The Grand Rapids Griffins were seemingly unbeatable through the first two months of last season. They won 19 of their first 21 games and received contributions from up and down their lineup. While it’s not quite scorching like last season, the Griffins are off to another hot start this season.
The Griffins have won six of their first eight contests, outscoring their opponents 30-19 along the way. They have enjoyed elite play from their top goaltender, as well as strong, determined play from their entire roster. Everybody seems to be pulling on the rope, and the results are proving it.
Michal Postava's top-tier performance
We don’t need to spend too much time here as others have more eloquently elaborated on Michal Postava’s strong start to the season. Make no mistake though: he has been locked in to start the season.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about Postava’s start is that he’s made the adjustment from being the new guy in town to being the “veteran” mentor for Trey Augustine look easy. We already knew Postava was a good goaltender – Sebastian Cossa would still be with the Red Wings if he wasn’t – but it was far from guaranteed that Postava would replicate his efforts from last season as the Griffins’ top option in goal this season.
Instead, the 24-year-old spent some time on a call-up with the Red Wings due to Daniil Tarasov “tweaking” something. He then made his NHL debut in the third period against the Vancouver Canucks, taking over for John Gibson after “something got in [Gibson’s] eye”, according to Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan.
A few nights later, Postava made his first NHL start against the Edmonton Oilers, securing a 4-3 shootout victory in the process. While two appearances aren't a lot to go off, he as almost certainly put himself on the map for anyone that wasn't already aware of his place in the Red Wings organization.
In a season that is already characterized by the play of the Red Wings' young talent, it'll be interesting to see if Postava forces the Red Wings to make a decision with Gibson or Tarasov down the road.
Griffins’ identity slowly emerging
Like their NHL counterparts, playing a hard-nosed style of hockey was clearly a focus for the Griffins entering this season. Much of their success to start this season has been generated from strong forechecking, good play along the boards, a willingness to hit and be hit, and creating chaos around the crease.
It’s not just specific players that are pushing this identity. Whether it’s Cameron Butler or Kienan Draper dropping the gloves, Wilmer Skoog or Sheldon Dries laying a big hit, or Carter Bear and Dominik Shine gravitating to the scoring areas and absorbing any punishment they take from being there, there’s a strong effort from up and down the lineup to play assertive all over the ice.
The season is still young, so it will be interesting to see if the Griffins can maintain this style over the course of a long season. Despite what they have been able to do, head coach Dan Watson still sees plenty of room for improvement.
“We got a lot of things to still clean up,” Watson said following the team’s 5-2 victory over the Cleveland Monsters on October 24. “Details and habits within our structure are still not good enough….We want to build consistency…and right now our game is not consistent enough, so we’ll go to work this week.”
“I give credit to all the guys with how hard they worked”
— Hockeytown West Podcast (@HockeytownWpod) October 25, 2026
The Griffins responded in a big way after dropping Fridays game in a shootout by defeating the Monsters 5-2 Saturday night closing out another successful five game segment
See Coach Watson’s full postgame⬇️#GoGRG #AHL… pic.twitter.com/vHGj5evSxN
If the first 10 games of the Griffins’ season is any indication, Watson will have his team playing a brand of hockey suited for the playoffs long before they begin in April.
Players that deserve their flowers
It is the nature of minor-league sports that some players naturally garner more attention than others, regardless of who does what on any given night. Fans want to hear about the NHL team’s top prospects or players that have endeared themselves to fans at both the NHL and AHL level, such as Dominik Shine.
This sometimes makes it difficult to properly shine a light on players that are doing good things for their team, but maybe isn’t as familiar to fans as others. This section aims to do just that.
Ondrej Becher is on a career-high scoring pace to start this season with seven points in the first 10 games. Drafted 80th overall by the Red Wings back in 2024, the Czechian forward’s confidence is observable whenever he is on the ice; whenever the puck is on his stick, you can see him survey the ice as he calculates his next move. Now in his third season in Grand Rapids, Becher gives the Griffins enviable depth down the middle along with Dries, Draper and Théo Rochette.
William Lagesson has been a reliable presence on the Griffins’ blue line this season. His two-way game is unmistakable as he has four goals and seven points through the first 10 games of the season, but he is also constantly involved with maintaining defensive structure in his own zone. He uses his stick to break up plays as they’re happening, he isn’t afraid to battle for pucks along the boards, and he even engages in some extracurricular activities after the whistle - though he almost certainly isn’t an eager participant.
Lagesson is involved with almost everything the Griffins are trying to do this season. No wonder he wears an ‘A’ on his sweater as one of the team’s alternate captains.
Where things stand
The Griffins return home this week to host the Texas Stars on Nov. 4.
As of this writing, the Griffins sit atop the Central Division and the entire Western Conference with a record of 8-1-2, good for 18 points and a two-point lead over the second place Manitoba Moose. Their penalty kill leads the AHL with a sparkling 93.5 percent success rate, and their power-play is among the best at 25 percent.
First-year forward Jesse Kiiskinen leads the Griffins in goals (6) and points (11); Dries leads the team in points per-game with eight points in just four games. Jacob Bryson leads defensemen with a goal and eight points. Trey Augustine and Michal Postava share the same amount of starts with five per person. Augustine holds a 2-1-2 record with a .901 save-percentage, while Postava has a 5-0-0 record with a .955 save percentage.
The Griffins will look to polish their game without losing their edge over the next week. They may not be off to as dominant of a start as they did last season, but the success they’ve had leaves room to ponder how high they can fly once their game rounds into form.
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