GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The first half of the American Hockey League (AHL) season has already been a roller coaster ride for the Grand Rapids Griffins, and the biggest hills are yet to come.
37 games down, 35 to go. Let’s take a look to see how the youth have stepped up to lead this team to success.
Consistency Roadblocks
Having several youngsters making AHL debuts and veterans finding themselves along the I-96 yo-yo between Grand Rapids and Detroit made early consistency difficult for first-year head coach Dan Watson.
“Step number one is making sure they’re building relationships with each other,” Watson said of building a culture in Grand Rapids. “It’s making sure they understand, as a staff, we care about them, we respect them, and we have their best interest at heart. When you start doing that, now you start building a team that wants to come to the rink and wants to have fun.”
Despite the early challenges, the Griffins stayed the course and are playing their best hockey at the season’s halfway point. They won seven of their last ten games, including a pair of massive comeback wins on the road. This has propelled them to third in the Central Division.
While the Griffins lean on veteran leaders like Zach Aston-Reese and Dominik Shine, the coaching staff increasingly relied on young prospects to deliver in clutch moments. It is on the backs of these youngsters that the team has risen to serious contention in the division.
Kasper the Unfriendly Ghost
Let’s start off with the man of the hour – Detroit’s first-round selection in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Marco Kasper. The 19-year-old was named the AHL’s Player of the Week for his heroics over the Manitoba Moose in the Griffins’ weekend series in the Great White North. Kasper’s overtime goal and assist capped off a 4-1 comeback in Friday night’s opener. What did he do to follow it up? Only two more goals and another assist on the last-minute game-winning goal. This helped the Griffins rally from a 3-0 deficit for four unanswered goals and four points on the weekend.
The honor was well-deserved for Kasper, who saw his production surge following a rough start offensively with just one goal and no assists in 10 games. Since Christmas, Kasper has turned his game up to another level. He’s scored four goals and added seven assists in the 11 games since the holiday. It’s no coincidence that Kasper’s production has coincided with the Griffins’ surge up the standings over the last month.
A native of Innsbruck, Austria, Kasper had played virtually his entire career up until this October on the wider surfaces of European ice. It’s only natural for an adjustment period to gain comfort and confidence in making plays with less time and space. As Kasper continues to grow into his game, learn from mistakes made, and gain that confidence both with and without the puck, Griffins (and, by extension, Detroit) fans are seeing more and more of what made Kasper a top-ten pick less than two years ago.
There’s still a lot of season to play for a youngster to both struggle and thrive. However, when Kasper has the puck, it’s been very unfriendly for the opposing team’s net. He’s going to have to be every bit of that growing player for the Griffins to continue to ride the wave into the second half of the year.
How Soon Is Now?
Perhaps the biggest name on the Griffins’ roster heading into the season, Simon Edvinsson stepped into the lineup building off last year’s success and didn’t miss a beat. A 2021 first-round pick, Edvinsson has commanded the game from the blue line. His smooth skating allows him to lead the attack from the back end – an impressive trait for his size, standing at 6’6. His vision finds the soft areas of the ice before the puck arrives, adding a unique dynamic to the Griffins’ attack.
Plainly put – Edvinsson has been a dominant force in Grand Rapids.
Of course that begs the question – when does he get that call up to Detroit for good? It seems to be a narrative that’s followed Edvinsson all season long and for good measure. Just how long can a top talent in this league stay in the AHL?
It’s no secret that Detroit and GM Steve Yzerman’s philosophy is not to rush the prospects. The Red Wings cemented that philosophy by adding several free-agent defensemen over the summer. That made it much harder for Edvinsson (who rehabbed most of the off-season from shoulder surgery) to break through the lineup.
Edvinsson turns 21 in February. There is still a lot to grow in his game when it comes to making decisions with the puck. Getting him to round out those corners of his game with top-line minutes in Grand Rapids versus a third-pairing role or watching from the press box in Little Caesars Arena will serve both Edvinsson and the Detroit organization more down the road.
The Griffins already have their star, as Edvinsson was recently named to the AHL All-Star Classic.
Burgers and Fries
Speaking of All-Star representatives, we’d be remiss without talking about Jonatan Berggren when it came to the 2024 Griffins. After 67 games with the Red Wings last year, many expected his role in the parent club all but sown up. For the 24-year-old Swede, that hasn’t been the case. Berggren has instead seen his time split between Detroit and Grand Rapids with the majority of his time in the latter.
This led to some frustrations within the fanbase and media rumors that Berggren might be a candidate to move on through a trade. Ignoring the talk off-ice, Berggren has produced at the level he’s known for on the ice. He’s a point-per-game player over his 28 games with the Griffins and has scored clutch goals at the biggest moments, including the game-winning goal on Wednesday for the Griffins’ third consecutive comeback win.
With all that he’s done on the scoresheet, what more can Berggren do to work his way back into Detroit permanently? The question was never what he could do with the puck but what he could do without it. While improving his game defensively, questions remain about if he’s capable of locking up puck movers and winning board battles at the next level. With the Red Wings scoring at an incredible pace, they aren’t desperate to bring Berggren up to kickstart the offense. Rather, they need him to play two-way hockey at a high level for him to stick at the National League.
In terms of how much the second half of the season means to any player, Berggren has the most to gain. Perhaps the most to lose. As he heads to restricted free agency with arbitration rights this summer, the next 35 games have the potential to determine his direction in the organization. The puck is on Berggren’s stick to force the organization into a long-term decision.
Coss to Coss
Of all the positions in this great sport of hockey, perhaps none are under such a microscope as the goaltender – especially high-profile goaltending draft picks. The Central Division has seen the likes of Yaroslav Askarov, Jesper Wallstedt, and, in past years, Pyotr Kochetkov set the standard for blue-chip prospects in the crease. You can add Sebastian Cossa’s name to this exclusive and ultra-talented group.
After posting some dominating numbers in ECHL Toledo last season, expectations were sky-high for the 2021 first-round selection. Teaming up with veteran Michael Hutchinson in the crease, Cossa’s compiled an 8-7-3 record. This is combined with a 2.80 GAA and .905 save percentage in the first half of the season.
“Every day, every time we’re at practice we’re talking with each other.” Cossa said of his communication with his goaltending partner. “Just want to get his insights, seeing what he’s seeing. There’s a lot of experience there. He’s been a really big help even confidence wise. He’s there and he’s in my corner to help me along the way for sure.”
The goaltending position requires patience, especially for a 21-year-old with a 6’6″ frame. Anyone expecting Cossa to battle for the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award in his first season with the Griffins needs to pump the brakes.
That being said – Cossa’s turned over the calendar year and started 2024 off with a bang. He’s given up only one goal in three of his last four starts, posting W’s in four of his last five. Like the rest of this Griffins squad, Cossa’s season didn’t have the best start. He’s learned tremendously from mistakes (like last weekend’s gaffe in Manitoba) and shown the strength to rebound and provide some of the best hockey in his promising career.
With Wallstedt – his immediate comparison due to their relative draft position – succeeding early on in the AHL and even getting a cup of coffee in Minnesota, Cossa has often been overlooked without the same results. The Detroit organization and Grand Rapids GM Shawn Horcoff has preached patience with the promising netminder to let him develop his game. The first half of the season is providing immediate dividends, and there is a lot to be hopeful for Cossa down the stretch.
Second Verse, Same as the First
There are plenty of youngsters quietly humming along with their games in Grand Rapids. Albert Johansson has been steady in his own end, proving to be consistent from the blue line for the second consecutive season. Antti Tuomisto and William Wallinder provide a thick layer of insulation on that blue line in their first seasons. Amadeus Lombardi continues to grow into a weapon on the forecheck, forcing turnovers with his speed. He also adds an extra dimension to the bottom six with his creative playmaking ability.
With the abundance of youth on this team, there are sure to be bumps in the road. Every talented player needs to learn how to win and develop the habits needed to do so consistently. Who can the fans keep an eye out for in the second half? Carter Mazur? Elmer Soderblom?
It’s hard to just pinpoint a single name as everyone continues to develop into a new era for postseason contention. Not just for the Griffins in the short term but for the Red Wings in the long term. It’s no secret that the last few seasons without playoff action in Grand Rapids were unacceptable for this organization. For the Griffins to make a run for a Calder Cup, they’ll need big second halves from all hands coming together to pull that rope.
