Griffins season a successThe Grand Rapids Griffins’ 2008-09 season can only be categorized as a success.
Sure, the Griffins lost in four straight to the Manitoba Moose this week in the second round of the American Hockey League playoffs, but it was a meaningful year on the farm for a relatively young group of Griffins.
The Griffins essentially churned out four NHL-ready players in Jonathan Ericsson, Darren Helm, Ville Leino and Justin Abdelkader. You can probably add the name of goaltender Jimmy Howard to that group, too, and it's possible all five will be on the Detroit Red Wings' opening-day roster next fall.
Not only that, but forward Evan McGrath, defenseman Jakub Kindl and goalie Daniel Larsson made fantastic strides. Throw forwards Cory Emmerton and Francis Pare and defensemen Brian Lashoff and Sergei Kolosov into the mix, and there were no shortage of bright spots in Grand Rapids.
Although the second-round setback was a sweep, it wasn’t as bad as it sounds. Three of the games were one-goal contests (2-1, 2-1 and 3-2) and the other was a one-goal game until the Moose scored an empty-netter (3-1). If Helm and Ericsson weren’t playing critical roles with the Red Wings in the NHL playoffs, the series might have played out differently for the Griffins.
* Leino had 13 points in 10 playoff games and Abdelkader had six goals in 10 games. Neither had a point against Manitoba, but Leino was still leading the AHL playoffs in scoring after his final game.
* McGrath didn’t play in the post-season with a shoulder injury. Lashoff’s remarkable run with the Griffins ended on the sidelines with a concussion. Mattias Ritola reportedly ended up out as a healthy scratch down the stretch, a disappointing development after a terrific start to the season.
* The Red Wings have called up five prospects among their seven Black Aces: Abdelkader, Leino, Kindl, Howard and Kolosov. Kolosov’s name jumps out slightly, but he had a solid year and is developing nicely in the Andreas Lilja-mold after the Red Wings almost let him go last season.
Abdelkader stepped right in for Sunday's Game 5 against the Anaheim Ducks in the wake of Tomas Kopecky's injury and was credited with an assist and a whopping nine hits in 6:32 of ice time. That's a sign of things to come.
* Goaltender Thomas McCollum (Brampton, Ontario Hockey League) saw his team fall short of an OHL title this week, losing 4-1 to the Windsor Spitfires in the best-of-seven final. But McCollum made 32 saves to help Brampton earn a surprising 4-2 win in Game 3 and made 34 stops in an overtime loss in Game 5. The talented first-round draft pick will likely play in the AHL next season.
* The season has ended for everybody in the Red Wings’ system except for Rimouski Oceanic defenseman Sebastien Piche and those on the NHL roster. Red Wings Central will publish at least one more RWC Report after the Memorial Cup and/or after the NHL playoffs come to a close.