The Grand Rapids Griffins release their 2023-24 schedule
On Wednesday afternoon, the Grand Rapids Griffins released their schedule for the 2023-24 AHL season.
New head coach Dan Watson's first game behind the Griffin bench will come from the friendly confines of Van Andel Arena on Friday, October 13th against the Colorado Eagles, affiliate of the Avalanche. It will be the first ever game between the Griffins and Eagles, and the first of four consecutive match-ups between the two sides to open the season.
Colorado and Grand Rapids will get together again the next evening at Van Andel, then travel to Loveland, Colorado for a back-to-back at the Budweiser Event Center the following weekend.
“We are very excited to see what this new season has to offer with head coach Dan Watson leading the charge,” said Griffins president Tim Gortsema. “We firmly believe that the winning ways he established in Toledo will continue here in Grand Rapids, and this should be a special season with plenty of high-level prospects eager to pave their way to Detroit.”
The 72-game slate will feature 19 back-to-backs and three three-in-threes. The Griffins' 26th annual New Year's Eve game will come against the Cleveland Monsters, and the Great Skate Winterfest Game will come on January 27th against the Belleville Senators (who have not featured on GR's schedule since 2019-20).
The 2023-24 campaign represents the Griffins' 22nd season as the Detroit Red Wing's primary affiliate, 23rd season in the AHL, and the 28th season in franchise history. The Griffins first brought pro hockey back to Grand Rapids in 1996 in the now-defunct International Hockey League and spent their first season in the AHL as the Ottawa Senators' affiliate.
Now, the Red Wing-Griffin connection is by now well-established, and the only question remaining is which future Red Wings will start the season in West Michigan. Touted prospects like Marco Kasper, Simon Edvinsson, and Elmer Soderblom may be destined for that fate, despite featuring with the big club a year ago.