Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
The Grand Rapids Griffins are not letting up heading into the 2025-26 season.
The Griffins have won nine of their first 10 games, with the only blemish on their books so far being a 4-3 shootout loss to Chicago last Sunday afternoon, a game in which they erased a two-goal deficit after losing their starting goaltender. Michal Postava The injury occurred less than eight minutes into the game and after that, one player was missing from the lineup. Nate Danielson Recalled to Detroit.
The Grand Rapids remain the only team in the AHL to remain undefeated in the regular season after a 3-2 overtime win over the visiting Toronto Marlies on Wednesday morning.
Sebastian CosaA first-round pick of the Red Wings in 2021, he continues to push for a full-time role in the NHL. According to the head coach, injuries are occurring every day at the moment Dan WatsonThe 22-year-old Kosar has a 1.75 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage in the Griffins' first four starts of the season, including an Oct. 24 win over Manitoba.
Postava, 24, also made his point. Postava signed a one-year entry-level contract with Detroit on June 10. He led HC Kometa Brno to the Czech Extraliga championship last season and then came to North America. In five starts before missing Sunday, Postava (4-0-0) had a 2.15 GAA and a .936 save percentage.
With that combination, Grand Rapids is in ideal shape to start the season: two quality rookies pushing for the starting job, potentially playing time in Detroit at some point, and winning games for the Griffins.
But the industry changes quickly. Carter GillandKosar, who had been recalled from Toledo (ECHL) when he was injured, replaced Postava on Sunday against the Wolves and then stopped 34 shots in Wednesday's win over Toronto. And depth is good for an organization like the Red Wings, who have built a strong three-tier structure that stretches from Detroit to Grand Rapids to Toledo. Gillander, 24, was a seventh-round pick of the Red Wings in 2019 and turned pro last season after four seasons at Colgate University.
The Griffins' job is to be successful with the players they have. Watson hopes Cosar can return to training as soon as possible today, but a good team will play with the players who can play rather than starving for those who can't. There are two key elements that must be present in any successful AHL operation: the ability to adjust quickly, and the skill to win games despite setbacks.
The Griffins only have to look back to last season to see the importance of winning early in the season. Grand Rapids started the 2024-25 season with an 11-3-1-0 record, and the points given up in October and November were crucial in the team's second-half slide to 3-9-1-1.
While the Red Wings' relationship with the Griffins has made this ability to adjust quickly part of their blueprint, they also have a strong tendency to be patient and prepared. In Kosar's first pro season, he went to Toledo and played 46 games there, rather than having him move to the AHL too quickly; which is unusual for a first-round draft pick. They've also left themselves some room this season because they have a solid option in Toledo's Guilander. Sure enough, when injuries happened — to two, in fact — they were able to turn to someone who was already familiar with the organization.
Taking all of this good practice into account, these Griffins look like more than just October-November success, they will soon struggle when the AHL schedule really starts to put the pressure on teams. The Marlies have another game on Friday night at Van Andel Arena before the Griffins have the weekend off.
But no matter what happens next, the Griffins are building early confidence that they can handle setbacks, injuries, recalls and any other challenges as the schedule progresses.
About two decades in the American Hockey League, TheAHL.com feature writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. In 2016, he received the AHL's James H. Ellery Memorial Award for outstanding coverage of the league.
