The Grand Rapids Griffins, who are coming off a Calder Cup Championship, will be looking to have another strong year this upcoming season. There are a 3 players in particular who should be highly focused on, as all of them will be rookies and this will be an important season in their development. They will also be expected to play a key role in helping the Griffins defend their championship.

Holmstrom, who the Wings drafted 197th overall in 2014, will be joining the Griffins after 3 interesting years in the SHL. He had a tremendous 2014-15 season in the SHL, putting up 20 points in 44 games, and was named Sweden’s junior player of the year. He followed that up by leading the SHL in playoff scoring with 18 points in 15 games, which set a league record of playoff points by a junior player (Previously held by Daniel and Henrik Sedin.)

Then, in 2015-16, he had another strong year with 23 points in 48 games, as well as having 6 points in 10 playoff games. But it is 2016-17 where there is concern. He was limited by injury to just 16 games, but put up a horrendous 2 points. A huge step back from what he had done the previous two seasons, but then he found his old form, scoring 7 points in 7 playoff games.

What makes this year with the Griffins so important is to see if his 2016-17 regular season was just a fluke, and if he can find the NHL potential he showed in 2014-15.

Hronek, who the Wings drafted 53rd overall in 2016, is coming off an outstanding year with the Saginaw Spirit of the OHL. As a defenseman, he scored 61 points in 59 games and was named to the OHL third all-star team. His development has been very unexpected, as he will not be returning to the OHL next year, but to the AHL to play with the Griffins. This is where the upcoming season becomes very significant for him. Can he continue the rapid speed his development has been going at or will he take a step back? It’s already been stated by head coach Todd Nelson that he will run one of the powerplay units, which shows he will have a lot of expectations as a 19 year old rookie considering the Griffins went with 5 forwards on the powerplay last season. It will be interesting to see if he can live up to the expectations he will be given, as well as the hype he built up last season.

Saarijarvi, who the Wings drafted 73rd overall in 2015, is coming to the Griffins in a similar situation as Filip Hronek. Saarijarvi, who last season played just 34 games in the OHL due to injury, still managed to put up 31 points and was a finalist for defenseman of the year. He played a massive role in leading the Mississauga Steelheads to the OHL final, scoring 15 points in 20 games. Now being a member of the Griffins, he has been given the responsibility of running one of the powerplays. While much of the attention on the back end will go to Filip Hronek who left the OHL a year early, Saarijarvi has made great strides that should not go unnoticed. Saarijarvi is shaping up to have a great season as his development thus far has been very consistent, but the question is, will he be able to continue that consistency to the next level?

Holmstrom, Hronek, and Saarijarvi all have something to prove, and all being rookies makes it difficult to project exactly how they should be able to perform. However, considering the many accomplishments they have all made, they are deserving of having the spotlight on them. This will be a massive year for their development.