This Week’s Game

GRIFFINS (8-0-0-0) at Chicago Wolves (4-3-1-0) // Sun., Nov. 9 // 4 p.m. EST // Allstate Arena 

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM & 1300 AM at 3:45 p.m. EST

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey 

Season Series: First of 10 meetings overall, first of five at Allstate Arena 

All-Time Series: 104-91-2-8-5 Overall, 53-51-0-2-1 Road

NHL Affiliation: Carolina Hurricanes

Noteworthy: At 8-0, the Griffins are the league’s last undefeated team for the first time since the 2000-01 IHL season. They are also off to the best start by an AHL team in four years. 

Scorching Hot: The Griffins have continued their franchise-record start with a perfect 8-0 ledger and are the league’s last undefeated team for the first time since the 2000-01 IHL season. The 8-0 mark is also the best start by an AHL team in four years, when Utica set the league record at 13-0. The two best starts in Griffins history have come the last two seasons under Dan Watson, including 6-1-1-0 last campaign (tied with 6-1-1 start in 2000-01). Before totaling 13 and 16 points through eight games these last two seasons, the Griffins had gone 23 straight seasons (2001-24) without hitting at least 13 points through eight games. The Griffins are also 4-0 on the road for the first time since 2007-08 and 4-0 at home for the first time since 2009-10. Grand Rapids has trailed just twice this season for a total of 22:15 (4.6%), while it has led for 280:26 (57.8%) and been tied for 182:19 (37.6%). 

Firing on all Cylinders: The Griffins rank first in the AHL with 4.25 goals per game and have outscored their opponents 34-16. The 34 goals are tied for the most in franchise history through the team’s first eight games (2005-06). The Griffins have outscored their opponents 19-6 at home, while possessing a 15-10 advantage on the road. Grand Rapids has its largest scoring margin against its opponents in the second period (12-4) and has tallied the most goals in the third (14). John Leonard leads the team with nine goals and Dominik Shine ranks second with six. 

Historic Run: John Leonard has 11 points and nine goals through his first seven games as a Griffin. His career-high six-game goal streak is tied with teammate Austin Watson, Jiri Hudler, Kip Miller and Pavol Demitra for the third-longest run in franchise history. Leonard’s career-best seven-game point streak is closing in on Riley Barber’s franchise-record run of nine games to begin both a season and a Griffins career. His nine goals are the second-most by a Griffin through his first seven games of an AHL season, while his 11 points tie for second (see chart below). Leonard ranks first in the AHL in goals, tied for third in points-per-game, and tied for 11th in points. Last season, he ranked among the league leaders in points (61, T10th), goals (36, T2nd), power-play goals (10, T9th), short-handed goals (5, T1st) and shots (252, 2nd). Throughout his six-year AHL career since 2020-21, Leonard has 182 points (92-90—182) in 256 games. 

Loaded Ammo: Third-year pro Amadeus Lombardi is off to a fast start with a team-high nine assists in eight games, which are tied for fourth on the circuit. His nine assists are tied for the most by a Griffin through the first eight games of an AHL season (see chart below). He is also currently on a four-game assist streak (0-5—5), which is tied for his career high. Last season, Lombardi posted career-high numbers in goals (19), assists (21), and points (40) in just 44 games, as he was limited due to an upper-body injury. Lombardi was the 113th overall pick by Detroit in 2022 and has 76 points (24-52—76) in 124 games with Grand Rapids since the spring of 2023. Prior to turning pro, Lombardi spent three seasons in the OHL with Flint from 2020-23 and produced a combined 161 points (63-98—161) in 134 regular-season games, adding 22 points (12-10—22) in 26 playoff outings.

Defense Wins Championships: The Griffins’ defense is one of the best in the AHL, as it ranks third with 2.00 goals allowed per contest. The 16 goals allowed are the second-fewest in franchise history through the team’s first eight games, trailing only last season’s 14. In addition, the team’s penalty kill places sixth at 86.2% (25-for-29). In net, Sebastian Cossa sports a 1.75 GAA with a .939 save percentage, while rookie Michal Postava possesses a 2.22 GAA and a .934 save percentage. The Griffins have four defensemen that have played at least 100 games in the NHL in Erik Gustafsson (515), Justin Holl (396), Ian Mitchell (110), and William Lagesson (107). Last season, the Griffins finished ninth in the AHL with 2.82 goals allowed per game but spent much of the campaign in the top five for goals allowed per contest. 

Good Problem to Have: The Griffins’ roster features eight veterans, including forwards Sheldon Dries, John Leonard, Dominik Shine and Austin Watson, and defensemen Erik Gustafsson, Justin Holl, William Lagesson and Ian Mitchell. With eight veterans, the Griffins are two over the playing limit and are required to scratch two of them each game due to the AHL’s development rule. Even with two of them scratched for each contest, the veterans on the team have combined for 40 points (20-20—40) in 48 games, which accounts for 44% of the scoring for the team and 61% of the goals. Leonard ranks first among the veterans with 11 points (9-2—11) in seven games, while Shine (6-3—9 in 7 GP) ranks second, and Gustafsson (0-6—6 in 6 GP) places third.

Future is Bright: Sebastian Cossa, the 15th overall pick in 2021, registered his first shutout of the season on Oct. 24 behind 30 saves in a 4-0 win over Manitoba. It marked his fourth AHL shutout, eighth as a pro, and the first since Oct. 11, 2024. Last season, Cossa was named to his first AHL All-Star Classic and ranked among the AHL regular-season leaders in games played (41, T8th), minutes played (2,424:37, 7th), GAA (2.45, 11th), save percentage (.911, T13th), and wins (21, T10th). The 6-foot-7 goaltender also made his NHL debut with Detroit on Dec. 9 at Buffalo and came away with a 6-5 shootout victory behind 12 saves and three stops in the shootout in a relief effort. Cossa is off to a 4-0 start this season with a 1.75 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage. In the AHL rankings, he places ninth in GAA and seventh in save percentage. In parts of four seasons with Grand Rapids since 2022-23, Cossa has notched a 48-25-14 mark with four shutouts to go along with a 2.48 GAA and a .910 save percentage in 88 outings. 

Shine On, Captain: On Oct. 9, Dominik Shine was named the 19th captain in franchise history. He is in his 10th season with Grand Rapids, becoming just the third player in team history to reach the milestone (Brian Lashoff 14, Travis Richards 10). Shine has four points (3-1—4) in his last two games and is tied for second on the team with nine points (6-3—9) in seven games. His six goals are also tied for sixth in the AHL. During the 2024-25 AHL season, Shine posted career-high numbers in assists (32), points (46), power-play goals (5), game-winners (4), shots (149), and multi-point outings (11) to go along with 14 goals and 76 penalty minutes in 61 regular-season games. He also signed his first NHL contract on Jan. 27, 2025, and later that evening made his NHL debut against the Los Angeles Kings. Shine, 31 at the time, became the oldest skater to make his NHL debut since Evgeny Medvedev did so at 33 on Oct. 8, 2015, and the oldest Red Wings player to make his debut since Vaclav Nedomansky did it at 33 on Nov. 18, 1977. On the all-time regular-season franchise leaderboard, Shine ranks third in games played (490), sixth in goals (81), ninth in assists (112), eighth in points (193), sixth in penalty minutes (557), tied for fifth in shorthanded goals (6), tied for fifth in game-winners (13), tied for first in unassisted goals (10), and sixth in shots (815). 

Oh Danny Boy: After suffering a preseason upper-body injury, Nate Danielson returned to the ice on Oct. 24 and secured two assists in his season debut. Now through four games, the second-year pro has five points (1-4—5), which includes two multi-point nights. The ninth overall pick by Detroit in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft logged 39 points (12-27—39) in 71 regular-season games as a rookie with Grand Rapids last season, adding one goal in three playoff outings. Last campaign, the 21-year-old ranked among the team leaders in points (6th), assists (2nd) and goals (6th). Danielson also placed among the 2024-25 AHL rookie leaders in assists (T9th), points (T14th) and shorthanded assists (1st). As a pro with the Griffins since the spring of 2024, the Red Deer, Alberta, native has 44 points (13-31—44), 37 penalty minutes and a plus-six rating in 75 regular-season games. 

Not Your Ordinary Rookie: Netminder Michal Postava, an undrafted free agent out of Czechia, is in his first season in North America after spending the last three campaigns in the Czech pro ranks. The 23-year-old is off to a 4-0 start with Grand Rapids with a 2.22 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage. He ranks sixth in GAA among rookie netminders and ninth in save percentage among all goaltenders. Postava became the 10th rookie netminder in franchise history to win his debut and then became the eighth rookie goalie to win his home debut, joining teammate Sebastian Cossa, Filip Larsson, Jared Coreau, Petr Mrazek, Tom McCollum, Jimmy Howard and Mathieu Chouinard. He became a Czech Extraliga champion last season with Kometa Brno and ranked among the league’s regular-season leaders in save percentage (5th), goals-against average (T11th), wins (4th) and shutouts (T7th) before placing first in the postseason with a .940 save percentage in 17 outings. Throughout Postava’s three-year pro career, the 6-foot-1 netminder has shown a 78-65-9 record with 12 shutouts and a 2.11 GAA in 148 contests.

AHL Leaderboard Tracker:  
Sebastian Cossa—Ninth in GAA (1.75), tied for fifth in wins (4), seventh in save percentage (.939)
Sheldon Dries—Tied for 10th in plus-minus (+8)
Erik Gustafsson—Tied for sixth among defensemen in assists (6), tied for 11th among defensemen in points (6)
Justin Holl—Tied for eighth among defensemen in plus-minus (+7)
William Lagesson—Tied for 10th in plus-minus (+8), tied for fourth among defensemen in plus-minus (+8)
John Leonard—First in goals (9), tied for 11th in points (11), tied for first in game-winners (3)
Amadeus Lombardi—Tied for fourth in assists (9), tied for fifth in plus-minus (+9)
Michal Postava—Sixth in GAA (2.22) among rookie goalies, tied for fifth in wins (4), ninth in save percentage (.934)
Dominik Shine—Tied for sixth in goals (6)

Milestones: Last Sunday, Justin Holl appeared in his 200th AHL game.  
Tyler Angle—One goal from 50 as a pro
Sheldon Dries—One point from 250 in the AHL
Erik Gustafsson—One game from 850 as a pro
Justin Holl—One point from 200 as a pro
John Leonard—One point from 200 as a pro, two goals from 100 as a pro
Dominik Shine—One game from 500 as a pro, one unassisted goal from claiming sole possession of the franchise record of 11
William Wallinder—Two points from 100 as a pro

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins