Grand Rapids Griffins

Grand Rapids Griffins
founding	1996
history	Grand Rapids Griffins 1996 - 2001 ( IHL ) since 2001 ( AHL )
Stadion	Van Andel Arena
Location	Grand Rapids , Michigan
Team colors	Navy blue, red, gold, silver
league	American Hockey League
Conference	Western Conference
division	Central Division
Head coach	Ben Simon
General manager	Ryan Martin
owner	Dan DeVos
Cooperations	Detroit Red Wings ( NHL ) Toledo Walleye ( ECHL )
Calder cups	2012/13 , 2016/17
Turner Cups	no

The Grand Rapids Griffins are an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League . They play in the Van Andel Arena (10,834 seats) in Grand Rapids , Michigan , USA . Their club colors are navy blue, red, gold and silver.

history

As early as 1949 there was professional ice hockey in Grand Rapids with the Grand Rapids Rockets , who played in the International Hockey League until 1956 . They were followed in the 1970s by the Grand Rapids Blades and the Grand Rapids Owls , who were active in the USHL and IHL and served as farm teams for NHL teams such as the Pittsburgh Penguins , Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins . But by 1980 both teams were no longer active. The Grand Rapids Grizzlies were initially the last professional team from the city in the state of Michigan , but only completed a full season in the Continental Hockey League before it was disbanded during the 1981/82 season.

In 1996 the Grand Rapids Griffins were finally founded and, like the Rockets and the Owls, joined the IHL. The team was able to establish itself in the league in its first season, with players such as goalkeeper Pokey Reddick and strikers Michel Picard , Jeff Nelson and Pavol Demitra particularly prominent.

Also in the second year the Griffins managed to qualify for the playoffs . But the face of the team had changed. Although Michel Picard and defender Travis Richards were still a few players from the previous year in the squad, Ian Gordon had taken over the regular position in goal and there were also changes in the rest of the squad.

The team suffered their first setback in the 1998/99 season when they failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time, but they returned even stronger in the following season. Led by Picard, Vyacheslav Buzayev and Kevin Miller, they were only defeated by the Chicago Wolves in the final of the Turner Cup .

Their strongest season in the IHL they finally played in 2000/01 and won 53 of 82 games, which they took first place at the end of the regular season. In the semifinals, however, they failed because of the Orlando Solar Bears . It should also have been the last season in the IHL, which was dissolved in the summer of 2001. The Griffins then joined the AHL and had a good first season, which ended with the elimination in the first playoff round. Martin Prusek , who received the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the best goalkeeper of the season, was an important source of support .

For the 2002/03 season , striker Michel Picard, who had played the past two years for the Philadelphia Phantoms and Adler Mannheim , returned to the Griffins and reinforced the offensive that had shown weaknesses last season. Together with Mark Mowers , he led the Griffins attack and was supported by young players such as Jason Williams and Tomáš Kopecký , who were under contract with the Detroit Red Wings from the NHL, but should gain experience in Grand Rapids. After the Griffins finished second in the regular season, they moved into the semifinals against the Houston Eros . The series, which lasted more than seven games, was ultimately won by the Houston Texans. In addition to the increased offensive, the defensive was again very important for the team's success. Marc Lamothe , like his predecessor Prusek, received the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Award for best goalkeeper and, together with substitute goalkeeper Joey MacDonald, received the Harry “Hap” Holmes Memorial Award for the fewest goals against.

The Griffins 2003/04 could not build on the success of the previous season. Although the team continued to play at the same high level as the previous two years in defense, they scored significantly fewer goals in attack. The season finally ended in the first round of the playoffs.

The 2004/05 season should be the weakest season up to that point. The team had no clear leader and the 23-year-old defender Niklas Kronwall was the best offensive force with 53 points scorer, for which he was awarded the Eddie Shore Award as the best defender in the league. The Griffins missed the playoffs for the first time since they played in the AHL.

2005/06 returned the Griffins back to the top of the league. In addition to the experienced Donald MacLean and Eric Manlow , it was mainly young players like Jiří Hudler , Tomáš Kopecký and Valtteri Filppula who stood out. Hudler set a new team record with 96 scorer points and also led the team as the best scorer to the conference finals, while MacLean received the Willie Marshall Award as top scorer and the Les Cunningham Award as most valuable player of the season.

In the following season, the team had to accept a setback when they could only win 37 instead of 55 games as in the previous season, which was also due to the fact that top performers such as Hudler, Kopecký and Filppula had switched to the NHL. Nevertheless, they qualified for the playoffs, where they led the series 3-2 in the first round against the Manitoba Moose , but lost the remaining two games and were eliminated.

With a new coach they hoped to return to their old strength in the 2007/08 season and therefore swapped Greg Ireland for Mike Stothers . But exactly the opposite was the case. Grand Rapids played the weakest season in the AHL to date and clearly missed the playoffs. The young players were mainly responsible for the few bright spots.

For the 2008/09 season , the Grand Rapids Griffins exchanged large parts of the squad and took on several young Detroit Red Wings players for training. In addition, a new coach, Curt Fraser , was hired. The changes in the team showed a positive effect from the start and the Griffins managed to keep up at the top of the league. In addition to the newly signed Darren Haydar , former MVP of the AHL, Mattias Ritola , Jakub Kindl and Darren Helm , who were able to improve significantly in their second professional season, were guarantors of the upswing . The veterans Evan McGrath , Jimmy Howard and Ville Leino , who made his debut in North America at the age of 25, as well as the newcomers Justin Abdelkader , Francis Paré and Daniel Larsson were also top performers .

In the 2012/13 season , the team won the Calder Cup for the first time after defeating the Syracuse Crunch in six games in the final series . The team defeated the same opponent with the same result in the final of the 2016/17 season .

Cooperations

After the Griffins were founded in 1996, the franchise initially worked independently, before they signed a cooperation agreement with the Ottawa Senators from the NHL and henceforth acted as their farm team , where young players can gain their first professional experience. Later NHL players such as Chris Neil , Josh Langfeld or Jason Spezza went on the ice at the beginning of their careers in Grand Rapids.

The cooperation with the Senators ended in 2002 and the Detroit Red Wings started working with the Griffins immediately. Tomáš Kopecký , Jiří Hudler , Valtteri Filppula , Niklas Kronwall , Brett Lebda , Darren Helm and Derek Meech , who all contributed to the Stanley Cup victory of the Red Wings in 2008, went through training at the Grand Rapids Griffins .

In addition to their cooperation with the Detroit Red Wings, they also work with the Toledo Walleye ( ECHL ). In addition, there was a cooperation with the now dissolved Muskegon Fury from the ( IHL ) until 2008 .

Season statistics

International Hockey League

Abbreviations: GP = games, W = wins, L = defeats, T = draws, OTL = defeats after overtime, SOL = defeats after shootout , Pts = points, GF = goals scored, GA = goals against, PIM = penalty minutes

season	GP	W.	L.	T	OTL	SOL	Pts	GF	GA	PIM	space	Playoffs
1996/97	82	40	30th	-	12	-	92	244	246	2321	5th, Northeast	Conference quarterfinals lost, 2-3 ( Orlando )
1997/98	82	38	31	-	13	-	89	225	242	2133	3rd, Northeast	Conference quarterfinals lost, 3-0 ( Cincinnati )
1998/99	82	34	40	-	8th	-	76	256	281	1842	4th, Northeast	not qualified
1999/00	82	51	22nd	-	9	-	111	254	200	1625	1st, Eastern	Lost in Turner Cup Final 2-4, ( Chicago )
2000/01	82	53	22nd	-	7th	-	113	279	196	1540	1st, Eastern	Conference semifinals lost, 2-4 ( Orlando )
total	410	216	145	-	49	-	481	1258	1165	9461		4 playoff appearances 7 series: 3 wins, 4 defeats 35 games: 18 wins, 17 defeats

American Hockey League

Abbreviations: GP = games, W = wins, L = defeats, T = draws, OTL = defeats after overtime, SOL = defeats after shootout , Pts = points, GF = goals scored, GA = goals against, PIM = penalty minutes

season	GP	W.	L.	T	OTL	SOL	Pts	GF	GA	PIM	space	Playoffs
2001/02	80	42	27	11	0	-	95	217	178	1335	1st, west	Conference quarterfinals lost, 3-2 ( Chicago )
2002/03	80	48	22nd	8th	2	-	106	240	177	1287	1st, Central	Conference final defeat, 3: 4 ( Houston )
2003/04	80	44	28	8th	0	-	96	195	166	1289	2nd, west	Loss in division semifinals, 2-3 ( Chicago )
2004/05	80	41	35	-	2	2	86	200	200	1721	5th, west	not qualified
2005/06	80	55	20th	-	1	4th	115	323	247	1888	1st, North	Conference final defeat, 4-0 ( Milwaukee )
2006/07	80	37	32	-	6th	5	85	226	244	1454	4th, North	Loss in division semi-finals, 3-4 ( Manitoba )
2007/08	80	31	41	-	2	6th	70	210	245	1313	5th, North	not qualified
2008/09	80	43	25th	-	6th	6th	98	255	226	963	3rd, North	Lost in division final, 0-4 ( Manitoba )
2009/10	80	34	39	-	3	4th	75	244	265	1272	7th, North	not qualified
2010/11	80	36	34	-	2	8th	82	227	254	1468	6th, North	not qualified
2011/12	76	33	32	-	7th	4th	77	245	249	1183	5th, North	not qualified
2012/13	76	42	26th	-	4th	4th	92	234	205	1468	6th, North	Conference quarter-finals win, 3-2 ( Houston ) win conference semifinals, 4-2 ( Toronto ) win conference final, 4-3 ( Oklahoma City ) win Calder Cup final, 4-2 ( Syracuse )
2013/14	76	46	23	-	2	5	99	238	197	945	5th, North	Conference quarter-finals win, 3-1 ( Abbotsford ) Conference semi-finals defeat, 4-2 ( Stars )
2014/15	76	46	22nd	-	6th	2	100	249	185	869	2nd, Midwest	Conference quarterfinals win, 3-2 ( Toronto ) Conference semi-finals win, 4-1 ( Rockford ) Conference final defeat, 4-2 ( Utica )
total	1104	578	506	27	43	50	1276	3303	3038	18206		9 playoff appearances 15 series: 7 wins, 8 losses 82 games: 39 wins, 43 losses

Achievements and honors

Sporting successes

Fred A. Huber Trophy
season
2000/01
Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy
season
2005/06
Conference Championships	season
Norman R. "Bud" Poile Trophy *	2005/06
Division Championships	season
West Division (IHL)	1999/00 , 2000/01
Norman R. "Bud" Poile Trophy *	2001/02
John D. Chick Trophy	2002/03
Sam Pollock Trophy	2005/06
* The Norman R. "Bud" Poile Trophy was awarded to the best regular season team in the West Division until 2003 . Since 2003 the best team of the regular season from the Western Conference has received the trophy

The Grand Rapids Griffins have not yet won a playoff championship, but have collected various trophies and successes in the course of their existence. In the 1999/2000 season they won their first division title and moved in the playoffs to the final of the Turner Cup , but lost there. The following year they won the Fred A. Huber Trophy as the best team of the IHL from the regular season and won another division title.

After the Griffins moved to the AHL in the summer of 2001 , they won the Norman R. "Bud" Poile Trophy as the best team in the West Division in their first season and the John D. Chick Trophy as the leading team in the Central Division the following year . In addition, they made it into the semi-finals of the playoffs.

In the 2005/06 season , several trophies were added to the Griffins collection. In addition to the Sam Pollock Trophy as division winner and the Norman R. "Bud" Poile Trophy as the best team in the Western Conference, they also won the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy and thus the main round championship of the league. The season continued with the move into the conference finals of the playoffs.

IHL Awards

Award	Surname	season
Commissioner's Trophy	Guy Charron	1999/00
Leo P. Lamoureux Memorial Trophy	Derek King	2000/01

When the Grand Rapids Griffins were active in the International Hockey League from 1996 to 2001 , two members of the team received an individual award. After the 1999/2000 season, it was coach Guy Charron who was awarded first. He had led the team to second place in the league with 51 wins and 111 points, thereby setting a franchise record and significantly increasing the previous season's result of 34 wins and 76 points. For his work, Charron received the Commissioner's Trophy as the IHL 's best coach.

2000/01 striker Derek King led the league with 83 points scorer when he scored 32 goals and made 51 assists. The Leo P. Lamoureux Memorial Trophy as the best scorer in the league, he shared with Steve Larouche , who came up with the same number of points. Both were the last winners of this trophy because the IHL stopped playing in the summer of 2001.

AHL Awards and All-Star Team Nominations

Award	Surname	season
Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award	Martin Prusek Marc Lamothe	2001/02 2002/03
Eddie Shore Award	Niklas Kronwall	2004/05
Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award	Chris Minard	2011/12
Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award	Marc Lamothe Joey MacDonald	2002/03 2002/03
Les Cunningham Award	Donald MacLean	2005/06
Louis AR Pieri Memorial Award	Bruce Cassidy	2001/02
Willie Marshall Award	Donald MacLean	2005/06
AHL All-Rookie Team	Jimmy Howard Justin Abdelkader Brendan Smith Gustav Nyquist	2005/06 2008/09 2010/11 2011/12
AHL First All-Star Team	Martin Prusek John Gruden Marc Lamothe Niklas Kronwall Donald MacLean Andy Miele	2001/02 2001/02 2002/03 2004/05 2005/06 2014/15
AHL Second All-Star Team	Mark Mowers Michel Picard Bryan Helmer Jiří Hudler Darren Haydar	2002/03 2002/03 2005/06 2005/06 2008/09

At the end of their first season in the American Hockey League in the summer of 2002, two members of the Grand Rapids Griffins received individual awards. Martin Prusek received the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award for best goalkeeper, Bruce Cassidy received the Louis AR Pieri Memorial Award for best coach in the league. In the second year the trophy for the best goalkeeper went to the Griffins, this time to Marc Lamothe , who together with his substitute Joey MacDonald received the Harry “Hap” Holmes Memorial Award for the fewest goals conceded.

Niklas Kronwall was the first Griffins field player to receive an honor in 2005. The Swede was one of the few bright spots in a weak team that he led as the best scorer. He was the first European to receive the Eddie Shore Award for the AHL's best defender. The following year, Donald MacLean, another field player, was honored. MacLean scored 56 league-leading goals in the season and was awarded the Willie Marshall Award for best goalscorer, which he had to share with Denis Hamel .

The first Griffins players to be elected to the AHL First All-Star Team were goalkeeper Martin Prusek and defenseman John Grudden in the debut season . Marc Lamothe was chosen as goalkeeper in the formation of the best players of the year for the 2002/03 season, while strikers Mark Mowers and Michel Picard found a place in the Second All-Star team. In 2004/05 it was the Swedish defender Niklas Kronwall who made it into the First All-Star Team and was followed by striker Donald MacLean the following year. Defender Bryan Helmer and attacker Jiří Hudler joined the second team. It wasn't until three years later that a Griffins player was back on one of the All-Star teams when Darren Haydar was elected to the second team.

The all-rookie team, the team with the best new professionals, included goalkeeper Jimmy Howard in the 2005/06 season, defender Brendan Smith in the 2010/11 season and strikers Justin Abdelkader and Gustav Nyquist in the 2008/09 season and respectively . 2011/12.

AHL All-Star Classic nominations

year	Surname
2002	Chris Bala John Gruden Martin Prusek *
2003	Mark Lamothe Mark Mowers
2004	Jiří Hudler Niklas Kronwall * Travis Richards Nathan Robinson
2005	Niklas Kronwall Joey MacDonald
2006	Valtteri Filppula Jiří Hudler Donald MacLean
2007	Derek Meech
2008	Jonathan Ericsson Jimmy Howard
2009	Jakub Kindl Daniel Larsson
2010	Patrick Rissmiller
2011	Ilari Filppula Brendan Smith *
2012	Gustav Nyquist
* Cancellation due to injury

A total of 20 Grand Rapids Griffins players have been invited to the All-Star Classic so far , as they were chosen by the fans on the starting line-up or selected by the league for their performance. 13 participants in the PlanetUSA All-Star Team, which is equipped with US and European players, face four Griffins participants in the Canadian All-Star Team. With Travis Richards , Niklas Kronwall , Jiří Hudler and Jakub Kindl, four players have so far been selected by the fans in the starting line-up of the PlanetUSA All-Star Team. Kronwall and Hudler are the only players from Grand Rapids who have been invited to two All-Star Classics, but Kronwall was only able to participate in one game due to injury.

In 2002, in the Griffins' first AHL season , three players, Chris Bala , John Gruden and Martin Prusek, were appointed to the PlanetUSA All-Star Team, which consisted of Americans and Europeans, but goalkeeper Prusek had to cancel due to injury. The following year, goalkeeper Marc Lamothe was the first to recommend a Griffins player for the Canadian All-Stars team, while striker Mark Mowers was represented on the PlanetUSA All-Star team .

In the 2003/04 season , Travis Richards was the first Griffins player to be on the starting line-up of an All-Star Team when the All-Star Classic was held at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids. The Czech junior player Jiří Hudler joined Richards in the PlanetUSA All-Stars team. Nathan Robinson was also in the Canadian All-Stars squad, but injured himself during the SuperSkills Competition, which is part of the All-Star Classic, and did not take part in the game. Niklas Kronwall canceled his participation because of an injury. In 2005 he got a new chance and was in the starting line-up of the PlanetUSA selection, while Joey MacDonald guarded the gate for the Canadian selection.

In 2006, three Griffins players were on the ice for the first time in the All-Star Classic, when Jiří Hudler played in the starting line-up and Valtteri Filppula on the side of the European / US team and Donald MacLean played for the Canadian team. In the following year, however, only one player was represented with the Canadian Derek Meech .

Swedish defender Jonathan Ericsson and US goalkeeper Jimmy Howard represented the Griffins in 2008 on the PlanetUSA All-Star Team. In 2009 Grand Rapids did not have a player in the Canadian All-Star Team either, but Jakub Kindl was chosen by the fans in the starting line-up of PlanetUSA and Daniel Larsson is the substitute goalkeeper. While two Griffins players took part in the All-Star Classic in the previous two years, in 2010 it was only one with Patrick Rissmiller in the PlanetUSA team.

Club records

American Hockey League

Career

	Surname	number
Most games	Jamie Tardif *	316 (in 5 seasons)
Most goals	Jamie Tardif *	78
Most templates	Jiří Hudler Kip Miller	114
Most of the points	Jiří Hudler	179 (65 goals + 114 assists)
Most penalty minutes	Darryl Bootland	1164
Most wins as a goalkeeper	Joey MacDonald *	98
Most shutouts	Joey MacDonald *	17th

* active player; Status after the 2010/11 season

season

	Surname	number	season
Most goals	Donald MacLean	56	2005/06
Most templates	Jiří Hudler	60	2005/06
Most of the points	Jiří Hudler	96 (36 goals + 60 assists)	2005/06
Most penalty minutes	Darryl Bootland	390	2005/06
Most wins as a goalkeeper	Joey MacDonald	34	2004/05

International Hockey League

Career

	Surname	number
Most games	Travis Richards	386 (in 5 seasons)
Most goals	Michel Picard	109
Most templates	Michel Picard	133
Most of the points	Michel Picard	242 (109 goals + 133 assists)
Most penalty minutes	Bruce Ramsay	781
Most wins as a goalkeeper	Mike Fountain	55
Most shutouts	Mike Fountain	9

season

	Surname	number	season
Most goals	Michel Picard	46	1996/97
Most templates	Jeff Nelson Michel Picard	55	1996/97
Most of the points	Michel Picard	101 (46 goals + 55 assists)	1996/97
Most penalty minutes	Matt Ruchty	364	1996/97
Most wins as a goalkeeper	Mike Fountain	34	2000/01

Trainer

Surname	season	Regular season							Playoffs
		GC	W.	L.	T	OTL	Pts	Win%	GC	W.	L.
Dave Allison	1996 / 97–1997 / 98 *	144	70	55	-	19th	159	.552	5	2	3
Bob McNamara	1997/98 *	20th	8th	6th	-	6th	22nd	.550	3	0	3
Guy Charron	1998 / 99-1999 / 00	164	85	62	-	17th	187	.570	17th	10	7th
Bruce Cassidy	2000/01–2001/02	162	95	49	11	7th	208	.642	15th	8th	7th
Danton Cole	2002 / 03–2004 / 05 *	208	116	72	17th	3	252	.606	19th	10	9
Greg Ireland	2004/05 * - 2006/07	192	109	65	1	17th	236	.615	23	11	12
Mike Stothers	2007/08	80	31	41	-	8th	70	.438	-	-	-
Curt Fraser	2008 / 09–2011 / 12	240	113	98	-	29	255	.531	10	4th	6th
Jeff Blashill	2012 / 13–2014 / 15	228	134	71	-	24	291	.638	50	29	21st
Todd Nelson	2015 / 16–2017 / 18	228	133	78	-	17th	283	.620	33	22nd	11
Ben Simon	since 2018/19				-
Abbreviations: GC = games, W = wins, L = defeats, T = draws, OTL = defeats after overtime , Pts = points, Win% = win rate * change during the season

The Griffins hired Dave Allison as the first coach in their history , who in addition to 25 games in the NHL had been active in lower-class leagues for several years. He led the Griffins to a good first season result, but had to leave in the second half of the season in the second year and was temporarily replaced by General Manager Bob McNamara . Guy Charron was presented as the new head coach in the summer of 1998 , who initially remained unsuccessful and missed the playoffs in his first year. In the 1999/2000 season, however, the Griffins increased significantly under his leadership, took second place in the IHL and made it to the final of the playoffs. Charron then received the Commissioner's Trophy for the best coach in the league and an offer from the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim from the NHL, whereupon he left Grand Rapids.

Bruce Cassidy succeeded Charron in the summer of 2000 and he managed to improve on the previous season's result. With 53 wins from 82 games, he led the Griffins to first place in the regular season, but they failed in the playoffs in the second round. After the IHL was dissolved after the season, the team moved to the AHL and Cassidy was able to establish the Griffins immediately in the league, for which he was awarded the Louis AR Pieri Memorial Award as best coach. Due to the success also teams of the NHL had become aware of him and so he followed a call from the Washington Capitals , where he took over the post as head coach.

With Danton Cole , a former player and assistant coach of the Griffins took over from Cassidy. He was able to build on the performance of his predecessor and led the team right into the third round of the playoffs in the 2002/03 season . The Griffins played a good regular season the following year, but they were eliminated after the first series of the finals. Cole's tenure finally ended after 48 games in the 2004/05 season when qualification for the playoffs was in jeopardy and Cole was replaced by his assistant Greg Ireland . Under the new coach there was a slight increase in the remaining 32 games of the season, but the qualification was ultimately missed.

In the 2005/06 season, Ireland helped the Griffins to a resurrection. With 55 victories, they achieved the best result in franchise history and took first place after the regular season. In the playoffs they moved into the round of the four best teams, but before they failed in four games straight to the Milwaukee Admirals . The following season was a step backwards and the Griffins only reached the eighth best team of the 13 teams in the west of the playoff league and did not get beyond the first round of the playoffs. The management then decided not to extend Ireland's expiring contract after the Detroit Red Wings , cooperation partner from the NHL, had obtained the right to determine the coach of their farm team .

The Red Wings appointed Mike Stothers as their new head coach in the summer of 2007, but the signing was unsuccessful as the Griffins played the worst season in their history. The Grand Rapids Griffins were then given back the right to decide on the occupation of the coach and released Stothers after only one year of his duties. With Curt Fraser , the team has been led by a coach who has been in the NHL for several years and led the Belarusian national team to qualify for the 2010 Olympic ice hockey tournament since the 2008/09 season .

General manager

Surname	season
Bob McNamara	1996 / 97-2010 / 11
Ryan Martin	since 2013/14

Bob McNamara was hired on January 26, 1996 as general manager of the Grand Rapids Griffins, before they played their first season in the fall of the same year. Under his leadership, the franchise established itself as a training facility for teams in the National Hockey League, and over the years collaborations with the Ottawa Senators and the Detroit Red Wings were concluded. In addition, McNamara led the Griffins from the disbanded International Hockey League to the American Hockey League .

Players to be mentioned

Blocked jersey numbers

No.	Surname	Blocking date
24	Travis Richards	November 24, 2006

The Grand Rapids Griffins 'only blocked number so far is Travis Richards' jersey number 24 . He was the second player to sign a contract with the Griffins before the inaugural season of the franchise in the IHL and played the following ten seasons for the team, three of them as team captain , the remaining seven as alternate captain. Richards was a fixture in the team's defense, finishing his career in the summer of 2006 as a record holder with 655 games for the Griffins in the IHL and AHL .

The blocked players' numbers hang as banners on the ceiling of the Van Andel Arena and will no longer be given to any Grand Rapids Griffins players.

Well-known former players

Some players took to the ice for the Grand Rapids Griffins before making the leap to the NHL . Others were sent to Grand Rapids by their NHL teams in order to gain their first match practice after an injury in a few games.

Pavol Demitra spent his first years in North America with teams in the second-rate leagues, including the Grand Rapids Griffins, before he established himself as an NHL player and was invited to the NHL All-Star Game several times . He was also the first franchise player to make the leap to the NHL. Kevyn Adams was part of the Griffins' inaugural season, where he played his first season as a professional before starting his NHL career with the Toronto Maple Leafs . Dmitri Afanassenkow also played in Grand Rapids at the beginning of his time in North America and later crowned his career by winning the Stanley Cup as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning . Goalkeeper Patrick Lalime came into the team with NHL experience, but his final breakthrough came after his time with the then farm team of the Ottawa Senators . Also, Chris Neil and Chris Kelly had spent some time at the farm team until they are in Ottawa prevail.

Of the Detroit Red Wings went through Valtteri Filppula , Darren Helm , Jiri Hudler , Tomáš Kopecký , Niklas Kronwall , Brett Lebda , Derek Meech and Jason Williams training in Grand Rapids and won with Detroit as a consequence the Stanley Cup.

In addition, players such as Chris Chelios , Manny Legace , Chris Osgood and Blake Sloan were on the ice, who had won the most important trophy in North American ice hockey before their involvement in the AHL. However, Chelios, Legace and Osgood were only part of the Griffins for a few games after injuries. They are supplemented by prominent names such as Curtis Joseph and Jason Spezza , who also only played for the AHL team for a short time.

Kevyn Adams Dmitri Afanassenkov Sean Avery Joël Bouchard Chris Chelios Pavol Demitra Matt Ellis Valtteri Filppula Shane Hnidy Jiří Hudler Jani Hurme Curtis Joseph

Chris Kelly Tomáš Kopecký Niklas Kronwall Joel Kwiatkowski Patrick Lalime Brett Lebda Manny Legace Derek Meech Glen Metropolitan Kevin Miller Kip Miller Mark Mowers

Chris Neil Chris Osgood Róbert Petrovický Michel Picard Kyle Quincey Karel Rachůnek Jamie Rivers Blake Sloan Jason Spezza Patrick Traverse Todd White Jason Williams

Individual evidence

1. ↑ hockeydb.com, Grand Rapids Griffins (IHL) season statistics and records
2. ↑ hockeydb.com, Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) season statistics and records
3. ↑ ^{a b} hockeydb.com, Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) player list
4. ↑ ^{a b} hockeydb.com, Grand Rapids Griffins (IHL) player list
5. ↑ griffinshockey.net, Travis Richards Night Nov. 24 ( Memento of the original dated November 30, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

Web links

• Official website
• hockeydb.com - Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL)
• hockeydb.com - Grand Rapids Griffins (IHL)
• Grand Rapids Griffins at eliteprospects.com