After playing in a third game in as many nights, you could fault Jesse Kiiskinen for a lackluster performance on Sunday.
However, Kiiskinen's performance was anything but lackluster, as he notched a natural hat trick and added an assist in a 5-1 win for the Grand Rapids Griffins against the Chicago Wolves.
Kiiskinen leads all AHL rookies with five goals and seven points in five games. Among all AHL players, he's tied for second in goals and points.
"I'm feeling pretty good," he told reporters after Sunday's game. "We played the two games (on Friday and Saturday) and coming into the third, I was full of energy getting to play again. When you're a player, you want to play."
The 21-year-old Detroit Red Wings prospect is the first Griffins rookie to record a hat trick since Tyler Bertuzzi in the 2016 Calder Cup Playoffs and the first Griffins rookie in the regular season since Chad Billins in 2013.
Kiiskinen also is the first Griffins rookie to record four points in a game since Simon Edvinsson (1-3—4) in 2023.
Kiiskinen shows off his skill
Kiiskinen's skill was on full display on Sunday as he deked defenders and showcased his impressive stickhandling en route to his first AHL hat trick.
On the first goal, just 5:45 into the game, he took a stretch pass from Alex Kannok Leipert, split the Wolves defense and rifled a shot over the leg but under the glove of Chicago goalie Zach Sawchenko. He topped off the spectacular goal with a cheeky celebration, mimicking a referee signaling a good goal after the Griffins had previously had a goal disallowed for goalie interference.
On his second goal, about six minutes later, he had a nice give-and-go with Kienan Draper, pulled the puck on his backhand and roofed it over Sawchenko's right shoulder.
In the second period, Kiiskinen completed the hat trick, when Michal Postava sent a long pass to the neutral zone that defected off of Dylan James. Kiiskinen collected the puck turned a Wolves defender inside out and beat Sawchenko once again on the glove side.
"He's a finisher," Griffins coach Dan Watson said. "He scored some big goals, especially early, just to give us some life and some energy. That's one of those things in a three in three that, sometimes you lack is energy on the bench, energy on the ice. He was able to provide that early for us."
But Kiiskinen wasn't done getting his name on the scoresheet. Early in the third period, on a 2-on-1, he fed James a nice pass that one-timed its way past Sawchenko, giving the Griffins a 4-1 lead.
"That was awesome," Griffins captain Dominik Shine said of Kiiskinen's game. "Everyone was fired up, great plays. He came out flying. I remember (former Griffins captain) Matt Ford told me one time that you can make a career out of playing the three in three games, on Sunday, you can make a career out of being good on Sundays.
"So, he's off to a good start."
Kiiskinen's journey to Grand Rapids
A third-round pick (68th overall) of the 2023 NHL draft by the Nashville Predators, Kiiskinen played for HPK of the Finnish Liiga last season, scoring 17 goals and adding 11 assists in 54 games. He made his AHL debut last season for the Griffins, playing in three games while recording a goal and an assist.
In June 2024, the Predators traded Kiiskinen and a 2024 second-round pick (Leo Shalin Wallenius) to Detroit in exchange for defenseman Andrew Gibson.
One year later, Kiiskinen signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Red Wings.
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