The Grand Rapids Griffins may not have a shortage of bodies when camp rolls around.
Detroit’s top farm club currently has 34 players listed as signed on its website, giving the organization a deep pool of forwards, defensemen, and goalies to sort through. The forward group alone runs 20 deep, headlined by Carter Bear, Ondrej Becher, Tag Bertuzzi, Kaden Bohlsen, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Cameron Butler, Nate Danielson, Noah Dower Nilsson, Kienan Draper, Sheldon Dries, Dylan James, Jesse Kiiskinen, John Leonard, Carter Mazur, Nolan Moyle, Sutter Muzzatti, Theo Rochette, Dominik Shine, Wilmer Skoog, and Chase Stillman.
The blue line lists 10 defensemen: Ronnie Attard, Shai Buium, Justice Christensen, Marcus Crawford, Anton Johansson, William Lagesson, Alex Kannok Leipert, Axel Sandin-Pellikka, Jacob Truscott, and William Wallinder. In goal, the Griffins have Trey Augustine, Carter Gylander, Jonathan Lemieux, and Michal Postava.
That’s a crowded picture, but several names appear to be headed for Detroit. The expectation is that Mazur, Wallinder, and Brandsegg-Nygard will remain with the Red Wings, while Sandin-Pellikka, Danielson, and possibly Leonard could also make a push to stay in Detroit when the season opens.
A few of those players face another hurdle before a Griffins assignment becomes official. Mazur, Leonard, and Wallinder would have to clear waivers to go down to Grand Rapids. Shine, Dries, Attard, Butler, Lagesson, Skoog, and Stillman will also need to pass through waivers before being sent to the AHL.
There are also nine players on AHL contracts with the Griffins: Bertuzzi, Lemiuex, Draper, Moyle, Truscott, Kannok Leipert, Bohlsen, Christensen, and Crawford.
Elsewhere, a couple of former Red Wings defensemen will wear the captain’s “C” in Russia’s KHL this season. Alexey Marchenko is set to captain Ak Bars Kazan, where he’ll be on the ice when the regular season begins September 5 against Admiral. Marchenko appeared in 110 games for Detroit from 2013 through 2017.
Libor Sulak will captain Admiral. The Czech blueliner played six games for the Red Wings in 2018-19. Meanwhile, in Sweden, former Griffins forward Nolan Stevens has been named captain of Södertälje.
One former Red Wings draft pick won’t be starting the KHL season with a team. Evgeni Svechnikov, Detroit’s 2015 first-round pick, is currently without a club after Spartak terminated his contract by mutual agreement on Friday.
He had signed a two-year deal with the KHL team in June. Svechnikov played 41 games for the Wings from 2016 through 2021.
Former Red Wings forward Gemel Smith has also moved on, signing with HC Presov of Slovakia’s 1.Liga, the country’s second division. Smith spent last season with Grizzlys Wolfsburg in Germany and briefly appeared in three games for Detroit in 2021-22.
Another former Red Wings prospect is changing AHL scenery. Cross Hanas, a second-round pick in 2020, has signed with the Providence Bruins after spending last season with the Texas Stars. He played three seasons with the Griffins while in the Red Wings organization.
The hockey world also lost a former Red Wings farmhand this week. Mike Maurice has died at 60.
The Kingston Frontenacs announced the news, noting that Maurice spent three seasons with the club and was a respected leader on and off the ice. Maurice’s minor-league career included a two-season run with the Adirondack Red Wings from 1992-94, when Adirondack was Detroit’s top affiliate, as well as two separate stints with the Griffins.
He first skated in Grand Rapids in 1996-97, back when the Griffins were in the IHL, and returned from 1999 through 2001.
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For the Red Wings, the appointment is less about the letter on his sweater than what it says about his trajectory. Leadership roles at the college level can matter as much as raw skill when a young player is trying to show he can handle the next level, and Plantes path will keep drawing attention as the season unfolds. The only real question now is how soon Detroit decides to bring that development under its own roof. [Read more 🡒]