Griffins Release King From PTO

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins on Tuesday released defenseman D.J. King from his professional tryout.

King made his AHL debut on Nov. 6 at Rockford and logged his first AHL point on an assist in his next appearance on Nov. 13 against Manitoba. The first-year pro skated in two games with Grand Rapids, totaling one assist and a zero plus-minus rating.

The Scottsdale, Ariz., native will return to the Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL, where he began the season and competed in two games and collected two penalty minutes. King has spent the previous three seasons in the OHL with Hamilton and Saginaw. The defenseman bagged 24 points (7-17—24) and 140 penalty minutes in 104 appearances at the junior level. King made his pro debut on Oct. 23 with Fort Wayne against Wheeling.

King’s father Derek also played with the Griffins from 1999-01 and 2002-04, totaling 203 points (73-130—203) in 264 games to rank fifth on the team’s all-time scoring list. The IHL’s regular-season scoring champion from 2000-01 remains the Griffins’ career playoff scoring leader with 41 points (16-25—41) in 46 games. The King’s joined Chris (2008-09) and Jake (2018-19) Chelios as the second father-son duo to have played for the Griffins.

Single-game tickets are on sale now. Fans can secure their full-season, select-season or group ticket packages by calling (616) 774-4585 ext. 2 or visit griffinshockey.com for more information.

Photo by Mark Newman/Griffins