Detroit Red Wings

The Daily: Grand Rapids Griffins Should Be Improved in 2022-23

Published

2 years ago

July 23, 2022

Taro Hirose will be one of key forwards on the Grand Rapids Griffins this season.

Elmer Soderblom. Jonatan Berggren. Pontus Andreasson. Taro Hirose. Kyle Criscuolo. Albert Johansson. Tyler Spezia. Cross Hanas. Steven Kampfer. Brian Lashoff. Maybe even Joe Veleno. Those are some of the players who could play for the Grand Rapids Griffins this season.

The Griffins should be much improved this season. The Detroit Red Wings will be sending several key prospects to their American Hockey League affiliate over the next few seasons. The Red Wings want to make sure young players are in a competitive environment. The mix of AHL veterans and skilled young players should accomplish that this season.

“It should be an exciting year with lots of great prospects ready to make their mark with the Griffins,” Griffins president Tom Gortsema said. “We are eagerly looking forward to developing the next Moritz Seider.”

This week the Red Wings re-signed Chase Pearson, but he possibly could be claimed on waivers by another NHL team if the Red Wings send him down.

Grand Rapids’ goaltending would be handled by Jussi Olkinuora, Victor Brattstrom and former Michigan State player John Lethemon unless the Red Wings decide not to send 2021 first-round pick Sebastian Cossa back to the Western Hockey League.

The Grand Rapids Griffins unveiled their schedule this week.

Trade Tale

Some Detroit fans were probably disappointed to hear that the Florida Panthers won the Matthew Tkachuk sweepstakes. There certainly were fans hoping the Red Wings were trying to land the gritty 24-year-old goal scorer.

The Red Wings were not on the published group of teams that had previously been on his list.

The Florida Panthers gave up plenty, including Jonathan Huberdeau. Steve Macfarlane of Calgary Hockey Now offers the Calgary Flames‘ perspective on the trade.

Toronto, Detroit, Montreal, Tampa, Boston and Buffalo realizing there’s 2 Tkachuk’s in the division now pic.twitter.com/O0GeZ4l6lx

— Capital Gains (@Capital_Gains65) July 23, 2022

In Case You Missed It

Detroit goalie Alex Nedeljkovic was given the opportunity to fly with the Blue Angels

Bob Duff offers a prospect report on Detroit Red Wings prospect Ryan O’Reilly

Does goalie Chris Osgood belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame? Some compelling numbers support his candidacy

Hockey Now Network

New York: Stefan Rosner of New York Islanders Hockey Now takes a look at whether Robin Salo is ready for everyday duty on the New York Islanders this season.

Philadelphia: Veteran writer Sam Carchidi said Matthew Tkachuk would have been perfect for the Philadelphia Flyers.

Pittsburgh: Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now takes a deep dive into the Kasperi Kapanen overpay and its ramifications on the Pittsburgh Penguins.

San Jose: Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey tells the back story of the San Jose Sharks‘ decision to hire coach David Quinn.

Washington: Sammi Silber of Washington Hockey Now addresses whether the younger players are ready on the Washington Capitals‘ roster, plus other issues.