Prospect Info: Grand Rapids Griffins

[SpookyTsuki]

Haha if they win next year it's a dynasty. 3 in 6 in the AHL? It's like completely different rosters everytime. Chicago gun b mad

 

[GrGriffins]

2016-17 Hockey season officially ends in Grand Rapids as Griffins come from behind to claim 2nd Calder Cup Championship over Syracuse Crunch:

What a night, what a crowd, and what an end to the 2016-17 hockey season here at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids as the Griffins scores 2 goals in the third period to claim their 2nd Calder Cup Championship and their very first in front of the sold out crowd. Another nail bitter from start to finish.

1st period: Griffins had a slightly better start to this game compared to the last game in Syracuse as they got a jump on the Crunch, but at 3:47, the Griffins were caught with too many men on the ice penalty to put the Griffins PK units to the test early. Coreau made some stops to keep the game scoreless. Griffins once again ended up shorthanded as Joe Hicketts was sent off with a weak slashing call at 7:26 and the Griffins PK units kept the Crunch from scoring once again. Then the Crunch got on the board at 14:09 as Coreau had the puck from behind his net and when he tried to clear it, the puck hit Cory Conacher on his stick and the puck went right out in front of an empty cage and Yanni Gourde buried it before Coreau got back to his net to give the Crunch a 1-0 lead and silenced the crowd. Then it was the Crunch penalty box door that kept opening and closing the rest of the period as Adam Erne was sent off for cross-checking at 15:17 and the Griffins had a 5 on 3 PP chance when Gabriel Dumont was sent off for high-sticking at 16:40, but the Crunch PK units shut down the Griffins PP units as they could not get themselves organized and did not convert. But Kevin Lynch kept the Crunch penalty box occupied at 18:44 for a tripping call that got the Griffins a carry over PP into the 2nd period.

2nd period: It was the Crunch's goaltender McKenna to make a bad clearing pass from behind his net as Tomas Nosek blocked it and passed it out to a wide open Matthew Ford and he buried his 6th PP goal (led the AHL playoffs) at 0:18 to revive the crowd and tied the game at 1-1. It was the Griffins turn to enter in and out of the penalty box as McKenna convinced the refs that Martin Frk bumped enough to get the goalie interference call at 4:47. Crunch had their chances and kept most of the PP in the Griffins zone, but the Griffins PK units killed off another one. Crunch retook the lead at 2-1 at 7:51 as a bad clearance by Brian Lashoff could not clear the puck from their own zone and Matt Taormina buried it to quiet the crowd once again. Griffins was starting to get more physical and was trying to get the equalizer, but Dylan McIlrath was sent to the penalty box for cross-checking at 9:26 to give the Crunch a golden chance to get a 2 goal lead, but the Griffins PK units bend but not break mentality kept the game within a shot. Shortly after the penalty kill, McKenna gave another bad turnover behind his net as Ben Street got the pass and shuttled it over to Mitch Callahan and he roofed it by McKenna at 11:50 to tie the game at 2-2 and got the crowd recharged. Crowd got back at the game and the Griffins were getting physical at the Crunch end as they forced the Crunch to take a hooking penalty by Michael Bournival at 15:55 to give the Griffins on the PP a chance to take the lead for the first time. Crunch killed off the penalty led the Crunch in making the Griffins pay as Yanni Gourde struck again and got his 2nd goal of the night burying the rebound in close by Coreau at 18:10 to make it 3-2 after 2 periods.

3rd period: The crowd got the Griffins charged up and the Griffins was pushing to get the equalizer as they picked up the physical play. The refs decided to let the players dictate the play as they put their whistles in their pockets the rest of the game. Griffins fans erupted at 3:50 as Nosek brought the play in the Crunch zone and he was checked hard by a Crunch d-man and knocked him off the puck. Loose puck ended up on Frk stick and he slide a pass to his right to Bertuzzi and he buried it in the Crunch open cage to make it 3-3. Both teams were going back and forth, but the Crunch was losing energy and the Griffins players had more jump and started to get to more pucks in the corners and winning battles. Griffins were also winning more draws in all 3 zones in the third. Several times in the period, the crowd chanted "We Want the Cup" and it gave the Griffins players more energy. Crunch had Coreau beat nearly half way in the third, but the puck hit the goal post. Then the roof blew out of the arena at 12:41 as Nosek won the draw in the Crunch zone. Puck went to Lashoff and he and Frk got too close together, but somehow Frk kept the puck inside the Crunch blue line and turned around and blasted his shot as Nosek had a nice screen in front of the McKenna and the puck went in the net and the Griffins got their first and only lead of the game at 4-3. Crunch pushed hard after that and Coreau made several stops to keep the score at 4-3. Crunch had a nice scramble in front of Coreau seconds before the end, but he kept the puck out of his net, but he could not stop the Griffins players in front of him as the time was at 0:00.0 and his teammates greeted him and the crowd went nuts as the Griffins became 2017 Calder Cup Champions for the 2nd time in team history and for the 2nd time against the Crunch. Crunch players gave it their best, as they were tired and rejected, but the 2 teams shook hands at center ice as the paper streamers were coming down on the crowd. AHL president David Andrews came on to center ice with his congratulatory speech for both teams and announced that Tyler Bertuzzi was named AHL playoff MVP. Crowd chanted MVP when Bertuzzi got the Jack Butterfield Trophy. And then Andrews called out Nathan Paetsch to come get the Calder Cup Trophy. When he hoisted the trophy over his head, the crowd gave one loud roar and the cup was being passed around to each other. The team got together at center ice for the team photo and history was made. Who would have ever figured that the very last hockey game of the 2016-17 hockey season would have been played in Grand Rapids.

1 2 3 F
Syr 1 2 0 3
GR 0 2 2 4

Syr 8 11 13 32
GR 9 10 7 26

PP: 1-4
PK: 4-4

Griffins goals:
Ford (PP), Callahan, Bertuzzi, Frk (GWG)

Griffins assists:
Nosek (3), Street, Frk, Lashoff

Griffins Calder Cup Champions party for the fans will be announced in the next couple of days. Thank God there is no game tomorrow.

 

[Martinez]

No why would it be

Met in the Calder cup twice. Not a completely serious comment though

 

[Henkka]

Looking at the stats Svechnikov scored 9 of his points the first 8 games and 11 in the first 13.

Can anyone speak to how he played in final 2 series?

What I have learned:

Tangradi - Street - Callahan was the TOP line of through whole playoffs. Shut-down duties and were still able to score a lot. Great line.

Lorito - Criscuolo - Svechnikov
and
Bertuzzi - Nosek - Frk

Those were 2nd-3rd offensive middle6 lines. Strong depth, like Pittsburgh in NHL-scale.

Svechnikov's trio started strong and was better when Frk was injured from Nosek-line.

But in final 2 rounds Bert-Nosek-Frk really started rocking and got more ice-time in the end. Also scored more. Lorito and Criscuolo didn't impress me on final rounds. I suspect both did have minor injuries they played through and that's why the line lost also ice-time for "Noseks".

Ford - Turgeon - Campbell was steady defensive 4th line through all playoffs. Ford had a special net-front role on power-play though, and scored many goals. Turgeon-Campbell were PK specialists.

 

[waltdetroit]

Looking at the stats Svechnikov scored 9 of his points the first 8 games and 11 in the first 13.

Can anyone speak to how he played in final 2 series?

it looked to me that in the SJB series, they targeted a few players with constant and/or 2 man checking. Svetch was one of those targets. It did affect his game. The Crunch continued this plan. Svetch took a number of retaliatory penalties like slashing at bad times. Svetch was still connecting with big checks and decent along the boards but just not scoring. So OK for a rookie playing in the biggest games of his life. I expect he will be a beast in the AHL next year

 

[Frk It]

What happened to Dylan Sadowy? Was he just a healthy scratch the 2nd half of the season? Was he that bad?

I actually thought that was a pretty smart trade, but looks like it hasn't worked out so far.

 

[Bob Probert Owns You]

2016-17 Hockey season officially ends in Grand Rapids as Griffins come from behind to claim 2nd Calder Cup Championship over Syracuse Crunch:

What a night, what a crowd, and what an end to the 2016-17 hockey season here at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids as the Griffins scores 2 goals in the third period to claim their 2nd Calder Ceup Championship and their very first in front of the sold out crowd. Another nail bitter from start to finish.

1st period: Griffins had a slightly better start to this game compared to the last game in Syracuse as they got a jump on the Crunch, but at 3:47, the Griffins were caught with too many men on the ice penalty to put the Griffins PK units to the test early. Coreau made some stops to keep the game scoreless. Griffins once again ended up shorthanded as Joe Hicketts was sent off with a weak slashing call at 7:26 and the Griffins PK units kept the Crunch from scoring once again. Then the Crunch got on the board at 14:09 as Coreau had the puck from behind his net and when he tried to clear it, the puck hit Cory Conacher on his stick and the puck went right out in front of an empty cage and Yanni Gourde buried it before Coreau got back to his net to give the Crunch a 1-0 lead and silenced the crowd. Then it was the Crunch penalty box door that kept opening and closing the rest of the period as Adam Erne was sent off for cross-checking at 15:17 and the Griffins had a 5 on 3 PP chance when Gabriel Dumont was sent off for high-sticking at 16:40, but the Crunch PK units shut down the Griffins PP units as they could not get themselves organized and did not convert. But Kevin Lynch kept the Crunch penalty box occupied at 18:44 for a tripping call that got the Griffins a carry over PP into the 2nd period.

2nd period: It was the Crunch's goaltender McKenna to make a bad clearing pass from behind his net as Tomas Nosek blocked it and passed it out to a wide open Matthew Ford and he buried his 6th PP goal (led the AHL playoffs) at 0:18 to revive the crowd and tied the game at 1-1. It was the Griffins turn to enter in and out of the penalty box as McKenna convinced the refs that Martin Frk bumped enough to get the goalie interference call at 4:47. Crunch had their chances and kept most of the PP in the Griffins zone, but the Griffins PK units killed off another one. Crunch retook the lead at 2-1 at 7:51 as the Griffins could not clear the puck from their own zone and Matt Taormina buried it to quiet the crowd once again. Griffins was starting to get more physical and was trying to get the equalizer, but Dylan McIlrath was sent to the penalty box for cross-checking at 9:26 to give the Crunch a golden chance to get a 2 goal lead, but the Griffins PK units bend but not break mentality kept the game within a shot. Shortly after the penalty kill, McKenna gave another bad turnover behind his net as Ben Street got the pass and shuttled it over to Mitch Callahan and he roofed it by McKenna at 11:50 to tie the game at 2-2 and got the crowd recharged. Crowd got back at the game and the Griffins were getting physical at the Crunch end as they forced the Crunch to take a hooking penalty by Michael Bournival at 15:55 to give the Griffins on the PP a chance to take the lead for the first time. Crunch killed off the penalty and a bad clearance by Brian Lashoff led the Crunch in making the Griffins pay as Yanni Gourde struck again and got his 2nd goal of the night burying the rebound in close by Coreau at 18:10 to make it 3-2 after 2 periods.

3rd period: The crowd got the Griffins charged up and the Griffins was pushing to get the equalizer as they picked up the physical play. The refs decided to let the players dictate the play as they put their whistles in their pockets the rest of the game. Griffins fans erupted at 3:50 as Nosek brought the play in the Crunch zone and he was checked hard by a Crunch d-man and knocked him off the puck. Loose puck ended up on Frk stick and he slide a pass to his right to Bertuzzi and he buried it in the Crunch open cage to make it 3-3. Both teams were going back and forth, but the Crunch was losing energy and the Griffins players had more jump and started to get to more pucks in the corners and winning battles. Griffins were also winning more draws in all 3 zones in the third. Several times in the period, the crowd chanted "We Want the Cup" and it gave the Griffins players more energy. Crunch had Coreau beat nearly half way in the third, but the puck hit the goal post. Then the roof blew out of the arena at 12:41 as Nosek won the draw in the Crunch zone. Puck went to Lashoff and he and Frk got too close together, but somehow Frk kept the puck inside the Crunch blue line and turned around and blasted his shot as Nosek had a nice screen in front of the McKenna and the puck went in the net and the Griffins got their first and only lead of the game at 4-3. Crunch pushed hard after that and Coreau made several stops to keep the score at 4-3. Crunch had a nice scramble in front of Coreau seconds before the end, but he kept the puck out of his net, but he could not stop the Griffins players in front of him as the time was at 0:00.0 and his teammates greeted him and the crowd went nuts as the Griffins became 2017 Calder Cup Champions for the 2nd time in team history and for the 2nd time against the Crunch. Crunch players gave it their best, as they were tired and rejected, but the 2 teams shook hands at center ice as the paper streamers were coming down on the crowd. AHL president David Andrews came on to center ice with his congratulatory speech for both teams and announced that Tyler Bertuzzi was named AHL playoff MVP. Crowd chanted MVP when Bertuzzi got the Jack Butterfield Trophy. And then Andrews called out Nathan Paetsch to come get the Calder Cup Trophy. When he hoisted the trophy over his head, the crowd gave one loud roar and the cup was being passed around to each other. The team got together at center ice for the team photo and history was made. Who would have ever figured that the very last hockey game of the 2016-17 hockey season would have been played in Grand Rapids.

1 2 3 F
Syr 1 2 0 3
GR 0 2 2 4

Syr 8 11 13 32
GR 9 10 7 26

PP: 1-4
PK: 4-4

Griffins goals:
Ford (PP), Callahan, Bertuzzi, Frk (GWG)

Griffins assists:
Nosek (3), Street, Frk, Lashoff

Griffins Calder Cup Champions party for the fans will be announced in the next couple of days. Thank God there is no game tomorrow.

But this is their 3rd Calder Cup win, correct?

 

[SirloinUB]

it looked to me that in the SJB series, they targeted a few players with constant and/or 2 man checking. Svetch was one of those targets. It did affect his game. The Crunch continued this plan. Svetch took a number of retaliatory penalties like slashing at bad times. Svetch was still connecting with big checks and decent along the boards but just not scoring. So OK for a rookie playing in the biggest games of his life. I expect he will be a beast in the AHL next year

What I have learned:
Tangradi - Street - Callahan was the TOP line of through whole playoffs. Shut-down duties and were still able to score a lot. Great line.
Those were 2nd-3rd offensive middle6 lines. Strong depth, like Pittsburgh in NHL-scale.
Svechnikov's trio started strong and was better when Frk was injured from Nosek-line.
But in final 2 rounds Bert-Nosek-Frk really started rocking and got more ice-time in the end. Also scored more. Lorito and Criscuolo didn't impress me on final rounds. I suspect both did have minor injuries they played through and that's why the line lost also ice-time for "Noseks".
Ford - Turgeon - Campbell was steady defensive 4th line through all playoffs. Ford had a special net-front role on power-play though, and scored many goals. Turgeon-Campbell were PK specialists.

Thanks for the insight

 

[GrGriffins]

But this is their 3rd Calder Cup win, correct?

Griffins only won 2 Calder Cups (2013 in Syracuse & 2017 here in GR).

 

[GrGriffins]

What happened to Dylan Sadowy? Was he just a healthy scratch the 2nd half of the season? Was he that bad?

I actually thought that was a pretty smart trade, but looks like it hasn't worked out so far.

Griffins had so much depth in the forward position that Sadowy was pretty much the odd man out in the lineup. He would play mainly when a player was injured or called up to Detroit. Played alright, but mostly was used in a 3/4th line role. Killed penalties and he did show some offense, but mainly was a checking forward when he did play.

 

[GrGriffins]

Looking at the stats Svechnikov scored 9 of his points the first 8 games and 11 in the first 13.

Can anyone speak to how he played in final 2 series?

Svechnikov was shut down in the San Jose and Syracuse series for the most part scoringwise. He did well in the Milwaukee and Chicago series, but San Jose targeted him as one poster pointed out and he was beat up pretty good in the San Jose series. He started to take his silly penalties in the early part of the Syracuse series, but from what I observed, Coach Nelson felt that (especially in the finals) with Syracuse speed, he got him and Criscuolo to be more physical as extra checkers to relieve Campbell/Turegon/Ford line. With Campbell & Turgeon being the top PK unit and Ford being the net front man on the PP unit, Svechnikov started to get more physical and his role changed and Criscuolo was put out to forecheck the San Jose and Syracuse d-man and wear those guys down. Svechnikov had chances in the 2nd PP unit and he would get a point here and there, but he ended being a forechecker.

 

[GrGriffins]

Grand Rapids playoff hockey history on clinching finals games (won and lost):

03/21/51 Grand Rapids Rockets (IHL) lost 6-3 to Toledo Mercury in GR (Game 5 Turner Cup Finals)

04/02/52 Grand Rapids Rockets (IHL) lost 5-4 to Toledo Mercury in Toledo (Game 6 Turner Cup Finals)

03/31/53 Grand Rapids Rockets (IHL) lost 8-4 to Cincinnati Mohawks in GR (Game 4 Turner Cup Finals)

04/15/77 Grand Rapids Blades (USHL) won 3-1 to Milwaukee Admirals in Milwaukee (Game 6 Commissioner Cup Finals Blades won 7 points to 5 points 2 W 1 L 3 T)

05/22/79 Grand Rapids Owls (IHL) lost 5-2 to Kalamazoo Wings in GR (Game 7 Turner Cup Finals) I was at that game.

06/05/00 Grand Rapids Griffins (IHL) lost 3-1 to Chicago Wolves in GR (Game 6 Turner Cup Finals) I was at that game.

06/18/13 Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) won 5-2 to Syracuse Crunch in Syracuse (Game 6 Calder Cup Finals) I watched it on TV.

06/13/17 Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) won 4-3 to Syracuse Crunch in GR (Game 6 Calder Cup Finals). I was at that game.


Nice to finally see a Grand Rapids pro hockey team win a championship on home ice. I was at the game where the Grand Rapids Rampage won the Arena Bowl XV game at Van Andel Arena for the only other Grand Rapids team to win at Van Andel Arena.

 

[Hadoop]

2016-17 Hockey season officially ends in Grand Rapids as Griffins come from behind to claim 2nd Calder Cup Championship over Syracuse Crunch:

What a night, what a crowd, and what an end to the 2016-17 hockey season here at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids as the Griffins scores 2 goals in the third period to claim their 2nd Calder Cup Championship and their very first in front of the sold out crowd. Another nail bitter from start to finish.

1st period: Griffins had a slightly better start to this game compared to the last game in Syracuse as they got a jump on the Crunch, but at 3:47, the Griffins were caught with too many men on the ice penalty to put the Griffins PK units to the test early. Coreau made some stops to keep the game scoreless. Griffins once again ended up shorthanded as Joe Hicketts was sent off with a weak slashing call at 7:26 and the Griffins PK units kept the Crunch from scoring once again. Then the Crunch got on the board at 14:09 as Coreau had the puck from behind his net and when he tried to clear it, the puck hit Cory Conacher on his stick and the puck went right out in front of an empty cage and Yanni Gourde buried it before Coreau got back to his net to give the Crunch a 1-0 lead and silenced the crowd. Then it was the Crunch penalty box door that kept opening and closing the rest of the period as Adam Erne was sent off for cross-checking at 15:17 and the Griffins had a 5 on 3 PP chance when Gabriel Dumont was sent off for high-sticking at 16:40, but the Crunch PK units shut down the Griffins PP units as they could not get themselves organized and did not convert. But Kevin Lynch kept the Crunch penalty box occupied at 18:44 for a tripping call that got the Griffins a carry over PP into the 2nd period.

2nd period: It was the Crunch's goaltender McKenna to make a bad clearing pass from behind his net as Tomas Nosek blocked it and passed it out to a wide open Matthew Ford and he buried his 6th PP goal (led the AHL playoffs) at 0:18 to revive the crowd and tied the game at 1-1. It was the Griffins turn to enter in and out of the penalty box as McKenna convinced the refs that Martin Frk bumped enough to get the goalie interference call at 4:47. Crunch had their chances and kept most of the PP in the Griffins zone, but the Griffins PK units killed off another one. Crunch retook the lead at 2-1 at 7:51 as a bad clearance by Brian Lashoff could not clear the puck from their own zone and Matt Taormina buried it to quiet the crowd once again. Griffins was starting to get more physical and was trying to get the equalizer, but Dylan McIlrath was sent to the penalty box for cross-checking at 9:26 to give the Crunch a golden chance to get a 2 goal lead, but the Griffins PK units bend but not break mentality kept the game within a shot. Shortly after the penalty kill, McKenna gave another bad turnover behind his net as Ben Street got the pass and shuttled it over to Mitch Callahan and he roofed it by McKenna at 11:50 to tie the game at 2-2 and got the crowd recharged. Crowd got back at the game and the Griffins were getting physical at the Crunch end as they forced the Crunch to take a hooking penalty by Michael Bournival at 15:55 to give the Griffins on the PP a chance to take the lead for the first time. Crunch killed off the penalty led the Crunch in making the Griffins pay as Yanni Gourde struck again and got his 2nd goal of the night burying the rebound in close by Coreau at 18:10 to make it 3-2 after 2 periods.

3rd period: The crowd got the Griffins charged up and the Griffins was pushing to get the equalizer as they picked up the physical play. The refs decided to let the players dictate the play as they put their whistles in their pockets the rest of the game. Griffins fans erupted at 3:50 as Nosek brought the play in the Crunch zone and he was checked hard by a Crunch d-man and knocked him off the puck. Loose puck ended up on Frk stick and he slide a pass to his right to Bertuzzi and he buried it in the Crunch open cage to make it 3-3. Both teams were going back and forth, but the Crunch was losing energy and the Griffins players had more jump and started to get to more pucks in the corners and winning battles. Griffins were also winning more draws in all 3 zones in the third. Several times in the period, the crowd chanted "We Want the Cup" and it gave the Griffins players more energy. Crunch had Coreau beat nearly half way in the third, but the puck hit the goal post. Then the roof blew out of the arena at 12:41 as Nosek won the draw in the Crunch zone. Puck went to Lashoff and he and Frk got too close together, but somehow Frk kept the puck inside the Crunch blue line and turned around and blasted his shot as Nosek had a nice screen in front of the McKenna and the puck went in the net and the Griffins got their first and only lead of the game at 4-3. Crunch pushed hard after that and Coreau made several stops to keep the score at 4-3. Crunch had a nice scramble in front of Coreau seconds before the end, but he kept the puck out of his net, but he could not stop the Griffins players in front of him as the time was at 0:00.0 and his teammates greeted him and the crowd went nuts as the Griffins became 2017 Calder Cup Champions for the 2nd time in team history and for the 2nd time against the Crunch. Crunch players gave it their best, as they were tired and rejected, but the 2 teams shook hands at center ice as the paper streamers were coming down on the crowd. AHL president David Andrews came on to center ice with his congratulatory speech for both teams and announced that Tyler Bertuzzi was named AHL playoff MVP. Crowd chanted MVP when Bertuzzi got the Jack Butterfield Trophy. And then Andrews called out Nathan Paetsch to come get the Calder Cup Trophy. When he hoisted the trophy over his head, the crowd gave one loud roar and the cup was being passed around to each other. The team got together at center ice for the team photo and history was made. Who would have ever figured that the very last hockey game of the 2016-17 hockey season would have been played in Grand Rapids.

1 2 3 F
Syr 1 2 0 3
GR 0 2 2 4

Syr 8 11 13 32
GR 9 10 7 26

PP: 1-4
PK: 4-4

Griffins goals:
Ford (PP), Callahan, Bertuzzi, Frk (GWG)

Griffins assists:
Nosek (3), Street, Frk, Lashoff

Griffins Calder Cup Champions party for the fans will be announced in the next couple of days. Thank God there is no game tomorrow.

Thanks for the FANTASTIC recap!

 

[GrGriffins]

Griffins Calder Cup Champs parade/rally to take place this Friday 4 PM.


http://www.griffinshockey.com/news-stats/?article_id=3772

 

[GrGriffins]

Thanks for the FANTASTIC recap!

No problem. I'm very happy to be part of history and inside the arena when it happened. Long time coming. Looking forward to the parade/rally on Friday. First parade (2013 they had a rally at Van Andel Arena a few days after winning the cup in Syracuse) ever. Should be something to watch as well as the outdoor rally. Hope the weather cooperates.

 

[Wood Stick]

I want Dylan McIlrath back. He adds that big body. I think he can learn at the big level.

 

[Pavels Dog]

Svechnikov was shut down in the San Jose and Syracuse series for the most part scoringwise. He did well in the Milwaukee and Chicago series, but San Jose targeted him as one poster pointed out and he was beat up pretty good in the San Jose series. He started to take his silly penalties in the early part of the Syracuse series, but from what I observed, Coach Nelson felt that (especially in the finals) with Syracuse speed, he got him and Criscuolo to be more physical as extra checkers to relieve Campbell/Turegon/Ford line. With Campbell & Turgeon being the top PK unit and Ford being the net front man on the PP unit, Svechnikov started to get more physical and his role changed and Criscuolo was put out to forecheck the San Jose and Syracuse d-man and wear those guys down. Svechnikov had chances in the 2nd PP unit and he would get a point here and there, but he ended being a forechecker.

Good experience for Svech it sounds like.

How would you rate the D-men in the Griffins playoffs? Hicketts stat-line looks pretty good with the most points and 2nd highest +/-. Handling the AHL playoffs that well is another good sign for him, assuming he played as well as his stats indicate.

 

[Machinehead]

Happy for McIlrath. He's a good kid and while I don't think he's a particularly wonderful player, AV never gave him a real shot and that wasn't fair.

Congrats, guys!

 

[GrGriffins]

Good experience for Svech it sounds like.

How would you rate the D-men in the Griffins playoffs? Hicketts stat-line looks pretty good with the most points and 2nd highest +/-. Handling the AHL playoffs that well is another good sign for him, assuming he played as well as his stats indicate.

Joe Hicketts: Very compact player for his size. Loves to hit and not afraid to. Excellent in keeping pucks in the offensive blue line. Intense player that gives it his all. Occasional mistake here and there, but that is to be expected in his first pro season. Hoping he gets more size, but I'm looking forward for even better things from him next season.

Dylan McIlrath: Physical player that Griffins were missing on the blue line. Speedy forwards can get by him, but if they do not get by him, Dylan makes them pay a price for trying. Tied the Griffins with +10 in +/- in the playoffs. Makes forwards in front of the net take a beating and not afraid to stick up for his team mates after the whistle. Not the best skater, but makes up for it with his physical style play. Hope the Red Wings at least sign him to a 1 year two way contract for 2017-18. I know he needs to clear waivers to be back in the AHL, but with the Red Wings d-man situation, he should at least be given a real good look in training camp.

Dan Renouf: Starting to become a good stay home d-man. Can be physical when need to and not afraid to stick up for his team mates. Starting to get a better feel as to when to pinch in the offensive zone, when to join the play, and when to peel back. Does have some offensive spark and was very helpful in the Griffins with his 2 goals (including GWG) in Game 4 of the finals. Skating need work, but he could get a better look in Detroit for next season.

Nathan Paetsch: Although he may not have the legs to play defense like some of the others, he makes up for it in his leadership, thus being our captain. Not afraid to throw his body to block shots in front of the net. Coaching staff must have told him to shoot the puck on goal when he is wide open as he got a couple of goals in this season playoffs. Be interesting to see what his future holds for next season if the Wings/Griffins decide to keep him another season.

Brian Lashoff: Did miss 2 games in the Chicago series with a banged up shoulder, Brian was a warrior out there for us. Not the swiftest of skaters, but he seems to be in the right position on the ice, especially at his own zone. Battler in front of his net. Has at times having a difficult time clearing pucks out of his zone. Otherwise solid AHL d-man and has been for GR for several seasons.

Robbie Russo: Ever since Robbie came back to GR from Detroit, he has not been the same player that got him in the AHL All-Star Game and our leading points getter for d-man. To me, he was very disappointing to watch for most of the playoffs, especially the last 2 rounds. Got slower skatingwise, and seems more tentitive in moving the puck, keeping the puck in the offensive zone, not sure what to do on the point on the PP, etc. It seems like he wanted to be somewhere else instead of the on the ice. He took a lot of physical hits from opponents and was taking too many silly penalties. Other teams seem to know what he was going to do before he did it.

Filip Hronek: The 2 games that Filip played to fill in for Lashoff, he looked out of place, especially on the defensive side of his game. Was not sure who to cover in his own zone. Has offensive potential, but in this playoffs, he could not hit the net. Will see what he does here next season and when he gets more use to the pro game, I'm sure he will look much better and will have more confidence in his play.

 

[Vatican Roulette]

Joe Hicketts: Very compact player for his size. Loves to hit and not afraid to. Excellent in keeping pucks in the offensive blue line. Intense player that gives it his all. Occasional mistake here and there, but that is to be expected in his first pro season. Hoping he gets more size, but I'm looking forward for even better things from him next season.

Dylan McIlrath: Physical player that Griffins were missing on the blue line. Speedy forwards can get by him, but if they do not get by him, Dylan makes them pay a price for trying. Tied the Griffins with +10 in +/- in the playoffs. Makes forwards in front of the net take a beating and not afraid to stick up for his team mates after the whistle. Not the best skater, but makes up for it with his physical style play. Hope the Red Wings at least sign him to a 1 year two way contract for 2017-18. I know he needs to clear waivers to be back in the AHL, but with the Red Wings d-man situation, he should at least be given a real good look in training camp.

Dan Renouf: Starting to become a good stay home d-man. Can be physical when need to and not afraid to stick up for his team mates. Starting to get a better feel as to when to pinch in the offensive zone, when to join the play, and when to peel back. Does have some offensive spark and was very helpful in the Griffins with his 2 goals (including GWG) in Game 4 of the finals. Skating need work, but he could get a better look in Detroit for next season.

Nathan Paetsch: Although he may not have the legs to play defense like some of the others, he makes up for it in his leadership, thus being our captain. Not afraid to throw his body to block shots in front of the net. Coaching staff must have told him to shoot the puck on goal when he is wide open as he got a couple of goals in this season playoffs. Be interesting to see what his future holds for next season if the Wings/Griffins decide to keep him another season.

Brian Lashoff: Did miss 2 games in the Chicago series with a banged up shoulder, Brian was a warrior out there for us. Not the swiftest of skaters, but he seems to be in the right position on the ice, especially at his own zone. Battler in front of his net. Has at times having a difficult time clearing pucks out of his zone. Otherwise solid AHL d-man and has been for GR for several seasons.

Robbie Russo: Ever since Robbie came back to GR from Detroit, he has not been the same player that got him in the AHL All-Star Game and our leading points getter for d-man. To me, he was very disappointing to watch for most of the playoffs, especially the last 2 rounds. Got slower skatingwise, and seems more tentitive in moving the puck, keeping the puck in the offensive zone, not sure what to do on the point on the PP, etc. It seems like he wanted to be somewhere else instead of the on the ice. He took a lot of physical hits from opponents and was taking too many silly penalties. Other teams seem to know what he was going to do before he did it.

Filip Hronek: The 2 games that Filip played to fill in for Lashoff, he looked out of place, especially on the defensive side of his game. Was not sure who to cover in his own zone. Has offensive potential, but in this playoffs, he could not hit the net. Will see what he does here next season and when he gets more use to the pro game, I'm sure he will look much better and will have more confidence in his play.

Thank you. I hope Detroit re-signs McIlrath as well.

 

[Henkka]

Robbie Russo: Ever since Robbie came back to GR from Detroit, he has not been the same player that got him in the AHL All-Star Game and our leading points getter for d-man. To me, he was very disappointing to watch for most of the playoffs, especially the last 2 rounds. Got slower skatingwise, and seems more tentitive in moving the puck, keeping the puck in the offensive zone, not sure what to do on the point on the PP, etc. It seems like he wanted to be somewhere else instead of the on the ice. He took a lot of physical hits from opponents and was taking too many silly penalties. Other teams seem to know what he was going to do before he did it.

Exactly same kind of problems have happened for players who try to play through an injury.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

Anyone see Callahan's tweets today? Sounds like he's leaving?

 

[Bondurant]

Belated congrats to Grand Rapids for capping off a great season with a championship. Between the championships won by U of M, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids and Motown, Michigan is a damn good state for hockey glory.

 

[Mister Ed]

Anyone see Callahan's tweets today? Sounds like he's leaving?

Feels like it anyways :

 

[waltdetroit]

These GRG players are UFA's

Street, Ben
McIlrath, Dylan
Callahan, Mitch
Pasquale, Edward