Why Grand Rapids Griffins Success Matters To Detroit Red Wings

Detroit Red Wings vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman's expectations for the Grand Rapids Griffins are clear.

Yzerman, who helped build the Tampa Bay Lightning's development program before returning to Detroit in 2019, sees a winning spot as more than exciting for his hopes for Grand Rapids. Rather it is a necessity.

After moving to Tampa Bay in 2010, Yzerman helped oversee a partnership with the Norfolk Admirals and then the Syracuse Crunch that was the 2012 Calder Cup champions, including an AHL record 28-game winning streak, in Norfolk.

A year later, the Crunch reached the Calder Cup final. They returned to the final four years later. In the process, Norfolk and Syracuse sent the likes of Anthony Cirelli, Yanni Gourde, Radko Gudas, Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn, Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat, Brayden Point, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Carter Verhaeghe among others to an NHL career with the Lightning. and in other places.

So when the Griffins missed the Calder Cup Playoffs in back-to-back seasons, Yzerman made his displeasure public. Yzerman vowed there would be change. And there was.

For starters, Dan Watson took over as head coach in Grand Rapids, earning a promotion to the Toledo Walleye following more than a decade of coaching success with the ECHL-owned organization. They also overhauled a veteran team in Grand Rapids again. Top goalscoring prospect Sebastian Cossa has found a mentor in Michael Hutchinson. All those decisions paid off as the Griffins reached the division finals last May.

Detroit's rebuilding plan depends on the Griffins continuing to hone young talent, turning them into productive NHL players.

So far the Griffins have transferred the likes of first round picks Simon Edvinsson and Moritz Seider to Detroit. Albert Johansson is on the Detroit defense after two seasons in Grand Rapids. The Red Wings need more, though, if this rebuilding plan is to find long-term success and return the organization to the top of the NHL again. Detroit built its dynasty that reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs 25 times in a row and won four Stanley Cup championships mainly through strong work at the draft table. The Red Wings have also long used a productive AHL program to prepare prospects.

So they need Griffins forward Nate Danielson to hit. Marco Kasper, too. Cossa needs to be the long-term number one solution in Detroit's net. Another defenseman like William Wallinder, coming off a strong first season with the Griffins, finally sticking with Detroit would be a boost. Fellow second-round picks in Shai Buium and Antti Tuomisto someday going to Detroit and Wallinder would be even better in Yzerman's line plan. Defender Eemil Viro is only 22 years old.

But where the development process can really take hold is in the third or fourth round picks, something the Lightning did over and over again as they built what eventually became an NHL roster that won back-to-back Stanley Cup titles.

Maybe forward Amadeus Lombardi could be one of those players in Detroit. The 2022 fourth-round pick now has four goals in seven games for the Griffins after managing just five in his first season. Forward Carter Mazur, a third-round pick in Detroit's 2021 class, put together a 17-goal season with Grand Rapids last season. Also up front is Cross Hanas, taken by Detroit in the second round of the 2020 NHL Draft. After an injury-plagued 2022-23 rookie season, Hanas has since returned to a regular role for Grand Rapids. He is only 22 years old.

Detroit made sure to provide those young veteran players to give all those youngsters something to protect. This summer the Red Wings went out and picked up forward Joe Snively fresh off back-to-back Calder Cup championships with Hershey. Reliable center Sheldon Dries has signed with the organization. Tory Dello joins a veteran defense group that already includes Josiah Didier and Brogan Rafferty.

Yzerman and Detroit's front office want those players to play high-pressure games again in May and June. Last spring's run provided such a test. The Griffins laid that foundation early. They swept three of three weekends, including two 20-hour wins at Lehigh Valley. That led them to a 6-1-0-0 record, the best start in team history.

Cossa, who had a strong second season in 2023-24, appears to have taken another important step. The 21-year-old, who went 15th overall to the Red Wings in 2021, started his weekend with a 21-save shutout before taking care of the Phantoms last Saturday with 31 stops in a 5-2 victory. Overall, he's off to a 4-1-0 start with a 1.54 goals-against average and a .954 save percentage.

Along with Ville Husso and Carter Gylander, Cossa and the Griffins are holding opponents to a league-best 1.57 goals per game. Lombardi went a career-high 2-1-3 in that same win at PPL Center and is tied for the team lead in goals at 4-2-6.

Picking up points now means the Griffins could put themselves in a position where they don't have to fight to save their season before they reach the playoffs. Last season it took midseason wins of five, seven, and six games to repair the damage caused by starting 8-12-2-1.

Next up is a trip to Hartford on Wednesday night to finish off this four-game East Coast road trip. Then there's a quick stop at home against Rockford on Friday night before the Griffins head back on the road to face Cleveland for the first time this season.

The better this season in Grand Rapids, the better it is in the long run for Detroit.

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