Griffins Run Down: Lombardi & Cossa Continue to Impress, Even in Losing Streak
Taking a pulse check on the Grand Rapids Griffins, whose momentum has stalled but who continue to get significant contributions from two key Red Wing prospects
As of Sunday evening, the Grand Rapids Griffins—AHL affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings—have officially played 10 games, accruing a 6-3-1 record. That mark is good for second place in the Central Division, trailing only the Milwaukee Admirals. It's an unambiguously strong start, albeit it with a bit of a topsy turvy path to a commendable destination.
After splitting their first two games of the season, the Griffins proceeded to win five straight over the middle two weeks of October, before ending the month with a 3-2 overtime loss on the road against the Hartford Wolf Pack on Wednesday, that has since stretched to a three game losing streak. On Friday evening, the Griffins fell 4-1 on home ice against Rockford, before losing on the road Sunday 3-1 at the hands of the Cleveland Monsters. Brogan Rafferty scored the lone goal Friday, while Amadeus Lombardi had that distinction Saturday.
Lombardi's offense has been constant in the early going for Dan Watson's team. His five goals lead Grand Rapids, while the 2022 fourth round draft choice is second on the team in scoring (trailing only Dominik Shine) with seven points.
Similarly, Sebastian Cossa has been excellent to start the year, even during the relative doldrums of the present three-game losing skid. During that streak, Cossa has still stopped 75 of the 83 shots he's faced, good for a .904 save percentage. That would be a decent number for the season, but, as it happens, Cossa's overall form is actually much stronger. In an eight game sample so far in 2024-25, Cossa has posted a .936 save percentage and 1.98 goals against average.
That's exactly the sort of form the Red Wings would have hoped to get out of him during what will likely wind up a full season as the unquestioned number one starter for the Griffins. Of course, Cossa could wind up with a late season call-up to Detroit, depending on how things progress for the big club in the coming months. Alternatively, he may simply ride the momentum from a strong '24-25 in GR into training camp next September, at which point he would be a serious consideration for an opening night NHL roster spot.
Elsewhere, it is worth pointing out that beyond Lombardi, Grand Rapids has gotten more offense from its veterans than drafted Red Wing prospects. Shine leads the team with eight points, while Joe Snively and Austin Watson each have six. Lombardi is the only true prospect with more than three points in the early going.
Nate Danielson (Detroit's ninth overall selection in 2023) has just a goal and two assists through his first 10 games played. At the risk of a forced comparison, it seems he may be on a somewhat similar trajectory to Marco Kasper a year ago. Kasper got off to a very slow offensive start as he acclimated to full-time AHL life, but, by season's end (and notably by the start of the postseason, to be a bit more precise), he had emerged as one of Grand Rapids' primary offensive driver.
A slow offensive start is no real cause for concern for Danielson. This is his first full season of professional hockey, and some form of steep learning curve would inevitably manifest. Of course, you'd like to see the scoring pick up, but as for everyone else, we are still talking about a small sample size for the young season.
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