On defense, while the Griffins didn\u2019t wind up getting exciting young blueliner Axel Sandin-Pellikka, who made the Red Wings out of camp, they instead wound up with both Erik Gustafsson and Justin Holl \u2014 longtime NHL players who are making huge impacts.<\/p>\n
\u201cGus on the power play changed our unit for sure,\u201d assistant coach St\u00e9ph Julien said, \u201cand Holler on the PK too, and five-on-five, to kill plays and play against top lines.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Justin](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/GettyImages-2196630740-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Justin Holl and Erik Gustafsson both played several hundred games in the NHL before landing on the Grand Rapids Griffins this season. (Leah Hennel \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Add those two to a blue line that already included relatively seasoned young players in William Wallinder and Antti Tuomisto, plus veteran AHL-NHL tweeners Ian Mitchell and William Lagesson and an under-the-radar find in Alex Kannok Leipert, and it\u2019s an embarrassment of riches on the back end.<\/p>\n
Too many to play on a given night, in fact.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s something the Griffins had to address anyway because of the AHL\u2019s veteran rule, which stipulates that a team can only dress five skaters who have played more than 320 professional games in a given night. It\u2019s a tricky rule for any team to navigate, but particularly when those players are of such a high level. So, the Griffins tried to keep it all equal: creating a rotation among the eight veterans on their roster, in which two would sit once every four games. And no one is exempt from it \u2014 even the league\u2019s leading goal scorer. Wednesday, it was Holl and Austin Watson\u2019s turn.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all kind of sat together, we brought it to them, talked about it,\u201d Lashoff said. \u201cThey\u2019re a mature group. I think that\u2019s huge. \u2026 It can be difficult. I\u2019ve seen it be difficult. But everybody\u2019s kind of bought into it, and they\u2019re happy for each other\u2019s success, which I think is huge as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lashoff has been in that situation himself as a player, so he can certainly speak from experience on that topic. But it\u2019s still much easier said than done. Players such as Holl and Gustafsson spent most of last season in the NHL. Shine, Mitchell, Lagesson and Watson all spent time there last season as well.<\/p>\n
Just being in the AHL after \u2014 in some cases \u2014 long careers in the NHL can already be a hard thing for some players to accept. Being scratched once every four games is an even bigger ask.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to like it,\u201d Watson said. \u201cBut your actions, your attitude around the guys \u2014 when you do play, when you don\u2019t play \u2014 I think we\u2019ve done a really good job with handling those situations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course, that may get tougher as the year goes on, winning gets harder and the games become more important. For that reason, it\u2019s fair to wonder if the Griffins (and Red Wings) can really continue the rotation approach all year long, or if there may need to be a trade at some point to get all involved more opportunity, and keep some more continuity in the lineup.<\/p>\n
But right now, the fact that those players have been willing to put their own best interests aside is part of what\u2019s kept the momentum rolling in Grand Rapids.<\/p>\n
Because for as much as those veterans are among the Griffins\u2019 best players, their role also means setting an example in how to be a professional for young, impressionable prospects. And it\u2019s safe to say that message is coming through.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, at the end of the day, they don\u2019t want to be (in the AHL),\u201d Cossa said. \u201cBut I think they\u2019ve taken the (right approach) with coming down here, working hard and joining right into the team culture, not being too good for the league. And they\u2019re coming here, working hard every day, being great guys off the ice. They\u2019ve fit in really well.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s more team culture than team identity, but the two tend to be related in the commitment and buy-in they require.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think for us it starts with just our relentlessness on our forecheck,\u201d Griffins coach Dan Watson said. \u201cI love the way our guys skate and get up the ice. I know (Red Wings coach Todd McLellan) talks about it all the time: being direct. And that\u2019s direct with the puck in the net, that\u2019s direct with the puck out of our zone. Not just the puck: that\u2019s with our bodies, making sure that we\u2019re gapped up, making sure that we\u2019re skating all the time. Just trying to be hard to play against.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was visible Wednesday, when Mitchell and Dries teamed up for a huge defensive play tracking back on the rush that led directly to what was, at the time, a go-ahead goal.<\/p>\n
The Griffins run essentially the exact same structure as the Red Wings, Holl said, so it\u2019s easier for players in call-up situations. But the bigger benefit to the young players Detroit is developing is what they gain from being in this winning culture, experiencing everything that comes with it.<\/p>\n
Cossa talked about the confidence that comes with this kind of success, coming to the rink every day \u201cknowing that if we go out and play our game plan, and we\u2019re working hard, we\u2019re going to come out with the upper hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a fine line between confidence and overconfidence, of course, and that will have to be managed throughout the season. Lashoff, a former Griffins captain himself before moving into coaching, said the team will have to \u201cwork twice as hard to keep it going, because everybody wants a piece of you.\u201d<\/p>\n
More challenges are certainly coming. But so far, it\u2019s hard to argue with the results.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think our veterans have done a really good job of keeping everyone accountable and holding a high standard,\u201d Cossa said. \u201cIt\u2019s why we\u2019ve had a good start, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Sebastian](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/33_Cossa-5.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Sebastian Cossa boasts a .935 save percentage through 12 games with the Griffins this season. (Courtesy of Nicolas Carrillo \/ Grand Rapids Griffins)<\/p>\n
Cossa, of course, is a central piece of this all \u2014 for the Griffins and the Red Wings. As good a team as the Griffins are, having a goalie playing at the top of the league statistically is the dream for any team. And that\u2019s exactly what the 2021 first-round pick has done.<\/p>\n
\u201cCoss has played out of his mind,\u201d Austin Watson said. \u201cNot seemingly out of his mind, though \u2014 it\u2019s calm, it\u2019s comfortable. But he\u2019s played extremely well.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been unbelievable,\u201d Holl added. \u201cCouple of recent games we haven\u2019t had great first periods, and he\u2019s kept us in it when it could have been maybe a couple of goals down.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pointed to a recent game against Cleveland, when the Monsters outshot the Griffins 15-5 in the first frame, but Grand Rapids only trailed 1-0 going into the second.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat makes a big difference in the game,\u201d Holl said. \u201cWe\u2019re able to come back and score a couple goals and win the game.\u201d<\/p>\n