Griffins News: Olympians, Sled Hockey, Winning with 11-7!
Photo Credit: Alyssa Luke
The Grand Rapids Griffins returned from the 2026 AHL All-Star break with a fire in their bellies, winning three-straight games to improve their record to 38-7-2-1 (79 points). They won back-to-back games against the Texas Stars, 4-2 and 5-0, and a mid-week romp against the Cleveland Monsters, 3-2.
The Griffins scored first in two of these three games, improving their record when scoring first to 28-0.
Goaltender Sebastian Cossa earned his fifth shutout this season, stopping 26 shots in Sunday’s win over the Stars. His five shutouts are the most by a Griffin since Jared Coreau in 2015-16.
Below are more notes, news, and storylines from this past week.
Shine Bright Like a Dominik
Since the return from the All-Star break, Griffins’ captain Dominik Shine has been offensively on fire. Over the course of three games, Shine tallied seven points in the form of six goals and one assist. Currently, he is on a three-game multi-point streak, scoring two goals on February 13th, his second career hat trick on February 15th, and a goal and an assist on February 18th.
This surge of goal scoring has propelled Shine up the leaderboard in the Central Division (2nd in goals), the Western Conference (T-3rd), and the AHL (T-6).
And the accolades don’t stop there.
Shine’s 96 career goals with the Griffins earned him the 3rd spot for most career goals scored in franchise history. His 220 AHL career points place him fourth on the Griffins All-Time leaderboard in points, behind Francis Pare (237), Travis Richards (238), and Michel Picard (380).
Due to his five goals over the weekend, the AHL named Shine player of the week.
Not enough forwards? No Problem!
Due to call-ups, injuries, and illness, Grand Rapids fielded a lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the bulk of January and February. Despite this non-traditional lineup, the Griffins keep continue to win.
Defender William Wallinder noted that even though “It’s harder for a defenseman to switch partners every shift. A guy can mess up your game a little bit” that it’s not an excuse to not play your game every shift.
Head Coach Dan Watson made sure to point out the importance of communication between players, “Every team wants their players to be loud, wants their players to talk and communicate. It’s something we’re still getting better at. Especially with the younger generation here.” Watson then jokingly went on to say, “If we could send a text on the ice to each other, I think they would love that. But, we can’t, so it forces them to talk.”
After we all had a good giggle, Coach Watson hit home even harder that communication is important for a team to be successful. Especially in these situations. “Talking on the ice is vitally critical and important,” said Coach Watson. “Loud teams are usually winning teams.”
Consistency of Ian Mitchell and Sheldon Dries
Of the 40 games Dries has played this season, there are only 13 in which he did not notch a point. Considering the fact Dries has 34 points this season, it’s hard to deny that he brings much-needed consistency to the team.
“Driesy, he’s a professional. He understands what his role is and he does it extremely well. He’s very responsible,” said Head Coach Dan Watson on Dries. “He can also chip in. You see how he scores those goals. It’s not from a distance, it’s from the hard areas around the blue paint.”
While Mitchell doesn’t light the lamp often, his ability to move plays through zones, and his ability to be both a two-way and stay-at-home defender makes him an asset to the Griffins blueline.
“With Mitchy, it’s about his feet and moving pucks. That’s what it is for him,” said Coach Watson of Mitchell. “When he’s doing that, he’s effective.”
La Familigia
Pre All-Star break forward Amadeus Lombardi was able to put points on the board, but the closer it got to the break, the less pep he had in his step. The young man who looked like the happiest golden retriever zooming around the ice started to look like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. Even when scoring or assisting a goal, the typical spunk wasn’t quite there.
Post All-Star break, Lombardi had a pep in his step, and not only looked confident on the ice, but also looked like he was having the time of his life on the ice. You could see his beaming smile all the way up on press row.
When asked about his resurgence of on-ice joy, Lombardi replied, “going home is just like really nice. It just recharges you.” He expanded upon this, saying, “I’m a big family guy. I love just being around them.”
It’s amazing how going back to your roots and being surrounded by the people you love can help recenter and rejuvenate a person.
Sled Wings
The Griffins and Grand Rapids Junior Sled Wings played their 19th annual sled hockey game on Monday, February 16th.
“It’s obviously a lot of fun, but it’s also for a really cool cause, “ said Shine of the event. “The guys always enjoy it. I think they’re always surprised about how fun it is, but also how hard it is.” Shine went on to highlight some of the similarities between sled hockey and ice hockey saying, “It’s a lot like mini sticks. It’s easier to shoot it. I think skating, it’s impossible to turn.”
From Coach Watson’s perspective, he loved the competitive spirit of the Sled Wings,“The actual Sled Wings, they’re out there flying around, being physical. I love that. I think it’s awesome,” exclaimed Coach Watson.
Events like these are important because it truly helps grow the sport of hockey from all aspects. “It’s important because we want to give back. We want to continue to build the hockey brand. It doesn’t matter if it’s traditional hockey or if it’s Sled Wings hockey,” explained Coach Watson. “It’s an opportunity for them to interact with people who have like minds. Although they're on sleds, it’s still hockey at the end of the day.”
Olympics!
For the sixth straight Olympics, a former Griffin will medal in men’s hockey, with the possibility of winning a gold medal for the third straight Olympics. Dylan Larkin (USA) and Tomas Tatar (Slovakia) are set to square off on Friday in the semifinals. The winner will get the honor of battling for gold.
Past Griffins medalist are:
Valtteri Filppula - Finland - 2022 Gold, 2010 Bronze
Harri Sateri - Finland - 2022 Gold
Tomas Jurco - Slovakia - 2022 Bronze
Patrik Rybar - Slovakia - 2022 Bronze
Alexey Marchenko - OAR - 2018 Gold
Chris Kelly - Canada - 2018 Bronze
Jonathan Ericsson - Sweden - 2014 Silver
Jonas Gustavsson - Sweden - 2014 Silver
Niklas Kronwall - Sweden - 2014 Silver, 2006 Gold
Gustav Nyquist - Sweden - 2014 Silver
Eduards Tralmaks made quite a name for himself at the 2026 Olympics. Heading into the quarterfinals, Tralmaks was tied for fourth in goals (3) and tied for 17th in points (4) among all players in the men’s tournament.
From the Griffins side of things, for six of the last seven Olympics, an active member of Grand Rapids has been loaned to their country’s National team. Seven players, including Tralmaks, have been sent to the Olympics while on the active roster.
A fun Tralmaks stat for you: Tralmaks’ three goals equaled the goal total of the other six combined, and his four points were one less than the point total of the other six.
While he didn’t take home a medal, I would say Tralmaks had a very successful 2026 Olympics.
