Griffins Host Milwaukee, Head out on Eight-Game Road Trip
October 18, 2022 – American Hockey League (AHL) – Grand Rapids Griffins News Release
Grand Rapids Griffins right wing Dominik Shine (right) vs. the Milwaukee Admirals
(Grand Rapids Griffins, Credit: Milwaukee Admirals)
This Week’s Games
GRIFFINS vs. Milwaukee Admirals // Wed., Oct. 19 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:45 p.m.
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: First of eight meetings overall, first of four at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Series: 107-74-7-8-8 Overall, 57-35-2-3-3 Home
NHL Affiliation: Nashville Predators
Noteworthy: The Griffins had Milwaukee’s number to begin the 2021-22 season series, as Grand Rapids raced out to a 5-1-1-0 mark. However, the Griffins went on to drop the final five meetings against the Admirals and finished last season’s series with a 5-6-1-0 record.
GRIFFINS at Toronto Marlies // Sat., Oct. 22 // 4 p.m. // Coca-Cola Coliseum
GRIFFINS at Toronto Marlies // Sun., Oct. 23 // 4 p.m. // Coca-Cola Coliseum
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 3:45 p.m.
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: First and second of four meetings overall, first and second of two at Coca-Cola Coliseum
All-Time Series: 33-33-4-2 Overall, 14-18-2-1 Road
NHL Affiliation: Toronto Maple Leafs
Noteworthy: Both Bobby McMann and Alex Steeves return to the Marlies following productive rookie seasons last year. McMann placed fifth among AHL rookies in goals scored with 24. Steeves ranked among the league’s rookie leaders in goals (23, T6th), assists (23, T17th) and points (46, 10th).
The Last Czar: Austin Czarnik made his presence known to begin his Grand Rapids career, as the Washington Township, Mich., native, bagged five points (3-2-5) in the first two games of the season. Czarnik notched his fourth AHL hat trick on Saturday, Oct. 15, which marked the earliest recorded by a Griffin to start a season, and it tied for the fastest hat trick to start a Griffin’s career (see chart below). The 29-year-old was named the Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week for his efforts and became the first Griffins forward to win the award since Matt Lorito on Nov. 20, 2016.
Pour Me a Draft: Simon Edvinsson on Friday, Oct. 14 made his North American debut against the San Diego Gulls, collecting an assist in the process. He returned on Saturday with a three-point outing (1-2-3), which included his first AHL goal. Edvinsson tied Moritz Seider as the highest-drafted defenseman (6th overall) to ever play for the Griffins, and tied Seider and Filip Zadina as the fourth-highest drafted player to suit up for Grand Rapids (Jason Spezza No. 2, Darrin Shannon and Stephen Weiss No. 4). Through his first two AHL games, Edvinsson has four points (1-3-4), which is tied for first among rookies.
Goalie Giants: Each of the Griffins’ four goalies is listed at 6-3 or taller: Sebastian Cossa (6-7), Victor Brattstrom (6-5), Jussi Olkinuora (6-3), and John Lethemon (6-3). Cossa is unofficially the tallest player to ever compete for the Griffins, inching out a sextet of 6-6 players headlined by teammate Simon Edvinsson along with Jared Coreau, Francois Leroux, Brad Norton, Michael Rasmussen and Dan Turple. Olkinuora is the fifth player to win an Olympic gold medal (2022/Beijing) before joining the Griffins, joining Slava Butsayev (1992/Unified Team/Albertville), Curtis Joseph (2002/Canada/Salt Lake City), Stefan Liv (2006/Sweden/Turin), and Mikael Samuelsson (2006/Sweden/Turin).
Michiganders: The Griffins’ roster is comprised of six Michigan natives in Austin Czarnik, Steven Kampfer, Joel L’Esperance, John Lethemon, Dominik Shine and Tyler Spezia. Seven players also played at five different Michigan universities: Michigan (Kampfer), Michigan State (Taro Hirose, Lethemon), Michigan Tech (Trenton Bliss, L’Esperance), Northern Michigan (Shine) and Western Michigan (Drew Worrad).
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