This past weekend, the Detroit Red Wings’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, saw some anticipated lows and surprising highs.
As a Detroit sports fan, I’m used to emotional and spiritual hurt.
With the playoffs quickly approaching for the Grand Rapids Griffins, I suspected home ice advantage to be a thing that was too far gone.
After losing Friday night to the Iowa Wild, it was almost certain that my beloved Grand Rapids Griffins, saviors of the ice hockey season in Michigan, wouldn’t have the much-needed home ice advantage.
Please note that this isn’t so much a recap as it is my takeaways from this weekend. For highlights, I definitely recommend the Iowa Wild and Grand Rapids Griffins YouTube videos:
Buium’s Debut:
Sunday’s Win:
Focusing on the positives from Friday’s 4-1 loss, Shai Buium made his pro debut.
As a long-time Buium fan, I’ll admit I hadn’t seen much of his play this season. I saw his Frozen Four run, but that was about it.
It was incredibly fun to watch Buium again with even bigger stakes on the line.
He looked much bigger than I remember. Every facet of his game seemed to kick up a notch. His confidence (with and without the puck, in between whistles, keeping opposing players away from Sebastian Cossa, etc.) to puck protection to his poise with (and without the puck) were very entertaining.
The fact that it was his first game and he didn’t look out of place is remarkable. Interestingly enough, the Grand Rapids Griffin’s head coach, Dan Watson, felt comfortable enough to put Buium on the ice at the beginning of a four-minute power play.
Shai Buium first shift out for the Griffins on the Powerplay, playing a little catch with Taro Hirose.#GoGRG #LGRW pic.twitter.com/4ARvn9W9wm
— X – Hockeytown West Podcast (@HockeytownWpod) April 20, 2024
Buium ended the night even with no shots on goal. Considering the Grand Rapids Griffins coach played Buium regular shifts/normal minutes, and he wasn’t on the ice for a goal against (with four opportunities, as the Griffins surrendered four goals), I’m impressed.
To me, Buium should have played both games. He could have stayed on the sidelines due to travel, illness, or for rest purposes. Alternatively, maybe Coach Watson wanted to see other players to assess his lineup for the upcoming playoffs.
To me, without question, Buium is a top-9 defenseman on this Grand Rapids Griffins roster. With an overflow of defensemen, they might also be determining any…
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