No Shortage of Players Available for Red Wings Farm Club

They might be as deep as last season in talent, but the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins, the top farm club of the Detroit Red Wings, won’t want for players.

The Griffins’ website currently lists 34 players as signed with the club.

That list includes 20 forwards: 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.

Then there are 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.

The four goalies are Trey Augustine, Carter Gylander, Jonathan Lemieux, and Michal Postava.

Of that group, expectations are that Mazur, Wallinder, and Brandsegg-Nygard will be sticking with the Red Wings. Sandin-Pellikka, Danielson, and perhaps even Leonard could make a case to stay in Detroit to start the season.

Mazur, Leonard, and Wallinder would need to clear waivers to be assigned to GR. Shine, Dries, Attard, Butler, Lagesson, Skoog, and Stillman will also need to go through waivers before being sent down.

Nine other players: Bertuzzi, Lemiuex, Draper, Moyle, Truscott, Kannok Leipert, Bohlsen, Christensen, and Crawford are all signed to AHL contracts with the Griffins.

Former Red Wings To Wear The Captain’s “C”

Two former Red Wings defensemen will captain teams in Russia’s KHL this season. Alexey Marchenko will wear the C for Ak Bars Kazan.

Marchenko played 110 games for Detroit from 2013 through 2017.

Libor Sulak will captain Admiral. The Czech played six games for the Red Wings in 2018-19.

Admiral and Ak Bars Kazan face each other as the KHL regular season gets underway on September 5.

Meanwhile, in Sweden, former Griffins forward Nolan Stevens has been named captain of Södertälje.

One player with ties to the Wings who won’t be playing on opening day of the KHL season is Evgeni Svechnikov. Detroit’s 2015 first-round draft pick is a player without a team.

On Friday, Spartak terminated Svechnikov’s contract by mutual agreement. Svechnikov signed a two-year pact with the KHL club in June.

He played 41 games for the Wings from 2016 through 2021.

Former Red Wings forward Gemel Smith has found a new home in Europe. He signed with HC Presov of 1.Liga, the second division of Slovak hockey.

Smith played last season with Grizzlys Wolfsburg in Germany.

Smith was briefly with the Red Wings for three games in 2021-22.

Once a second-round pick of the Red Wings in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, forward Cross Hanas will be playing for his third AHL organization this season. Hanas signed with the Providence Bruins.

Last season, Hanas toiled for the Texas Stars. He spent three seasons with the Griffins while in the Red Wings organization.

Former pro forward Mike Maurice has died at the age of 60. Maurice spent 13 seasons playing pro hockey, all in the minor leagues.

That included a two-season stint with the Adirondack Red Wings from 1992-94, when they were Detroit’s top farm club. Maurice also served two tours with the Griffins.

He first played in Grand Rapids in 1996-97, when the Griffins were an IHL club. Maurice returned to Grand Rapids from 1999 through 2001.