchise’s only two-time cup champions. Lashoff compiled 132 points (32-100—132) and 329 PIM in his 629 regular-season games in a Griffins uniform. He’s one of only four defensemen and 12 skaters to record 100 career assists for Grand Rapids, and only two Griffins blueliners have tallied more than his 132 points (Richards 238, Paetsch 142). Lashoff also contributed 20 points (5-15—20) and 34 PIM in 75 playoff games for Grand Rapids, marking the second-most postseason appearances in Griffins history (Paetsch 78). He also ranks among the franchise’s all-time playoff leaders with two unassisted goals (T1st) and one shorthanded goal (T1st). Including a three-game stint with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye during his first full pro season in 2010-11, Lashoff played his entire career within the Red Wings organization after making his pro debut with the Griffins in 2008-09 at the age of 18. After playing junior hockey with Kingston and Barrie of the Ontario Hockey League, the undrafted Lashoff signed with Detroit as a free agent on Sept. 29, 2008 and suited up for 768 professional regular-season games and registered 148 points (34-114—148) and 394 PIM.

Let’s Not Make This a Habit
The Griffins finished the 2022-23 campaign in seventh place in the Central Division standings for the second straight season, showing a 28-36-4-4 (0.444) mark. Grand Rapids also missed the Calder Cup Playoffs for the second consecutive season, as the top five teams from the division qualified for the postseason, with the top three receiving a first-round bye. The Griffins were eliminated from playoff contention with three games remaining when they dropped a 3-1 contest at Manitoba on April 7. Grand Rapids appeared in seven straight Calder Cup Playoffs from 2013 to 2019, which dates back to when it lifted the cup for the first time. During this playoff stretch, the Griffins went 52-31-3-0 (0.598) and outscored their opponents 282-233. In addition, Grand Rapids has gone 12-5 in playoff series since 2013 with two Calder Cups. Excluding the NHL lockout season of 2004-05, and the 2019-21 COVID seasons, this is just the second time since Grand Rapids’ inception that neither the Griffins nor the Red Wings qualified for the playoffs. This is the second time since the 2009-10 campaign that the Griffins finished below the 0.500 mark.

Going Back to Back
Compare the statistics for when the Griffins played on successive nights:

Win Some, Lose Some
Compare the statistics during the Griffins’ 28 wins and 44 losses (including overtime and shootout):

Home vs. Road

Career Years
Six Griffins set personal AHL career highs this season:
Taro Hirose 71 games played, 16 goals, 41 assists, 57 points
Joel L’Esperance 72 games played, 44 PIM
Wyatt Newpower 59 games played, 68 PIM
Chase Pearson 35 PIM
Tyler Spezia 32 PIM
Jasper Weatherby 70 games played, six goals, 11 assists, 17 points, 51 PIM

On a Scale of 1-10
Five Griffins ranked among the AHL’s individual leaders during the regular season:
Austin Czarnik 3 shorthanded goals (T3rd), 5 game-winners (T12th)
Simon Edvinsson 5 goals (T11th among rookie defensemen), 22 assists (T6th among rookie defensemen), 27 points (T8th among rookie defensemen), 52 PIM (T10th among rookie defensemen)
Taro Hirose 41 assists (T12th), 22 power-play assists (T6th)
Albert Johansson 5 goals (T11th among rookie defensemen)
Joel L’Esperance 14 power-play goals (3rd), 247 shots (2nd)
Jared McIsaac 2 overtime goals (T1st among defensemen)

Season for the Books
Three Griffins compiled statistics that ranked among the team’s top 10 for a single season:
Austin Czarnik 3 shorthanded goals (T5th), 66.7% shootout percentage (T7th)
Joel L’Esperance 14 power-play goals (T6th), 247 shots (5th)
Jared McIsaac 2 overtime goals (T5th) (Third GR defenseman to score two OT goals in a season (Filip Hronek 2018-19, Bryan Helmer 2005-06))

Climbing Up the Leaderboard
Six Griffins have now either moved up or cracked the franchise’s all-time regular-season leaderboard:
Jonatan Berggren 4 overtime goals (T1st)
Victor Brattstrom 0.810 shootout save percentage (3rd)
Taro Hirose 124 assists (6th), 165 points (10th)
Brian Lashoff 629 games played (2nd), 709 shots (7th)
Jared McIsaac 2 overtime goals (T10th)
Dominik Shine 357 games played (7th), 404 PIM (10th)

I Can See the Future
Carter Mazur’s professional career got off to a fast start, as the 21-year-old totaled six points (3-3—6) in as many games. Mazur made his pro debut with the Griffins on March 29 against the Chicago Wolves and later collected his first pro point with an assist on March 31 against the Milwaukee Admirals. The Jackson, Mich., native exploded for three points (2-1—3) on April 6 at Manitoba and finished the season on a three-game point streak (3- 2—5). Mazur was selected with the 70th overall pick by the Detroit Red Wings in the third round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.

Thank You, Fans
The Griffins sold out Van Andel Arena on six occasions this year and ranked sixth in the AHL with an average attendance of 7,610. With an average of over 7,000 fans per game, the 2022-23 campaign marked the 14th consecutive season (excluding 2020-21) that the Griffins have averaged 7,000-plus fans.

Rewrite the Record Book
Taro Hirose has been known for his passing abilities throughout four seasons with the Griffins. The former Michigan State Spartan has continued to climb the Griffins’ all-time assist leaderboard, and with 124 assists he now ranks sixth in franchise history, passing Nathan Paetsch (121). He is now six helpers away from tying Derek King for fifth in franchise annals. Hirose is as consistent as they come, as he has had at least 22 assists in each AHL campaign in his career. The Calgary, Alberta, native totaled a career-high 41 helpers in 71 games this year, which tied for 12th on the circuit. In addition, his 22 power-play assists this season tied for sixth in the AHL. Hirose led the roster with a career-high 57 points (16-41—57) in 71 appearances.

Griffin Tenders
On March 31, Dylan St. Cyr became the seventh goaltender to man the Griffins’ pipes this season, breaking the franchise record for most goalies used that was set in 2005-06. That season, Jimmy Howard made his pro debut and was a stalwart for Grand Rapids, appearing in 38 games for the AHL’s regular season champions and earning a spot on the league’s All-Rookie Team. Joey MacDonald (32), Drew MacIntyre (13) and Logan Koopmans (1) saw action along with Chris Osgood (3) and Manny Legace (1), who both came to the Griffins on conditioning stints from Detroit. On April 2, Ryan Bednard made his Griffins debut and became the eighth netminder to compete for Grand Rapids this campaign.

Just Keep it Close
The Griffins have had their ups and downs this season, but they have excelled at winning close games. In fact, Grand Rapids was 15-4-4-4 (0.704) in games decided by one goal and 6-4 in overtime contests. In comparison, the Griffins were just 13-32-0-0 (0.289) in games decided by two or more tallies.

Danny Boy
Danny O’Regan joined the Griffins on Dec. 19 after being traded from the Anaheim Ducks for defenseman Michael Del Zotto. After exploding for three points (2-1—3) in his Griffins debut, O’Regan had just three points in his next 12 games from Dec. 28-Feb. 15. However, the German-born forward enjoyed multiple point streaks in the second half of the season (3-2—5) and totaled 15 points (7-8—15) in his last 17 outings. O’Regan also had 25 points in his last 26 games (11-14—25) of the campaign.

Matty Ice
Matt Luff was a welcome addition to the roster when he returned from injury on Jan. 28. After his return, Luff had 17 points in 23 games (5-12— 17) and enjoyed a five-game point streak (2-4—6) from March 4-12, which was one game shy of tying his career high. Through 28 games with the Griffins, the Windsor, Ontario, native had 25 points (8-17—25) and six penalty minutes. Luff also appeared in 19 games with Detroit this season, scoring four points (2-2—4).

Few and Far Between
On April 5, Dominik Shine became just the seventh player in franchise history to reach 350 games played. This is rare air occupied by four Calder Cup champs, all three of the Griffins’ two-time winners, and two of the three Griffins who’ve had their numbers retired. Throughout the 357 games as a Griffin, Shine has accumulated 105 points (51-54—105) and 404 penalty minutes. Below is a list of the seven players who have played at least 350 games for Grand Rapids.

Jumping for Joel
In his first year as a Griffin, Joel L’Esperance led the team in goals with 25 and ranked second on the roster with 49 points. The Brighton, Mich., native tied his career-high mark of 49 points from the 2021-22 campaign and also competed in a career-best 72 games. Seventy-two games played tied for first in the AHL and marked the first Griffin to play every game in a non-COVID impacted season since Cory Elkins and Dylan McIlrath (76) in 2017-18. His 24 assists were one shy of tying his career-high of 25 set during the 2021-22 season. L’Esperance ranked third on the circuit with 14 power-play goals and his career-high 247 shots placed second. His 247 shots were the most by a Griffin since Carl Corazzini set the franchise record of 274 in 2007-08. His five-game goal streak from Feb. 19-March 1 set a new career high and was the longest run on the team this year. Throughout 255 AHL contests, L’Esperance has amassed 185 points (105-80—185) and 136 penalty minutes.

History Was Made
On March 22, the Griffins exploded for six goals in the third period against the Chicago Wolves, which set a regular-season franchise record for a home period. They had scored five on 13 previous occasions, most recently on Dec. 4, 2021 against Rockford (1st period). It took 1,027 regular -season home games and 3,081 regular-season home periods before the Griffins scored six goal in a frame. Grand Rapids trailed 2-0 entering the final stanza against the Wolves before completing the comeback and taking a 6-3 victory. The Griffins’ overall record for goals in a period is seven, set on Nov. 27, 2010 in the second period of a 10-8 win at Chicago.

Power Struggle
The Griffins had an up-and-down season when it came to their special teams. Grand Rapids had stretches of games when it looked unbeatable on the man-advantage, with its longest streak of scoring on a power play at six games from March 4-16 (8-for-27, 29.6%). The Griffins finished the campaign with a power-play percentage of 17.8%, which was good for 25th in the league. However, their road power play placed 12th in the AHL at 20.4%. The penalty kill was also attached to a yo-yo all season and had its best run from Dec. 9-17 when it killed off nine straight penalties spanning four games. Grand Rapids killed off 76.1% of its penalties, which placed fourth-to-last on the circuit.

Momma We Made It
On March 2, Adam Erne became the 200th Griffins alum to compete in the NHL and on March 4, Alex Chiasson became the 201th alum to play in the NHL. Later in the season, Simon Edvinsson was the 202nd alum when he made his NHL debut on March 18 and Alex Nedeljkovic became No. 203 on March 23. Since 1996, 203 Griffins players (25 goalies, 176 skaters) have gone on to play at least one game in the NHL. Some of the more accomplished members of the Griffins’ alumni class include 18 Stanley Cup champions, two members of the Triple Gold Club — Stanley Cup champ, Olympic gold medalist, World Championship gold medalist — (Niklas Kronwall and Valtteri Filppula), one Calder Trophy winner (Moritz Seider), one Calder Trophy finalist (Jimmy Howard), and two Lady Byng winners (Pavol Demitra and Jiri Hudler).

Simon Says
Rookie Simon Edvinsson posted a season-high four points (1-3—4) and a plus-five rating on Feb. 15 in a 5-4 victory over the Rockford IceHogs. He followed that performance with an assist on Feb. 19 at Manitoba. Since the new year, Edvinsson had 14 points (3-11—14) in 30 games. He finished ranked among the AHL rookie defensemen leaders in goals (5, T11th), assists (22, T6th), points (27, T8th), and PIM (52, T10th). Edvinsson tied Moritz Seider as the highest drafted defensemen (6th overall) to play for the Griffins, and tied Seider and Filip Zadina as the fourth-highest drafted player to suit up for Grand Rapids.

Tower of Terror
Rookie 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 at Springfield. He was held off the scoresheet in his first six AHL games, but exploded for six points (4-2—6) in five contests from Jan. 29-Feb. 10. The Gothenburg, Sweden, native had a three-game goal streak from Jan. 29-Feb. 5, which at the time tied for the longest run on the team this season. Soderblom missed the final 16 games of the season due to rehabbing an injury. The 21-year-old made the Red Wings opening-night lineup out of training camp and finished the NHL campaign with eight points (5-3—8) in 21 games.

The Last Czar
Veteran forward Austin Czarnik was a major boost to the Griffins lineup when he was in Grand Rapids, totaling 37 points (14-23—37) in 43 games. Czarnik had at least one point in 24 of the 43 contests and at least two points in eight outings. He has also spent a decent amount of time with the Detroit Red Wings, amassing five points (3-2—5) in 29 appearances. Czarnik notched his fourth AHL hat trick on Saturday, Oct. 15, which marked the earliest recorded by a Griffin to start a season, and it tied for the fastest hat trick to start a Griffin’s career (see chart below). The Washington Township, Mich., native was named the Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week on Oct. 17 when he registered five points (3-2—5) in two games and became the first Griffins forward to win the award since Matt Lorito on Nov. 20, 2016.

Finding His Stride
Rookie Cross Hanas got off to a positive start in his professional career with 17 points (9-8—17) in 30 games. The 21-year-old posted 12 points (7- 5—12) during his first 15 appearances, which included a three-point outing on Nov. 11 against the Toronto Marlies. Hanas suffered an upper-body injury in late November that kept him sidelined until Jan. 4, missing 12 games. He then returned for 13 games before enduring another injury that kept him sidelined for the remainder of the season from Feb. 4-April 15. In all, Hanas missed 42 out of the 72 total games (58.3%) due to rehabbing on injury.

One For the Ages
On Dec. 22, the Griffins pulled of a miraculous four-goal comeback and defeated the Chicago Wolves 8-7 in overtime. After trailing 6-2 after the first period, Grand Rapids roared back with two goals in the second and three in the third before Austin Czarnik tallied the game-winner just 16 seconds into overtime. This was the Griffins’ first four-goal comeback in franchise history. The Detroit Red Wings also notched a comeback for the ages on Dec. 28 when they too came back from a four-goal deficit. After spotting the Pittsburgh Penguins four goals in the opening stanza, the Red Wings stormed back with two goals in each of the final two periods. Defenseman Jake Walman played the role of hero 2:13 into overtime and Detroit skated away with a 5-4 victory. This was the largest comeback victory for Detroit since 1984 and just the fourth ever in franchise history.

You Need to Be This Tall to Ride the Rollercoaster
On Dec. 9, left wing Elmer Soderblom made his Griffins/AHL debut, becoming the tallest player to ever compete for Grand Rapids. At 6-foot-8, Soderblom edged out former 6-foot-6 players in Jared Coreau, Francois Leroux, Brad Norton, Michael Rasmussen, Dan Turple, and teammates Sebastian Cossa and Simon Edvinsson. Soderblom was selected with the 159th pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft by Detroit and finished his rookie season in North America this year.

Had to Get in Shape
Goaltender Magnus Hellberg saw his conditioning loan with the Griffins end on Dec. 11 when he was recalled by the Detroit Red Wings. In terms of games played, Hellberg’s conditioning loan tied for the second longest among the seven DRW goalies and their nine GRG stints, while his save percentage was among the best. The Uppsala, Sweden, native went 2-2-0 with the Griffins along with a 2.50 goals against average and a 0.932 save percentage.

Grab the Confetti
The Griffins competed in their 2,000th regular-season game (1,071-766-27-75-123) on Nov. 9 at the Cleveland Monsters (2-5 L). The team skated in its 1,000th regular-season home contest (566-346-15-41-63) on Nov. 16 versus the Rockford IceHogs (1-5 L). Grand Rapids captured its 500th road victory (505-431-12-34-61) on Feb. 4 when it defeated the Texas Stars 4-3 in a shootout.

We Need More Bodies
The Griffins used a franchise-record 49 players during the 2022-23 season, which included a franchise-record eight goaltenders. Rookie Amadeus Lombardi was player No. 49 for the Griffins when he made his pro debut on April 14 against the Rockford IceHogs. The 49 players beat out the previous record of 48 set during the 2021-22 campaign.

Rare Company
Forward Tyler Spezia and Chase Pearson skated in their fifth season with the Griffins. They became just the 37th and 38th players to reach at least five seasons with the Griffins. Former captain Brian Lashoff leads the list with 14 seasons and is joined by Dominik Shine, who has appeared in seven campaigns with Grand Rapids.

Straight to the Pros
Amadeus Lombardi made his pro debut on April 14 versus the Rockford IceHogs and became the 22nd player to make his Griffins debut the season after he was drafted. Lombardi was selected with the 113th overall pick by the Detroit Red Wings in the fourth round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. Only four of the 22 players to make their debut the season after being drafted were taken later than Lombardi. Lombardi is the first player to make his debut with the Griffins the season after being drafted since Donovan Sebrango made his pro debut during the 2020-21 campaign.

Alexander The Great
Netminder Alex Nedeljkovic joined the Griffins on a conditioning loan from the Red Wings on Jan. 4 and later was assigned to Grand Rapids on a regular loan on Jan. 16. Nedeljkovic was the only Griffins goaltender to play over 1,000 minutes this season and ended his stint in Grand Rapids with a 2.71 goals against average, a 0.912 save percentage and a 13-9-3 record. Nedeljkovic ‘s three-game win streak from Jan. 31-Feb. 4 tied for the longest run by a Griffins goaltender this campaign. On Jan. 14, Nedeljkovic posted a 27-save shutout against the Chicago Wolves, his first in the AHL since Feb. 7, 2020 against Hartford (17 saves). On Jan. 11, Nedeljkovic recorded his fourth assist and fifth point of his AHL career, which was his first AHL point since Jan. 19, 2020. Nedeljkovic became the first goalie to lead Grand Rapids in all nine goaltender stat categories since Daniel Larsson in 2009-10. He was recalled by Detroit on March 23 and stayed with the NHL franchise for the remainder of the campaign.

Vroom Vroom
Jakub Vrana joined the Griffins on Dec. 28 on a conditioning loan and later on a regular loan on Jan. 4. After being held off the scoresheet in the first four games of his Griffins career, Vrana started to find the back of the net. Vrana enjoyed a six-game point streak (4-4—8) from Jan. 29-Feb. 11, which was the longest run by a Griffin this season. He recorded a season-high two goals on Feb. 4 at the Texas Stars. The veteran also had points in eight of nine appearances (6-4—10) from Jan. 18-Feb. 11. Vrana finished with 11 points (6-5—11) in 17 games before being traded to the St. Louis Blues on March 3.

Race for the Cup
The Stanley Cup playoffs got underway on Monday, April 17, with 13 of the 16 teams having a Griffins alum among their player or hockey ops ranks.

In the Show
With the advancement of 10 former Griffins to the NHL this season, Grand Rapids has now sent 203 players on to the NHL during its 27 seasons of play. Thirty-eight Griffins alumni logged ice time in the NHL during the 2022-23 season. (*Played for Grand Rapids this season)