Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
There has been no easing into the 2025-26 season for the Grand Rapids Griffins.
The Griffins have won nine of their first 10 outings, the lone blemish on the ledger so far being a 4-3 shootout loss at Chicago last Sunday afternoon – a game in which they erased a two-goal deficit after losing starting goaltender Michal Postava to injury barely eight minutes in and icing a lineup short a man after Nate Danielson was recalled to Detroit.
After Wednesday morning’s 3-2 overtime win against the visiting Toronto Marlies, Grand Rapids remains the lone team in the AHL still undefeated in regulation.
Sebastian Cossa, a 2021 first-round pick by the Red Wings, continues to press his case for an NHL full-time role. Currently day-to-day with an injury, according to head coach Dan Watson, the 22-year-old Cossa won his first four starts of the season for the Griffins, including a shutout of Manitoba on Oct. 24, and sports a 1.75 goals-against average and .939 save percentage.
Postava, 24, has been making his own case as well. Signed by Detroit to a one-year entry-level contract June 10, Postava came to North America after he led HC Kometa Brno to the Czech Extraliga championship last season. In his five starts before being sidelined Sunday, Postava (4-0-0) had a 2.15 GAA and a .936 save percentage.
With that tandem, Grand Rapids had an ideal situation in net to open the season: two high-quality prospects pushing each for starts, potential playing time at some point in Detroit, and winning games for the Griffins.
But this business changes quickly. Carter Gylander, who had already been recalled from Toledo (ECHL) when Cossa went down, relieved Postava against the Wolves on Sunday and then stopped 34 shots in Wednesday’s victory over Toronto. And that where depth benefits an organization like the Red Wings, who have built a robust three-tier set-up that stretches from Detroit through Grand Rapids and onward to Toledo. Gylander, 24, was a seventh-round pick by the Red Wings in 2019 who turned pro last season after four seasons at Colgate University.
The Griffins’ job is to succeed with the players they have. Watson hoped to have Cossa back at practice as soon as today, but a good team plays with the players who are available rather than pining for those who aren’t. And any successful AHL operation always has two key elements: an ability to adjust quickly, and a knack for winning games even when setbacks happen.
The Griffins need to look back only as far as last season to see the importance of grabbing early-season wins. Grand Rapids got off to an 11-3-1-0 start in 2024-25, and those points socked away in October and November were crucial when the team went through a 3-9-1-1 slide in the second half.
While the Red Wings-Griffins affiliation has made that ability to adjust on the fly part of their blueprint, they also have that strong inclination toward patience and preparation. In Cossa’s first pro season, he went to Toledo and played 46 games there rather than rushing him into the AHL too quickly; that’s hardly typical for a first-round pick. They also left themselves room this season by having a solid option like Gylander in Toledo. Sure enough, when injury did strike – two of them, in fact – they were able to turn to someone who was already familiar to the organization.
Taking all of those good practices in total, these Griffins look like they can be more than an October-November success that soon sputters when the AHL schedule really starts to press teams. The Marlies remain in town for another match-up Friday night at Van Andel Arena before the Griffins have the remainder of their weekend off.
But whatever is still to come, the Griffins are building that early confidence that they can handle setbacks, injuries, recalls and any other challenges as schedule marches on.
On the American Hockey League beat for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.