This will be a new and exciting year for the Grand Rapids Griffins. A new coach, young players, and now some new names as captains.
Matthew Ford returns as captain of the Griffins; the eleven-year pro will be spending his third year with the Griffins. He had 22 goals last year, tied for third among the team.
Chris Terry and Wade Megan are newcomers to the Griffins, but their leadership in the past earned them to spots as alternate captains for this club. Terry was the captain for the Plymouth Whalers when he was playing junior hockey and has served as the alternate captain with three different AHL teams.
Megan, the 28-year-old winger, will be part of a leadership group for the first time in professional hockey – he was the captain his last year playing for Boston University.
Long-time Red Wing and Griffin, Brian Lashoff will be returning to his post as an alternate captain. The 28-year-old defenceman has only been with the Red Wings organization in his professional career – he just played his 400th game for the Griffins last season.
The youngest member of the Griffins’ leadership group will be Dylan McIlrath. At 26-years-old, McIlrath has been a member of the Griffins after being traded here from the Florida Panthers organization back in the 2016-17 season. He has previously worn an “A” with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL but has not had a letter on his jersey since then.
The Griffins will be getting younger on the ice and behind the bench with new head coach Ben Simon. They will be aiming to return to the playoffs once again and go on a deeper run than last year. New blood Givani Smith and Filip Zadina will certainly provide a spark of new energy for this squad.
The Griffins open their season tonight against the Texas Stars. Puck drop is at 8:00pm EST. With the new AHL.tv free weekend, everyone will be able to watch Zadina’s first game in the Detroit Red Wings organization tonight.
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