After multiple league titles and ECHL playoff success in Toledo, Dan Watson joined the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL as the franchise's 12th-ever head coach.
Dan Watson parlayed success at the ECHL level to a head coaching position in the AHL, joining the Grand Rapids Griffins this past summer as the 12th head coach in franchise history.
The 43-year-old Watson former player turned bench boss guided the Walleye to a 45-19-5-3 (0.681) record last season in the ECHL before going 9-4 in the Kelly Cup Playoffs to reach the Western Conference Finals.
Watson has been with the Red Wings organization for the past 14 seasons, holding multiple roles with the Walleye, as an assistant coach from 2009-14, two seasons (2014-16) as Toledo’s associate head coach alongside head coach Derek Lalonde - who just completed his first season behind the Red Wings’ bench - before being named head coach in July 2016 and also served as director of hockey operations during the 2020-21 ECHL season.
"Obviously being in Toledo for that many years, I understand and know what's expected," Watson shared during a recent Griffins media scrum.
"With Derek being in Detroit, I was fortunate enough to work with him for two years in Toledo. So I know what he's all about. I know what they're trying to work on, what they're trying to develop system-wise, and what they expect out of their players within those systems. So we get to preach the same things here."
Watson never missed the playoffs as head coach of the Walleye, reaching the Kelly Cup Finals twice (2019 and 2022) and leading Toledo to three division titles (2016-17, 2017-18 and 2021-22), with three 100-point seasons (2016-17, 2017-18 and 2021-22), two regular season championships (2016-17 and 2021-22), and four Western Conference Finals berths (2017, 2019, 2022 and 2023).
He earned the John Brophy Award as the ECHL’s Coach of the Year in his first year as head coach in 2016-17 when the Walleye won the Central Division behind a franchise-record 51 wins (51-17-2-2, 0.736) and reached the Western Conference Finals.
"In the ECHL you have to make sure you've got good time management. You're extremely organized. And I think that helps in this role when now you're worried about development, you're worried about players getting to the NHL," he shared of his 14 years with the Walleye and how it prepared him for a larger role in the AHL.
"You know, it's a lot of work on the coaching side of it now versus maybe the business side or running a salary cap. So yeah, you wear a lot of different hats in the ECHL but it certainly prepares you to be focused and organized for this job."