Ready to Roar in Season 24

This Week’s Game
GRIFFINS at Chicago Wolves // Sat., Oct. 5 // 8 p.m. EDT // Allstate Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLTV (Free view for opening weekend)
Season Series: First of eight meetings overall, first of four at Allstate Arena
All-Time Series: 42-34-0-2-1 Road, 84-61-2-6-3 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Vegas Golden Knights
Noteworthy: Chicago defeated Grand Rapids in Game 5 of the 2019 Central Division Semifinals on its way to an appearance in the Calder Cup Finals.

24th Season of Hockey: The Grand Rapids Griffins begin the franchise’s 24th overall season of play, 19th as a member of the American Hockey League and 18th as the primary affiliate of the 11-time Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings on Saturday evening when they travel to the defending Western Conference champion Chicago Wolves. This marks the second consecutive season in which the Griffins will launch their schedule against the reigning conference champs (Texas, 2018). Grand Rapids has competed in 1,818 games between the International Hockey League and AHL and has amassed a 965-656-27-58-112 regular season record (0.585), to go along with 17 playoff appearances, seven division titles and two Calder Cups (2017, 2013).

Simon Says: Ben Simon, 41, begins his second season as Grand Rapids’ head coach. In his first year, he guided the Griffins to a 38-27-7-4 record (87 points, 0.572) and a fourth-place finish in the Central Division while becoming the eighth head coach in franchise history to lead the Griffins to the postseason during his first full season behind the bench. Simon served as an assistant coach in Grand Rapids from 2015-18 under Todd Nelson and helped the franchise win its second Calder Cup in 2017. He is the fourth former Griffins assistant to then become the head coach. Appearing in 21 games and scoring nine points (4-5—9) with the Griffins in 2006-07 as part of an 11-year professional playing career, Simon is the third former Griffins player to serve as Grand Rapids’ head coach, joining Nelson and Danton Cole (2002-05).

Longest Head/Assistant Coaching Tenures in Griffins History:

Winning Ways: The Griffins have earned 40 or more wins and accumulated 90 or more points in six of the last seven seasons. Last year’s team finished with 38 victories and 87 points. Grand Rapids has qualified for the Calder Cup Playoffs in a franchise-record seven consecutive seasons and has advanced to at least the second round on five occasions, including Calder Cups in 2017 and 2013.

Sustained Success: Since the 2012-13 season, Grand Rapids ranks second in the league in both regular season wins and points.

Roster Breakdown: Twenty players (forwards Turner Elson, Ryan Kuffner, David Pope, Matt Puempel, Michael Rasmussen, Givani Smith, Evgeny Svechnikov, Chris Terry, Dominic Turgeon, Joe Veleno and Filip Zadina; defensemen Joe Hicketts, Oliwer Kaski, Brian Lashoff, Gustav Lindstrom, Dylan McIlrath, Vili Saarijarvi and Moritz Seider; goaltenders Filip Larsson and Calvin Pickard) on the roster are under contract with the Red Wings, while six players (forwards Matthew Ford, Troy Loggins, Jarid Lukosevicius, Gregor MacLeod and Dominik Shine; defenseman Alec McCrea) are playing on a Griffins contract. Eleven players are Red Wings draft picks (Larsson, Lindstrom, Pope, Rasmussen, Saarijarvi, Seider, Smith, Svechnikov, Turgeon, Veleno and Zadina).

Rookies: The Griffins have nine players who are considered rookies this season including defensemen Gustav Lindstrom, Alec McCrea and Moritz Seider, forwards Ryan Kuffner, Troy Loggins, Jarid Lukosevicius, Gregor MacLeod and Joe Veleno, and goaltender Filip Larsson.

GRG → DRW: Fourteen former Griffins players begin the season on the Red Wings’ active roster, including Justin Abdelkader, Andreas Athanasiou, Tyler Bertuzzi, Dennis Cholowski, Danny DeKeyser, Christoffer Ehn, Jonathan Ericsson, Valtteri Filppula, Luke Glendening, Darren Helm, Jimmy Howard, Filip Hronek, Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha.

West to East: Since the affiliation began in 2002-03, 89 Griffins have gone on to play for the Red Wings. In fact, 27 Griffins alumni wore the Winged Wheel during the 2018-19 season.

First Things First: Grand Rapids’ roster currently features five recent Detroit first-round draft picks (Moritz Seider 2019, Filip Zadina 2018, Joe Veleno 2018, Michael Rasmussen 2017, Evgeny Svechnikov 2015). Five of the Red Wings’ last six first rounders are on the west side of the state, with the lone exception being Dennis Cholowski, the 20th selection in 2016 who made Detroit’s roster following training camp and the preseason slate. From 2002-15, the Griffins had only seven Detroit first rounders suit up for them: Jakub Kindl (2005-11; 14-15), Niklas Kronwall (2003-06), Dylan Larkin (2015 playoffs only), Anthony Mantha (2014-15), Tom McCollum (2009-15), Riley Sheahan (2011-14) and Brendan Smith (2010-13). The Griffins have never had more than two Detroit first-round selections in their opening night lineup. The Griffins have also never seen more than three Red Wings first rounders suit up for the club at any point in the same season. The 2016-17, 2015-16, 2014-15, 2012-13, 2011-12 and 2010-11 editions of the Griffins all showcased three first-round Detroit draft picks.

Chock Full: Adding in Matt Puempel (24th overall by Ottawa in 2011) and Dylan McIlrath (10th overall by the New York Rangers in 2010), Grand Rapids’ roster boasts seven former first-round draft selections.

Roster Turnover: With the departures of free agents Harri Sateri (Sibir Novosibirsk – KHL) and Patrik Rybar (Karpat – Liiga/Finland), the Griffins are beginning a season without their top two goaltenders (in terms of games played) from the previous season for the second consecutive year and the fourth time in franchise history. The remaining two instances came in 2002-03 during the club’s first affiliation year with Detroit, and in 1999-2000, the team’s first campaign affiliated with Ottawa.

Pick-ing Who Will Fil the Crease: Veteran Calvin Pickard and rookie Filip Larsson start the campaign as Grand Rapids’ two netminders. Pickard, entering his eighth pro season, signed a two-year contract with Detroit over the summer. Originally drafted in the second round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by Colorado, Pickard has logged 104 games in the NHL and 200 in the AHL and won the 2018 Calder Cup with the Toronto Marlies. Larsson was selected in the sixth round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by Detroit and is coming off a 2018-19 campaign in which he backstopped the Denver Pioneers to an appearance in the NCAA Frozen Four. Larsson joined the Griffins for the Calder Cup Playoffs and served as the team’s third goalie.

Donuts and Seider: Defenseman Moritz Seider is expected to make his North American professional debut with the Griffins. The sixth overall selection by Detroit in last June’s draft, Seider can tie Filip Zadina as the highest Detroit draft pick ever to suit up for Grand Rapids. A native of Zell, Germany, Seider won the Deutsch Eishockey Liga’s Rookie of the Year award last season after posting six points (2-4—6) in 29 games with Adler Mannheim as a 17-year-old.

Back Up, Terr: The team’s leading scorer with 61 points (29-32—61) in 69 games last season, 11-year pro Chris Terry returns for his second campaign in Grand Rapids. Terry banked 60 or more points for the sixth time in his AHL career and paced his team in scoring for the third consecutive year (Laval in 2017-18 and St. John’s in 2016-17). He also suited up for the Central Division All-Star Team at the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic, his fourth AHL All-Star selection and third straight. Adding to his accolades, Terry was named the Griffins’ winner of the AHL Man of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to the Grand Rapids community.

Turner a New Page: Turner Elson posted career highs with 39 points, 18 goals, 21 assists, 80 PIM and 72 games played during his seventh pro season in 2018-19. A key figure on the Griffins’ special teams, Elson logged a team-high three shorthanded goals to go along with three power play tallies and was one of two players on the club (Colin Campbell) to light the lamp with a SHG and a PPG.

Ready to Roll: Three players who joined the Griffins late last season are ready for their first full professional debut. Troy Loggins signed a three-year contract with the Griffins that will last through the 2020-21 season after rounding out a four-year career at Northern Michigan University. In his pro debut, the Huntington Beach, Calif., native scored once in four games. He was named the WCHA Player of the Year at NMU after ranking second in the conference with 23 goals and tying for fifth with 40 points. Jarid Lukosevicius became the first player to make his Griffins debut in the Calder Cup Playoffs since Evgeny Svechnikov in 2016 when he skated in Grand Rapids’ Game 4 loss to Chicago in the Central Division Semifinals. Signed by the Griffins through the 2020-21 season, Lukosevicius helped the University of Denver advance to the Frozen Four and led the club with 19 goals and ranked third with 29 points. Fresh off back-to-back shutouts in NCAA Regional action to aid Denver reaching the Frozen Four, goaltender Filip Larsson joined the Griffins for the Calder Cup Playoffs. Detroit’s sixth-round selection in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft did not see any game action while serving as the team’s third goalie.

Russian Influence: Assigned by Detroit on Sept. 28, Evgeny Svechnikov is expected to return to game action after missing all of 2018-19 due to an injury suffered in a Detroit preseason game. The 20th overall selection by Detroit in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Svechnikov has totaled 74 points (27-47—74) in 131 games with the Griffins and helped the team hoist the 2017 Calder Cup as a rookie. He shows four points (2-2—4) in 16 games with the Red Wings and became the 164th Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL when he debuted with Detroit on April 3, 2017 vs. Ottawa.

Lash is Back: One of only three players in franchise history to be a part of Grand Rapids’ 2017 and 2013 Calder Cup championship teams, defenseman Brian Lashoff places second on the franchise’s all-time list in both regular season (453, Travis Richards leads with 655) and postseason (75, Nathan Paetsch leads with 78) games played. In fact, his 453 career regular season appearances rank first among active AHL players who have spent their entire AHL career with the same club and tie for 12th all time in league history. Lashoff made his pro debut with the Griffins on March 29, 2009 at Philadelphia and is entering his 10th full pro season. He needs two more points to reach 100 as a Griffin.

Puemped Up: Since being acquired by the Red Wings organization on Oct. 21, 2017, Matt Puempel has produced 104 points (46-58—104) in 119 regular season games with Grand Rapids, the most by any Griffin in that span. He became the 40th player in Griffins history to score 100 points in a Griffins uniform last March 8 vs. Iowa. Reaching his 100th point in his 111th Griffins game, he was the 10th-fastest player in franchise history to hit the century mark. Puempel became the 177th Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL when he made his Red Wings debut last March 23 at Vegas.

Model Year: 12th-year pro Matthew Ford returns for his fourth season with the Griffins. He is Grand Rapids’ active leader in goals scored with 47 and needs four more to reach 200 in the AHL. A native of West Hills, Calif., Ford needs five more games to reach 700 as a pro.

Season Openers: The Griffins own a 13-7-2-1 record (0.630) all time in season openers and a 14-7-2-0 (0.652) mark in road openers. When the season opener comes on foreign ice, the Griffins show a 6-3-2-0 ledger (0.636). Grand Rapids has kicked off a season on Oct. 5 three times previously, 1996 at Indianapolis (1-0 W), 2001 vs. Utah (0-3 L) and 2018 at Texas (1-3 L). Note the important dates in team history as Oct. 5, 1996 was the Griffins debut as a franchise and in the International Hockey League, and Oct. 5, 2001 was the team’s AHL debut.

Let’s Try This Again: For the first time in franchise history, the Griffins will open the season against the team responsible for eliminating them from the previous postseason. Grand Rapids had its season end in the Central Division Semifinals for the second consecutive year last spring after falling 4-2 in the decisive Game 5 at Allstate Arena. The Griffins return 12 players who participated in that five-game series that saw a combined 236 PIM and a 17-15 Grand Rapids scoring edge. This is only the third time Grand Rapids is opening a campaign against a team it faced in the preceding playoffs. The Griffins defeated Cleveland in six games in the 2000 Eastern Conference Semifinals and then won 4-3 in a shootout to open the 2000-01 season at home against Cleveland. Grand Rapids swept Chicago 4-0 in the 2003 Western Conference Semifinals and then claimed a 3-2 overtime victory at the Wolves to begin the 2003-04 year on Oct. 11.

Chicago Notes: The Griffins and Wolves are division rivals for the eighth consecutive season…Grand Rapids has faced Chicago 156 times in the regular season, the second-most of any Griffins opponent (Milwaukee, 184)…Saturday marks Grand Rapids’ 80th regular season game at Chicago…Second-year head coach Ben Simon and Wolves’ third-year bench boss Rocky Thompson are both members of Todd Nelson’s coaching tree…Simon was an assistant under Nelson in Grand Rapids from 2015-18 and won the 2017 Calder Cup…Thompson served on Nelson’s staff in Oklahoma City from 2010-14 as an assistant…As part of his 11-year professional playing career, Simon registered 87 points (37-50—87) in 196 games with the Wolves from 2001-03 and 2004-05 and was a part of Chicago’s first Calder Cup title in 2002…Grand Rapids finished 1-3 in the regular season at Allstate Arena in 2018-19 and is 4-5-0-1 in its last 10 in the Windy City…The Griffins are opening their season against the Wolves for the third time and show a 2-0 mark, including a 3-1 victory on home ice on Oct. 14, 2016, and a 3-2 overtime triumph at Chicago on Oct. 11, 2003…Grand Rapids’ first road game is coming at Chicago for the fifth time, and first since 2016, possessing a 3-1 record…Saturday is the third time in the last four seasons, and second consecutive, in which Chicago is opening its home slate against Grand Rapids…The Wolves defeated Grand Rapids 5-1 in their home opener last season and lost 4-2 to begin the 2016-17 campaign…Among returning players, Turner Elson (4-3—7 in 8 GP) and Matt Puempel (5-1—6 in 7 GP) led the Griffins in scoring in the 2018-19 season series vs. Chicago.

Guess Who’s Back, Back Again: While 58 of Grand Rapids’ 76 games this season will come against the Central Division, the Griffins’ schedule features the return of the Pacific Division’s Bakersfield Condors (Edmonton Oilers) and San Diego Gulls (Anaheim Ducks) and the North Division’s Toronto Marlies (Toronto Maple Leafs). The last time Grand Rapids faced any of these teams came in the 2015-16 campaign, the first year of the AHL’s California expansion. The Griffins are 0-2 vs. Bakersfield, 1-1 vs. San Diego and 31-30-3-2 vs. Toronto.

Familiar Faces in Different Places: A number of key contributors to last season’s 38-win team now find themselves with new clubs for the upcoming season.

• Libor Sulak: tied for fifth among Griffins defensemen with 14 points (5-9—14) in 61 games in 2018-19, skated in six games with Detroit during his NHL debut; signed with Severstal Cherepovets (KHL) on June 4
• Axel Holmstrom: ranked eighth on the Griffins with 25 points (12-13—25) in 65 games in 2018-19, 2017 Calder Cup champion; signed a two-year contract with HV71 (SHL/Sweden) on April 30;
• Carter Camper: led Griffins with 33 assists and tied for second with 50 points (17-33—50) in 67 games; Signed a one-year contract with Utica on July 2;
• Wade Megan: ranked fifth on the Griffins with 37 points (19-18—37) in 48 games, finished with one assist in 11 games with the Red Wings; retired on Aug. 1;
• Jake Chelios: ranked fourth among Griffins defensemen with 15 points (1-14—15) in 61 games, played in five games with Detroit while making his NHL debut; signed a two-year contract with Kunlun (KHL) on May 23;
• Harri Sateri: led team with 22 wins; signed a one-year contract with Sibir Novosibirsk (KHL) on May 27;
• Derek Hulak: four points (1-3—4) in 35 games while originally joining Grand Rapids on a professional tryout; signed with Manitoba on Sept. 23;
• Patrik Rybar: led team with a 2.49 GAA and a 0.908 save percentage; signed a one-year contract with Karpat (Liiga/Finland) on July 1;
• Colin Campbell: 19 points (8-11—19) in 63 games in 2018-19, 2017 Calder Cup champion; signed with Colorado on Sept. 23;
• Martin Frk: 14 points (5-9—14) in 13 games with Grand Rapids, six points (1-5—6) in 30 games with Detroit, scored the game-winning goal in Game 6 of the 2017 Calder Cup Finals; signed a one-year contract with Los Angeles on July 1.

Photo at top by Sam Iannamico/Griffins