OFF AND RUNNING

This Week’s Games
GRIFFINS at Iowa Wild // Tues., Oct. 18 // 8 p.m. // Wells Fargo Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLLive.com
Season Series: First of eight meetings overall, first of four at Wells Fargo Arena.
All-Time Series: 9-2-0-0 Road, 18-4-0-0 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Minnesota Wild
Noteworthy: In 11 meetings between the Wild and Griffins at Wells Fargo Arena, Grand Rapids is outscoring Iowa 36-22.

Rockford IceHogs at GRIFFINS // Fri., Oct. 21 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLLive.com
Season Series: First of 10 meetings overall, first of five at Van Andel Arena.
All-Time Series: 19-8-1-2 Home, 29-23-3-5 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks
Noteworthy: Since the start of the 2012-13 campaign, the Griffins have roasted Rockford to the tune of 15-2-1-1 over their 19 regular season and playoff meetings at Van Andel Arena.

Cleveland Monsters at GRIFFINS // Sat., Oct. 22 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7 p.m.
Watch: AHLLive.com
Season Series: First of 12 meetings overall, first of six at Van Andel Arena.
All-Time Series: 22-12-1-1 Home, 38-24-3-7 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Columbus Blue Jackets
Noteworthy: During the offseason, the Monsters dropped their Lake Erie moniker and became the Cleveland Monsters. Grand Rapids’ 2015-16 campaign ended with a 4-2 series loss in the Central Division Finals to the eventual Calder Cup Champion Lake Erie Monsters. The Griffins, who lost Games 1 and 6 of that series, were the only team to defeat the Monsters during their 15-2 run to the title.

Last Week’s Results
Fri., Oct. 14 Chicago Wolves 1 at GRIFFINS 3 1-0-0-0 (2 points, T1st Central Division)
Sat., Oct. 15 GRIFFINS 4 at Chicago Wolves 2 2-0-0-0 (4 points, T1st)

Off and Running: Following the sweep of a home-and-home set against the Chicago Wolves on opening weekend, the Grand Rapids Griffins head to Iowa on Tuesday to take on the Wild and wrap up a brief two-game road swing. The Griffins will be seeking their fifth 3-0 start in franchise history (2000-01, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2007-08). Of the previous four times Grand Rapids has started 3-0, the team has gone on to a winning record three times (2000-01, 2004-05, 2005-06) and qualified for the postseason twice (2000-01, 2005-06). After Tuesday, the Griffins return to Van Andel Arena to battle a pair of Central Division foes – Rockford on Friday and Cleveland on Saturday.

Fresh Blood: Five rookies have already played for the Griffins this season, with Kyle Criscuolo, Joe Hicketts, Dylan Sadowy, Evgeny Svechnikov and Dominic Turgeon all appearing in each of the first two games. The last time that five rookies were in the lineup for a Griffins season opener was 2011, when Louis-Marc Aubry, Mitch Callahan, Landon Ferraro, Gustav Nyquist and Trevor Parkes – the first four of whom would win a Calder Cup with Grand Rapids the following season – all played in the first two games. The five rookies used through two games are also the most for the team since six first-year players – Alexey Marchenko, Xavier Ouellet and Ryan Sproul (two games each), plus Jared Coreau, Martin Frk and Marek Tvrdon (one game each) – saw action before the 2013-14 season was three games old.

Barre Assigned: The Grand Rapids Griffins have assigned forward Jack Barre to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye. A rookie, Barre has yet to debut professionally after compiling 49 points (19-30—49) in 108 games during his collegiate career at Dartmouth (2012-16).

Svechnikov Debuts: In just his second regular season game as a Griffin, rookie Evgeny Svechnikov delivered his first professional goal last Saturday at Chicago. The Red Wings’ first round draft pick and 19th overall selection in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Svechnikov is tied with former Detroit first rounder Jakub Kindl (2005 NHL Entry Draft) for second among highest Detroit draft picks to play in Grand Rapids. Dylan Larkin, selected 15th overall in 2014, remains at the top of the list. Svechnikov, who made his Griffins debut last season during the Calder Cup Playoffs, also became the 11th Detroit draft choice to play for Grand Rapids in the season after he was drafted.

Around the AHL: A number of former Griffins players and coaches found themselves on season-opening rosters in the AHL. The list includes: Mattias Backman (Texas), Tyler Barnes (Rockford), Chad Billins (Utica), Sheldon Brookbank (Cleveland), Chris Conner (Lehigh Valley), Scott Czarnowczan (Iowa), Landon Ferraro (Chicago), Bryan Helmer (Hershey – vice president of hockey operations), Jeff Hoggan (Iowa), Kerry Huffman (Lehigh Valley – assistant coach), Doug Janik (Springfield – assistant coach), Jakub Kindl (Springfield), Derek King (Rockford – assistant coach), Andy Miele (Lehigh Valley), Chris Mueller (Tucson), Kevin Porter (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton), Joel Rechlicz (Bakersfield), Mike Stothers (Ontario – head coach) and Mark Zengerle (Lehigh Valley).

Opening Night Sellout: The Griffins sold out last Friday’s home opener against Chicago to mark the franchise’s 21st consecutive sellout on opening night and the 164th overall sellout of Van Andel Arena. Now in their 21st season playing at the “Freezer on Fulton,” the Griffins have enjoyed the raucous crowd support, showing an 85-61-1-2-15 record (0.573) while outscoring opponents 486-443 (2.96-2.70 average per game) in sold-out home games.

Familiar Faces: A pair of familiar faces will be on the opposing bench when the Griffins travel to Iowa on Tuesday. Former Griffin Jeff Hoggan, whose unprecedented four-year run as the team’s captain began with the 2012-13 Calder Cup championship season, begins the 2016-17 season with Iowa after signing a professional tryout. Under Hoggan’s captaincy, the Griffins posted an 8-3 playoff series record, earning at least one series victory in each of the last four seasons, the AHL’s third-longest such streak since the current 16-team playoff format was adopted in 2005. Hoggan also became the first AHL player since at least 2005 to captain his team to at least one Calder Cup Playoff series win in four straight seasons. Head coach Derek Lalonde is in his first season at the helm of the Wild after spending the last two years with the Toledo Walleye, the ECHL affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings and Griffins. Under Lalonde’s direction, the Walleye won the North Division title twice and compiled a 97-35-7-5 regular season record (0.715), including a league-best 50-15-5-2 mark (0.743) in 2014-15. Three current Griffins played under Lalonde as Jared Coreau spent eight games with the Walleye in 2014-15, while Matt Caito (8 games) and Zach Nastasiuk (25 games) both played in Toledo last season.

A Rivalry Rekindled: After matching up a total of 12 times in the regular season and six times in the postseason in 2015-16, the Griffins and the 2016 Calder Cup champion Cleveland Monsters will meet on Saturday for the first of 12 games overall this year. Grand Rapids won last year’s regular season series against Cleveland with a 7-4-0-1 record as five of the 12 matchups were decided in overtime or a shootout.

Captains: Fifth-year Griffin and 14th-year professional Nathan Paetsch has been named the 11th captain in Griffins history. The fastest defenseman in franchise history to accumulate 100 points as a Griffin, Paetsch has skated in 288 career games in a Griffins sweater and totaled 125 points (20-105—125), second all time among Grand Rapids blueliners behind Travis Richards (56-182—238). Should he appear in 12 more contests, Paetsch can join the short list of eight other players who have played in 300 or more games. Eighth-year Griffin Brian Lashoff along with newcomers Matthew Ford and Ben Street will serve as assistant captains.

You Again?: Of the 76 games this season for the Griffins, 66 will come against Central Division foes. Grand Rapids showed success in intra-divisional games last season, boasting a 37-17-1-1 record.

Joining Forces: With a number of free-agent signings this past offseason, four players join the Griffins having already developed a record against their current franchise. While playing for Hartford (2008-09), Lake Erie (2008-11), Oklahoma City (2013-15) and Bakersfield (2015-16), Matthew Ford compiled 12 points (4-8—12) in 23 games against Grand Rapids while his teams posted a 12-9-0-2 mark. While playing for the Milwaukee Admirals and Iowa Wild last season, Conor Allen played against the Griffins five times and saw his team tally a 2-3 record. As a member of Abbotsford (2012-14), Lake Erie (2014-15) and San Antonio (2015-16), Ben Street banked six points (0-6—6) in 11 games against the Griffins as his teams combined for a 4-6-0-1 record. Goaltender Eddie Pasquale made two starts against the Griffins during the 2010-11 season as a member of the Chicago Wolves and allowed nine goals on 55 shots en route to a 0-2-0 record.

Like Old Times: Despite being a first-year Griffin, ninth-year pro Matthew Ford is familiar with head coach Todd Nelson. Nelson coached the Oklahoma City Barons from 2010-14 before being named interim head coach of the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 15, 2014, and Ford played for Oklahoma City from 2013-15. In 95 games played under Nelson’s direction, Ford accounted for 63 points (33-30—63). Griffins newcomer Eddie Pasquale also has a tie to Nelson, who was in his second season serving as an assistant coach for the Atlanta Thrashers in 2009 when Atlanta used its fourth choice in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft on Pasquale.

Roster Turnover: The Griffins enter the 2016-17 campaign in an unfamiliar position, as this year will mark just the third time in club history, and first since 2009-10, the Griffins will enter a season without the previous season’s top scorer, goaltender and captain (2009-10, 2001-02) after Andy Miele (18-44—62), Tom McCollum (2.42 GAA, 0.923 save percentage) and Jeff Hoggan (captain) all departed for different teams in the offseason. The Griffins began the 2009-10 season without 2008-09’s captain and leading scorer Darren Haydar and goalie Jimmy Howard. The 2001-02 year marked Grand Rapids’ inaugural season in the AHL.

Young Leaders: Four rookies on the roster come to Grand Rapids after having served as a captain for their respective junior or collegiate team last season: Mike Borkowski (Colgate), Kyle Criscuolo (Harvard), Joe Hicketts (Victoria – WHL) and Dominic Turgeon (Portland – WHL).

Bringing in the Best: Four newcomers to the roster were the top scorer or goaltender on their respective clubs last season. Matthew Ford led the Bakersfield Condors in points (27-24—51) and goals. As a rookie, Matt Lorito paced the Albany Devils in points (18-36—54) and assists while helping the Devils to the AHL’s third-best record. In his final year playing for Portland in the WHL, Dominic Turgeon was the team leader in points (36-34—70) and goals (36). In between the pipes for St. John’s, Eddie Pasquale posted a team-best 2.62 goals against average and a 0.919 save percentage.

Veteran Roll Call: AHL clubs may dress up to five veteran skaters with more than 260 games of experience in the NHL, AHL or European Elite leagues, plus another with 320 or fewer games played. The Griffins have eight skaters who are considered veterans: forwards Louis-Marc Aubry, Mitch Callahan, Daniel Cleary, Matthew Ford, Brian Lashoff, Nathan Paetsch, Ben Street and Eric Tangradi. Grand Rapids’ veterans boast a combined total of 2,621 AHL regular season games played.

Griffins in the NHL: 33 Griffins alumni, including three on injured reserve, spread across 11 teams have made their respective NHL club’s roster. In addition to 18 on the Red Wings’ roster, the list is as follows: Martin Frk and Andrej Nestrasil with Carolina; Jordin Tootoo with Chicago; Patrick Eaves, Jiri Hudler, Jason Spezza and Mattias Janmark (injured reserve) with Dallas; Jonas Gustavsson with Edmonton; Teemu Pulkkinen with Minnesota; Calle Jarnkrok with Nashville; Kyle Quincey with New Jersey; Alan Quine with the New York Islanders; Chris Kelly and Chris Neil with Ottawa and Valtteri Filppula with Tampa Bay.

GRG --> DRW: Eighteen former Griffins players are on the Red Wings’ roster, including: Justin Abdelkader, Andreas Athanasiou, Danny DeKeyser, Jonathan Ericsson, Luke Glendening, Darren Helm, Jimmy Howard, Tomas Jurco (IR), Niklas Kronwall (IR), Dylan Larkin, Alexey Marchenko, Petr Mrazek, Gustav Nyquist, Xavier Ouellet, Riley Sheahan, Brendan Smith, Ryan Sproul and Tomas Tatar.