GRIFFINS WELCOME 17 FROM DETROIT, START CAMP MONDAY

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Detroit Red Wings on Sunday assigned 17 players to the Grand Rapids Griffins, their American Hockey League affiliate: forwards Mitch Callahan, Martin Frk, Jeff Hoggan, Calle Jarnkrok, Tomas Jurco, David McIntyre, Andrej Nestrasil, Trevor Parkes and Marek Tvrdon; defensemen Brennan Evans, Gleason Fournier, Richard Nedomlel, Max Nicastro, Xavier Ouellet and Ryan Sproul; and goaltenders Cam Lanigan and Tom McCollum.

Callahan, Evans, Fournier, Hoggan, Jarnkrok, Jurco, McCollum, Nestrasil, Nicastro, Parkes and Sproul all saw playing time with the Griffins during their 2012-13 Calder Cup-winning season. Frk, Lanigan, Nedomlel, Ouellet and Tvrdon are all first-year pros who spent last season playing major junior hockey, while McIntyre joins the team after playing with the Houston Aeros last year.

This group will be joined by five others – forwards Alden Hirschfeld, Kevin Lynch, Travis Novak and Dane Walters, plus defenseman Joe Hartman – on the Griffins' roster when they open training camp tomorrow at Griff’s IceHouse in Grand Rapids. The schedule of practices is as follows (subject to change), with all sessions free and open to the public:

Monday, Sept. 23: 10:30 a.m.-Noon;
Tuesday, Sept 24: 10:30-11:20 a.m. and 11:35 a.m.-12:15 p.m. (Power play practice);
Wednesday, Sept. 25: 10:15-11:05 a.m. and 11:20 a.m.-Noon (Penalty kill practice);
Thursday, Sept: 26: 10:15-11:05 a.m. and 11:20 a.m.-Noon (Specialty teams practice);
Friday, Sept. 27: 10:15-11:05 a.m. and 11:20 a.m.-Noon (Scrimmage).

The Griffins will conclude camp with a pair of neutral-site preseason games against the Lake Erie Monsters next weekend. Grand Rapids will first battle the Monsters on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. at Compuware Arena in Plymouth, Mich., before squaring off again on Sunday, Sept. 29 at 7:05 p.m. at the WFCU Centre in Windsor, Ontario.

The 2013 Calder Cup champions will commence the AHL’s regular season and begin defense of their title on Fri. Oct. 4 in Rochester, the first of three straight road games to start the season. The Griffins will then raise their championship banner prior to hosting the Milwaukee Admirals on Fri., Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. at Van Andel Arena.

Fans can secure their full-season, select-season or group ticket packages by calling (616) 774-4585 ext. 2. Single-game tickets for all home games are now available for purchase at all Star Tickets locations, including The Zone, online through griffinshockey.com, or by phone through Star Tickets at (800) 585-3737.