Griffins Open 31st Season Friday on the Road in Cleveland

The Grand Rapids Griffins open their 31st season Friday, Oct. 2, at 7 p.m. ET against the Cleveland Monsters. They return to Rocket Arena on Sunday, Oct. 4, at 3 p.m. ET. Both games are on WOOD 106.9 FM and 1300 AM, with pregame coverage starting 15 minutes ahead of puck drop.

Grand Rapids is starting on the road for the second year in a row. That hasn't happened since three straight road openers from 2018 to 2020. The weekend is the first pair of eight meetings with Cleveland this season, and the first two of four at Rocket Arena.

The Griffins are coming off a franchise-record 51-16-4-1 season that put the club first in the Central Division and Western Conference during the regular season. They lost in the Central Division Finals. Dan Watson, who was named head coach on June 14, 2023, begins his fourth season and is trying to become the first Griffins coach to reach the playoffs four years running.

Grand Rapids lists eight AHL rookies and five veterans on its opening-night roster. The veteran classification applies to players with at least 261 games in the NHL, AHL or top European leagues.

Several key pieces are back. John Leonard led last year's team with 33 goals and 54 points. Sheldon Dries had 45 points, and captain Dominik Shine had 39 in a season in which Grand Rapids went 35-3-2-0 with him in the lineup. Defenceman William Lagesson returns after posting a plus-33 rating, tops among AHL defencemen.

The club’s goaltending group includes returning netminder Michal Postava and rookie Trey Augustine. Postava started all eight of Grand Rapids’ games in the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs. Augustine begins his first professional season after three years at Michigan State. Cleveland begins the season under new head coach Nick Bootland.