Why Grand Rapids Griffins’ Success Is Critical For The Detroit Red Wings

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

Yzerman, who helped to build the Tampa Bay Lightning’s developmental system before coming back to Detroit in 2019, sees a winning environment as more than a nice-to-have for his prospects with Grand Rapids. Instead it is a prerequisite. 

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

A year later, the Crunch reached the Calder Cup Finals. They went back to the Finals 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 on to NHL work with the Lightning and elsewhere.

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

To start, Dan Watson took over as head coach in Grand Rapids, earning a promotion from the Toledo Walleye following more than a decade of coaching success with the organization’s ECHL affiliate. They overhauled the veteran group in Grand Rapids as well. Top goaltending prospect Sebastian Cossa got a mentor in Michael Hutchinson. All of those decisions paid off as the Griffins reached the division finals last May.

Detroit’s ongoing rebuilding plan depends on the Griffins continuing to hone young talent, to turn it into productive NHL players.

So far the Griffins have moved the likes of first-round picks Simon Edvinsson and Moritz Seider on to Detroit. Albert Johansson is with the Detroit defense corps following 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 NHL’s upper echelon once again. Detroit built its dynasty that reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs 25 consecutive times and won four Stanley Cup championships largely through strong work at the draft table. The Red Wings have also long used a productive AHL system to prepare prospects.

So they need Griffins rookie forward Nate Danielson to hit. Marco Kasper, too. Cossa needs to become the long-term number-one…