Photo Credit: Macy Mineni/Grand Rapids Griffins
Every Wednesday during the season, “Graced By Rain” picks a play from the past week’s Grand Rapids Griffins games that was beautiful to watch take shape. It could be a goal, a pass, or even a hit. Below are the Beauty Plays from October 2026.
Sheldon Dries Face-Off Goal
The Graced By Rain “Beauty Play of the Week” for October 1-6, 2026 was awarded to Sheldon Dries’ faceoff goal scored on Friday, October 2, 2026 in the Grand Rapids Griffins 5-2 win over the Cleveland Monsters.
Not a lot of explanation needs to go into why Dries was awarded the Beauty Play of the Week. Why? Because, it’s not often that a player scores within moments of puck drop.
After the weekend, Dries led the Griffins this season with three goals and four points. He was also second in the league with goals and tied for third in the league with four points. The Red Wings have called Dries up twice since opening weekend.
Simplicity and Skill Combine for a Goal
The Graced By Rain “Beauty Play of the Week” for October 7-13, 2026 has been awarded to Jesse Kiiskinen’s second goal of the afternoon on Sunday, October 11, 2026 in the Grand Rapids Griffins 5-1 win over the Chicago Wolves.
The combination of simplicity from Kienan Draper and skill of Kiiskinen made this goal come to fruition. It’s always nice to see two styles of play from opposite ends of the spectrum come together to create a goal.
At this point in October, Kiiskinen was having an outstanding start to his rookie season, scoring seven points over the course of four games for the Griffins.
Everyone Touched the Puck!
The Graced By Rain Beauty Play of the Week for the week of October 14 - 20, 2026 was awarded to the beautiful passing that led to Wilmer Skoog's first goal of the season on October 18.
Every single skater for the Griffins touched the puck on the play, highlighting the excellent communication this year’s team has with one another. From this play alone, you can tell Grand Rapids is already clicking early in the season.
John “No Look Pass” Leonard
The Graced By Rain Beauty Play of the Week for the week of October 21-27, 2026 was awarded to John Leonard's no-look pass that led to Sheldon Dries' goal. There’s nothing quite like watching Leonard get creative during games.
