The Grand Rapids Griffins are a hockey team in the American Hockey League. They play in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA at the Van Andel Arena. They are a minor league affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. The franchise began in the now-defunct International Hockey League in 1996, and merged into the AHL in 2001. Notable players in the team's history include, Jiri Hudler, Niklas Kronwall and Darren McCarty. The only player to have his number retired in team history is Travis Richards.In the summer on 2008, the Griffins team management announced that Mike Stothers will not be returning as coach for the 2008-2009 season.
Griffins' Honor Roll of NHL Alumni
Kevyn Adams*
Dmitry Afanasenkov
Sean Avery
Chris Bala*
Ryan Barnes*
Radim Bicanek
Patrick Boileau
Darryl Bootland*
Joel Bouchard
Aris Brimanis
Sheldon Brookbank*
Wade Brookbank*
Slava Butsayev
Mathieu Chouinard*
Ivan Ciernik
Rob Collins*
Mike Crowley
Toni Dahlman*
Pavol Demitra
Jason Doig
Mark Eaton
Matt Ellis*
John Emmons*
Jonathan Ericsson*
Valtteri Filppula*
Mike Fountain
Sean Gagnon
Alexandre Giroux*
Erich Goldmann*
David Gove*
Mark Greig
John Gruden
Mark Hartigan
Darren Helm*
Todd Hlushko
Shane Hnidy*
Jimmy Howard*
Jiri Hudler
Jody Hull
Jani Hurme*
Matt Hussey
Curtis Joseph
Chris Kelly*
Dieter Kochan*
Krys Kolanos
Tomas Kopecky*
Niklas Kronwall*
Joel Kwiatkowski*
Simon Lajeunesse*
Patrick Lalime
Marc Lamothe
Josh Langfeld*
Brett Lebda*
Manny Legace
Neil Little*
Joey MacDonald*
Drew MacIntyre*
Donald MacLean
Steve Martins
Darren McCarty
Derek Meech*
Glen Metropolit*
Kevin Miller
Kip Miller
Tyler Moss*
Mark Mowers
Anders Myrvold
Chris Neil*
Jeff Nelson
David Oliver
Chris Osgood
Robert Petrovicky
Michel Picard
Martin Prusek*
Kyle Quincey*
Karel Rachunek*
Mattias Ritola*
Jamie Rivers
Nathan Robinson*
Stacy Roest
Gaetan Royer*
Darren Rumble
Yves Sarault
Petr Schastlivy*
Blake Sloan
Jason Spezza*
Garrett Stafford*
Danny Syvret
Patrick Traverse
Peter Vandermeer*
Dave Van Drunen*
Andrei Vasilyev
Julien Vauclair*
Todd White
Jason Williams
Clay Wilson*
* Made NHL debut after playing for Griffins.
Since the Griffins' inception in 1996, 96 different players - 16 goalies and 80 skaters - have gone on to play at least one game in the National Hockey League.
Some of the more accomplished members of the Griffins' alumni class include more than a dozen Stanley Cup champions, a Lady Byng winner (Pavol Demitra) and an all-star goalie (Patrick Lalime).
A few facts of note:
* Fifteen former Griffins were on the playoff roster of the 2008 Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings, nine of whom will have their names engraved on the Cup: Niklas Kronwall, Jiri Hudler, Valtteri Filppula, Brett Lebda, Derek Meech, Darren Helm, Tomas Kopecky, Darren McCarty and Chris Osgood.
* During the 2003-04 season, a record 44 former Griffins appeared in an NHL contest. In 2006-07, 38 alumni combined to set records with 219 goals, 355 assists and 574 points in 1,664 games, while in 2007-08, a record 19 NHL teams had a former Griffin on their roster.
* Of the NHL's 30 teams, 29 have had a former Griffin playing for them at some point. The only exception is Colorado.
* 48 players have made their NHL debuts after first playing for the Griffins, including 30 who made their debut during the same season they played in Grand Rapids.
* In addition, two Griffins head coaches - Guy Charron and Bruce Cassidy - moved on to the NHL the season after winning Coach of the Year honors in Grand Rapids, while three assistant coaches eventually advanced to assistant positions in the NHL (Curtis Hunt, Kelly Miller and Todd Nelson).
Single season
Goals: 56, Donald MacLean (2005–06)
Assists: 60, Jiri Hudler (2005–06)
Points: 101, Michel Picard (1996–97)
Penalty Minutes: 390, Darryl Bootland (2005–06)
GAA: 1.83, Martin Prusek (2001–02)
SV%: .936, Joey MacDonald (2003–04)
Career
Career Goals: 158, Michel Picard
Career Assists: 222, Michel Picard
Career Points: 380, Michel Picard
Career Penalty Minutes: 1,164, Darryl Bootland
Career Goaltending Wins: 88, Joey MacDonald
Career Shutouts: 16, Joey MacDonald
Career Games: 655, Travis Richards
