This Week’s Games

GRIFFINS (5-0-0-0) at Iowa Wild (2-4-0-0) // Tue., Oct. 28 // 8 p.m. EDT // Casey’s Center

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 7:45 p.m. EDT

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey 

Season Series: First of eight meetings overall, first of four at the Casey’s Center

All-Time Series: 54-26-6-4 Overall, 28-15-1-1 Road 

NHL Affiliation: Minnesota Wild

Noteworthy: With a win, the Griffins, who are currently 5-0, would set a franchise record for their best start in team history.

GRIFFINS at Rockford IceHogs (5-2-0-0) // Sat., Nov. 1 // 8 p.m. EDT // BMO Center
GRIFFINS vs. Rockford IceHogs // Sun., Nov. 2 // 4 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen: 96.1 The Game at 7:45 p.m. EDT on Saturday and WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 3:45 p.m. on Sunday

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey 

Season Series: First and second of 10 meetings overall, first of five at the BMO Center, first of five at Van Andel Arena

All-Time Series: 74-52-11-11 Overall, 31-32-5-6 Road, 43-20-6-5 Home 

NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks

Noteworthy: This weekend’s series will feature the top two teams in the Central Division, as both franchises are tied for first with 10 points. However, the Griffins have played two fewer games than Rockford entering this week.  

Just Getting Started: The Griffins are 5-0 for just the second time in franchise history. It’s been 21 years since the 2004-05 team set the franchise record. The Griffins are also 3-0 at home for the third time in team history and for the second straight season. On the road, Grand Rapids is 2-0 for the first time since 2019 and began the campaign with a pair of road victories for the first time since 2007. The Griffins have yet to trail in a game this season, scoring the first goal in each of the five outings and possessing a lead after the second period in all five games. Grand Rapids has led for 182:12 and has been tied for 117:48. The special teams units have also been strong to kick off the season, as the power play is 3-for-15 (20%, T16th) and the penalty kill is 14-for-15 (93.3%, 1st). The Griffins have averaged four goals per game, which is tied for second in the AHL, and have allowed an average of 1.80 goals, which ranks third.

Good Problem to Have: The Griffins’ roster features eight veterans, including forwards Sheldon Dries, John Leonard, Dominik Shine and Austin Watson, and defensemen Erik Gustafsson, Justin Holl, William Lagesson and Ian Mitchell. With eight veterans, the Griffins are two over the playing limit and are required to scratch two of them each game due to the AHL’s development rule. Even with two of them scratched for each contest, the veterans on the team have combined for 24 points (12-12—24) in 30 games, which accounts for 44% of the scoring for the team and 60% of the goals. Leonard ranks first among the veterans with seven points (5-2—7) in four games, while Shine (3-2—5 in 4 GP) ranks third and Dries (1-2—3 in 4 GP) places third.

Oh Danny Boy: After suffering a preseason upper-body injury, Nate Danielson returned to the ice last Friday and secured two assists in his season debut. The ninth overall pick by Detroit in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft logged 39 points (12-27—39) in 71 regular-season games as a rookie with Grand Rapids last season, adding one goal in three playoff outings. Last campaign, the 21-year-old ranked among the team leaders in points (6th), assists (2nd) and goals (6th). Danielson also placed among the 2024-25 AHL rookie leaders in assists (T9th), points (T14th) and shorthanded assists (1st). As a pro with the Griffins since the spring of 2024, the Red Deer, Alberta, native has 41 points (12-29—41), 33 penalty minutes and a plus-six rating in 72 regular-season games. 

Future is Bright: Sebastian Cossa, the 15th overall pick in 2021, registered his first shutout of the season last Friday behind 30 saves in a 4-0 win over Manitoba. It marked his fourth AHL shutout, eighth as a pro, and the first since Oct. 11, 2024. Last season, Cossa was named to his first AHL All-Star Classic and ranked among the AHL regular-season leaders in games played (41, T8th), minutes played (2,424:37, 7th), GAA (2.45, 11th), save percentage (.911, T13th), and wins (21, T10th). The 6-foot-7 goaltender also made his NHL debut with Detroit on Dec. 9 at Buffalo and came away with a 6-5 shootout victory behind 12 saves and three stops in the shootout in a relief effort. Cossa is off to a 3-0 start this season with a 1.67 goals-against average and a .943 save percentage. In the AHL rankings, he places eighth in GAA and sixth in save percentage. In parts of four seasons with Grand Rapids since 2022-23, Cossa has notched a 47-25-14 mark with four shutouts to go along with a 2.49 GAA and a .910 save percentage in 87 outings.

Back Like He Never Left: Yesterday, rookie forward Michael Brandsegg-Nygard was assigned to Grand Rapids after making the Red Wings’ opening night roster and competing in nine games to start the season with Detroit. The 15th overall pick in 2024 by Detroit made his NHL debut on Oct. 9 against Montreal and later bagged his first NHL point with an assist on Oct. 23 at the New York Islanders. Brandsegg-Nygard, Emmitt Finnie and Axel Sandin-Pellikka all made their NHL debuts on the same night, marking just the second time in Griffins history that three alumni all made their debuts on the same night. It last occurred on Oct. 4, 2018, when defensemen Dennis Cholowski, Filip Hronek and Libor Sulak all made their NHL debuts with Detroit. Last season, the 20-year-old competed in two regular-season games with the Griffins before tying for the team lead with three points (2-1—3) in three playoff outings. Also in 2024-25, Brandsegg-Nygard skated in his first SHL season with Skelleftea and totaled 11 points (5-6—11) in 42 regular-season games, adding six points (4-2—6) in 11 postseason contests. To cap off his 2024-25 campaign, the 6-foot-1 forward registered a team-high four assists in five games with Team Norway at the World Championship. The Oslo, Norway, native has suited up for the past two World Championships with Norway, amassing nine points (3-6—9) in 12 games.

Championship Pedigree: Newcomer John Leonard has posted two goals in back-to-back games and has five goals in his last three appearances. The two goals on Oct. 18 and 24 marked the first time in his career that Leonard has bagged consecutive multi-goal outings. He ranks first on the team with seven points (5-2—7) in four contests and his five goals are tied for second in the AHL. Leonard joined the Griffins with aspirations of becoming a Calder Cup champion, as he fell just short of that accomplishment last season with the Charlotte Checkers. The Checkers reached the 2025 Calder Cup Finals before being bested 4-2 by the Abbotsford Canucks. Leonard led Charlotte during the postseason in points (8-6—14) and goals (8), while tying for eighth in points and third in goals among all AHL playoff performers. The 27-year-old was named to the 2024-25 AHL Second All-Star Team when he ranked among the league leaders in points (T10th), goals (T2nd), power-play goals (T9th), short-handed goals (T1st) and shots (2nd). Last campaign, he notched career-high totals in games played (72), goals (36), points (61), plus-minus rating (+21), power-play goals (10), short-handed goals (5), game-winners (8), shots (252), and shooting percentage (14.3%). The Amherst, Massachusetts, native was originally selected with the 182nd overall pick by the San Jose Sharks in 2018 and has amassed 178 points (88-90—178) in 253 career AHL outings since 2020-21.  

Not Your Ordinary Rookie: Netminder Michal Postava, an undrafted free agent out of Czechia, is in his first season in North America after spending the last three campaigns in the Czech pro ranks. The 23-year-old is off to a 2-0 start with Grand Rapids with a 2.01 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage. He is tied for 14th in the AHL in GAA and tied for seventh in save percentage. Postava became the 10th rookie netminder in franchise history to win his debut and then became the eighth rookie goalie to win his home debut, joining teammate Sebastian Cossa, Filip Larsson, Jared Coreau, Petr Mrazek, Tom McCollum, Jimmy Howard and Mathieu Chouinard. He became a Czech Extraliga champion last season with Kometa Brno and ranked among the league’s regular-season leaders in save percentage (5th), goals-against average (T11th), wins (4th) and shutouts (T7th) before placing first in the postseason with a .940 save percentage in 17 outings. Throughout Postava’s three-year pro career, the 6-foot-1 netminder has shown a 76-65-9 record with 12 shutouts and a 2.11 GAA in 146 contests. 

Shine On, Captain: On Oct. 9, Dominik Shine was named the 19th captain in franchise history. He is in his 10th season with Grand Rapids, becoming just the third player in team history to reach the milestone (Brian Lashoff 14, Travis Richards 10). Shine is tied for third on the team with five points (3-2—5) in four games. During the 2024-25 AHL season, Shine posted career-high numbers in assists (32), points (46), power-play goals (5), game-winners (4), shots (149), and multi-point outings (11) to go along with 14 goals and 76 penalty minutes in 61 regular-season games. He also signed his first NHL contract on Jan. 27, 2025, and later that evening made his NHL debut against the Los Angeles Kings. Shine, 31 at the time, became the oldest skater to make his NHL debut since Evgeny Medvedev did so at 33 on Oct. 8, 2015, and the oldest Red Wings player to make his debut since Vaclav Nedomansky did it at 33 on Nov. 18, 1977. On the all-time regular-season franchise leaderboard, Shine ranks third in games played (487), tied for sixth in goals (78), ninth in assists (111), eighth in points (189), sixth in penalty minutes (553), tied for eighth in shorthanded goals (5), tied for fifth in game-winners (13), tied for first in unassisted goals (10), and sixth in shots (805).

Defense Wins Championships: The Griffins’ defense is one of the best in the AHL, as it ranks third with 1.80 goals allowed per contest. In addition, the team’s penalty kill ranks first at 93.3% (14-for-15). In net, Sebastian Cossa sports a 1.67 GAA with a .943 save percentage, while rookie Michal Postava possesses a 2.01 GAA and a .939 save percentage. The Griffins have four defensemen that have played at least 100 games in the NHL in Erik Gustafsson (515), Justin Holl (396), Ian Mitchell (110), and William Lagesson (107). Last season, the Griffins finished ninth in the AHL with 2.82 goals allowed per game but spent much of the campaign in the top five for goals allowed per contest. 

Loaded Ammo: Third-year pro Amadeus Lombardi is off to a fast start with five assists in five games. The 22-year-old ranks first on the team in assists and tied for 12th in the AHL. Last season, Lombardi posted career-high numbers in goals (19), assists (21), and points (40) in just 44 games, as he was limited due to an upper-body injury. Lombardi was the 113th overall pick by Detroit in 2022 and has 72 points (24-48—72) in 121 games with Grand Rapids since the spring of 2023. Prior to turning pro, Lombardi spent three seasons in the OHL with Flint from 2020-23 and produced a combined 161 points (63-98—161) in 134 regular-season games, adding 22 points (12-10—22) in 26 playoff outings. 

30th Season of Hockey: The Grand Rapids Griffins are in the franchise’s 30th overall season of play, 25th as a member of the American Hockey League, and 24th as the primary affiliate of the 11-time Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings. The Griffins have competed in 2,210 games between the IHL and AHL and have amassed a 1,150-818-27-86-129 regular-season record (.581), to go along with 19 playoff appearances, seven division titles and two Calder Cups (2017, 2013).

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:  
Sebastian Cossa—Eighth in GAA (1.67), tied for third in wins (3), sixth in save percentage (.943)
Sheldon Dries—Tied for second in shorthanded goals (1)
Justin Holl—Tied for seventh among defensemen in plus-minus (+5)
John Leonard—Tied for second in goals (5), tied for 12th in points (7), tied for second in game-winners (2)
Amadeus Lombardi—Tied for 12th in assists (5)
Carter Mazur—Tied for fourth in goals (4), tied for third in plus-minus (+7)
Michal Postava—Tied for 14th in GAA (2.01), tied for 12th in wins (2), tied for seventh in save percentage (.939)
William Wallinder—Tied for seventh among defensemen in plus-minus (+5)

Milestones: Last Friday, William Lagesson competed in his 200th AHL game, scoring a goal in the process.  
Tyler Angle—One goal from 50 as a pro
Sheldon Dries—Three points from 250 in the AHL
Erik Gustafsson—One assist from 50 in the AHL, two points from 400 as a pro
Justin Holl—One point from 200 as a pro, two games from 200 in the AHL
Amadeus Lombardi—Two assists from 50 as a pro
John Leonard—Five points from 200 as a pro
Dominik Shine—One unassisted goal from claiming sole possession of the franchise record of 11
William Wallinder—Two points from 100 as a pro
Austin Watson—Three points from 300 as a pro, three games from 300 in the AHL

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins