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70-731: The team has been playing since 1970, originally as an amateur team called the Milwaukee Wings , but were renamed as the Admirals after their first season. They played an independent schedule until joining the semiprofessional United States Hockey League (USHL) in 1973. In 1977, the Admirals joined the International Hockey League (IHL) when the USHL transitioned to a junior league . When the IHL ceased operations in 2001,

140-484: A move designed to give more development time to American goalies, who are also exempt from the overage rule. USHL teams, typically located in mid-sized cities, pay for all uniforms and equipment. Players live with local families, who receive a small stipend for food expenses, and either continue school or work part-time jobs. Due to their schedules, more than 90% of games are on weekends, which many NHL and college scouts attend. Average attendance at regular season games for

210-826: A pirate ship. When interacting with fans, Roscoe will sometimes take souvenir hockey pucks from fans and place them on his nose. In 2014, when the Nashville Predators' mascot, Gnash, got injured, Roscoe was "called up" to the Predators and to the NHL, joining with other mascots to entertain fans in Nashville while Gnash recovered. Legend:  —  – round did not exist at the time Updated November 27, 2024. List of Milwaukee Admirals alumni who played more than 100 games in Milwaukee and 100 or more games in

280-453: A rare postseason run in which they needed one fewer game to eliminate their opponents in each subsequent series. The Admirals were purchased in June 2005 by a group of investors, led by Harris J. Turer, including Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio , assistant general manager Gord Ash , and pitcher Ben Sheets . The Brewers subsequently became the sole uniform sponsor of the Admirals, and

350-530: A sell out crowd at Van Andel Arena — the first time that a Grand Rapids-based team had won a title on home ice. Tyler Bertuzzi was named MVP and received the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy . On July 6, 2017, the Griffins and Detroit Red Wings announced a five-year affiliation agreement extension through the 2021–22 season . After three seasons and one Calder Cup, head coach Todd Nelson was hired as an assistant with

420-413: A strong Northeast Division with a record of 40–30–12; the team's opening round playoff series with Orlando ended in a 3–2 loss. Picard was voted a first-team all star by the league's coaches after finishing fourth in league scoring with 46 goals and 55 assists in 82 games. The franchise's first season was considered a success by the IHL, which held its 1997 All-Star Game in front of a capacity crowd at

490-884: A year as the Central Hockey League the league was renamed the Minnesota Hockey League and would be called this for the 1953–54 and 1954–55 seasons. Only two teams who had made up the Central Hockey League returned to make up the Minnesota Hockey League for the 1953–54 season. Those teams were the Rochester Mustangs and the Hibbing Flyers. Gone were the St. Paul Saints, Minneapolis Millers and the Eveleth-Virginia Rangers. The Grand Forks Red Wings were added and this gave

560-667: The 2013 and 2017 Calder Cup champions. The franchise began in the now-defunct International Hockey League in 1996 and merged into the AHL in 2001. Three players have since had their numbers retired. The team is the third International Hockey League (IHL) franchise in Grand Rapids, following the Grand Rapids Rockets of the 1950s and the Grand Rapids Owls of the late 1970s, and owes its existence to

630-598: The 2016–17 season . On June 13, 2013, the Griffins won the Calder Cup for the first time in franchise history, defeating the Syracuse Crunch in six games. On June 16, 2015, Todd Nelson was named head coach of the Griffins. On June 13, 2017, the Griffins won the 2017 Calder Cup , defeating the Syracuse Crunch in six games in a repeat of the 2013 finals. This time they won it on home ice in front of

700-563: The Anderson Cup as the 2023–24 regular season champions, as well as the 2024 Clark Cup playoff championship , their second in franchise history. The USHL is the country's top sanctioned junior hockey league, classified as Tier I. Like comparable entities such as the Canadian Hockey League 's (CHL) three member leagues, the USHL offers a schedule of high-level, competitive games for top players aged 16 to 20. Unlike

770-691: The Anoka Nordiques , the Austin Mavericks , the Bloomington Junior Stars and the St. Paul Vulcans ). All seven teams were made up with players categorized as "Senior Amateur". Following the 1978–79 season the senior league teams in the U.S. Conference folded and the USHL became an all-junior league the following season. Championships from the semi-pro era of the USHL. Regular season champions from junior era of

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840-607: The Calgary Flames of the NHL. His new team endured a flurry of roster moves following the departure of Mark Greig, Patrick Lalime and Shane Hnidy , all of whom signed NHL contracts. Kip Miller signed with the Griffins in August but left the team before playing in a regular season game, instead earning an NHL roster spot after his rights were traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins . Key additions who stuck with

910-545: The Cleveland Lumberjacks , was appointed general manager of the Griffins. His first move was to hire Dave Allison , who had briefly coached the Ottawa Senators that season, as head coach. Among the first players to join the team were defensemen Todd Nelson and Travis Richards and goaltender Pokey Reddick , all of whom brought National Hockey League (NHL) experience. On the business side,

980-845: The Colonial Hockey League (CHL) and the Mississippi Sea Wolves of the ECHL. The Griffins won their inaugural game on the road against the Indianapolis Ice , but lost the home opener to the Orlando Solar Bears six days later. An early-season record of 9–10–2 improved after the addition of Pavol Demitra , who was acquired in a trade with the Las Vegas Thunder in late November, and NHL veteran Danton Cole , who signed with

1050-460: The Dallas Stars in the NHL and was replaced by assistant Ben Simon for the 2018–19 season . On July 25, 2022, the Griffins and Detroit Red Wings announced another five-year extension of their affiliation agreement through the 2026–27 season. On June 14, 2023, Dan Watson was named head coach of the Griffins. This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Griffins. For

1120-940: The Edmonton Oilers , who used five partial affiliates in the AHL for the 2006–07 season. These five affiliates included the Milwaukee Admirals, the Grand Rapids Griffins , the Iowa Stars , the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins , and the Hamilton Bulldogs . This arrangement lasted one season, as the Oilers announced a three-year affiliation with the Springfield Falcons on March 19, 2007. During

1190-473: The International Hockey League as the USHL was becoming a strictly amateur league. The Admirals appeared in the IHL's Turner Cup finals only once ( 1983 ), where they lost to Toledo in six games. The Admirals, along with five other IHL franchises, joined the American Hockey League for the 2001 – 02 season when the IHL ceased operations. The team was allowed to keep their nickname despite

1260-733: The National Hockey League . United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey . The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains , for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly amateur , allowing former players to compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) college hockey . The Fargo Force won

1330-613: The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panther Arena for the 2016-17 AHL season. This 10-year contract also results in a $ 6.4 million investment to bring the arena up to AHL standards with the Admirals contributing two million and the rest being supplied by the Wisconsin Center District. The team won its second regular season championship in the 2019–20 season, which was curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic . Due to

1400-696: The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins . Prior to the finals, Milwaukee needed seven games to defeat the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks in the first round. Then the Admirals defeated the Chicago Wolves in six games to advance to the conference finals. The Admirals then eliminated the Rochester Americans four games to one. Milwaukee went on to sweep the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to win the Calder Cup. The Admirals completed

1470-482: The 10,834-seat Van Andel Arena . Thirty-nine of forty-one home games were also sellouts, and the Griffins set an IHL record with season ticket sales capped at 7,000. Before the 1997–98 season, the Griffins selected Glen Metropolit and two other players in the IHL expansion draft – postponed a year due to extended labor negotiations between the league and its players – signed NHL journeymen forwards Mark Greig and Ed Patterson , and re-signed Michel Picard. Most of

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1540-616: The 1947–48 season the St. Paul Tally's dropped out of the league and left the five remaining members to make up the league for the 1948–49 and 1949–50 seasons. For the 1950–51 season the St. Paul 7-Up and St. Paul Koppy's merged and became St. Paul 7-Up/Koppy's. The Minneapolis Bermans dropped out of the league and new team called the Twin City Fords were added to give the American Amateur Hockey League four teams for 1950–51 season. The Rochester Mustangs were

1610-419: The 1998 Admirals rebranding efforts, the Admirals created a new mascot, named Roscoe . Roscoe is a "sea dog"-like animal with bright orange fur, a hockey puck-shaped nose, and wears a bicorne admiral's hat along with an Admirals jersey with the number 98, representing the year Roscoe joined the Admirals organization. At times during breaks and intermission, Roscoe will also ride a zamboni modified to look like

1680-600: The 2014–15 season was 2,715 with 1,384,820 fans attending games during the season. Kyle Woodlief of Red Line Report stated in 2007 that the USHL's first line players are as good as their counterparts in the CHL—;historically an important producer of NHL players—but that the Canadian-based league has better third and fourth lines. In 2006, Trevor Lewis , the 17th pick in the NHL Entry Draft ,

1750-737: The Admirals joined the AHL. The Admirals first took to the ice in the winter of 1970 as an amateur club known as the Milwaukee Wings. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Citizens Benefit Association, they lost their first game on January 25 when the Madison All-Stars beat them 17–7. They got their first win five days later when they defeated the Milwaukee Winter Club 10–8. They finished the season with 8 wins and 7 loses. The next year

1820-649: The Admirals wear a Brewers logo patch on their sweaters . The Admirals won their second division title as a member of the American Hockey League in 2006, clinching the title on the last day of their schedule with a win over the Grand Rapids Griffins . In the 2006 Calder Cup playoffs after narrowly winning a seven-game playoff series over the Iowa Stars , Milwaukee swept both the Houston Aeros and Grand Rapids Griffins to advance to their second Calder Cup final series. To their disappointment,

1890-529: The Admirals would lose in six games to the Hershey Bears . On August 1, 2006, the Admirals unveiled a new logo and a change in color scheme from the traditional red-and-blue to black, white, and light blue. They used this logo until 2015, when the Admirals unveiled another new logo, keeping the Lake Michigan blue from 2006, but replaced black with navy blue. Also, the skeleton motif was kept with

1960-502: The American Amateur Hockey League. The American Amateur Hockey League was renamed the Central Hockey League for the 1952–53 season. Only five of the clubs who had made up the American Amateur Hockey League for 1951–52 season returned. Those clubs were the Rochester Mustangs, St. Paul Saints, Minneapolis Millers, Hibbing Flyers and the now called Eveleth-Virginia Rangers. Gone were the Sioux City Sunhawks. After

2030-574: The CHL, it does not pay a stipend to its players, who thus retain amateur status and are eligible to play in the NCAA . Teams are subject to strict roster rules. In 2017–18 they may have no more than four overage skaters (players who have turned 20 in the first year of the season) and are limited to a maximum of five import players, three international players and two Canadian skaters. Starting in 2018–19, non-American goaltenders will count as two import players in

2100-521: The City of Grand Rapids, a DeVos-owned company took over operations of Belknap Ice Arena, which was then renovated for use as the Griffins' practice facility. McNamara filled the Griffins' 1996–97 inaugural season roster with IHL and AHL veterans (notably Michel Picard , Jeff Nelson and Don McSween ) and a handful of prospects. He also signed affiliation agreements with the Muskegon Fury of

2170-842: The Des Moines Ice Hawks, marking the league's return to Iowa. For the fifth and final season of the USCHL the St Paul Capitols dropped out and the league expanded to five teams and into new territory with a team in Michigan with the addition of the Marquette Sentinels and into Wisconsin with the addition of the Green Bay Bobcats. The United States Hockey League (USHL) operated as a senior ice hockey league from 1961 to 1979. The USHL welcomed

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2240-429: The Grand Rapids market. Also that month, Bruce Saurs, owner of the IHL's Peoria Rivermen , visited Grand Rapids to discuss with the group potential relocation of his team. In April, however, the IHL's board of directors voted to waive one of its expansion criteria – that the city's metropolitan area comprise at least one million people – and grant West Michigan Hockey a franchise for US$ 7 million. The league ultimately

2310-487: The Griffins and Detroit Red Wings held a joint press conference at The B.O.B. in downtown Grand Rapids to announce a five-year affiliation agreement (2002–03 to 2006–07). Red Wings general manager Ken Holland and assistant GM Jim Nill were present for the announcement, which was made before an overflow crowd of media and sponsors. Terms of the affiliation called for the Red Wings to supply a minimum of thirteen players to

2380-615: The Griffins each season. The majority of the Griffins' roster is Detroit prospects and draft picks. Located in-state only two hours from Detroit, the Grand Rapids Griffins have given the Detroit Red Wings what they had sought after for years – a local AHL affiliate. The previous affiliate, the Adirondack Red Wings , despite its relatively successful run in the AHL, was considered too far away for

2450-457: The Griffins secured a deal with WOOD-AM to broadcast all regular season and playoff games in their inaugural season. Rich Kincaide then left his sportscaster position at WJR in Detroit to become the Griffins' play-by-play announcer and director of communications. The team also signed agreements with WZZM and WWMT to televise a handful of games each. Following lengthy negotiations with

2520-573: The Griffins won the John Chick Trophy as the 2002–03 Central Division champions. The title marked their second straight as AHL members. On April 14, 2007, the Griffins and Detroit Red Wings announced an agreement in principle to extend their affiliation through the 2011–12 season. On June 4, 2008, nine former Griffins won the Stanley Cup as part of the 2007–08 Detroit Red Wings. After the 2010–11 season, general manager Bob McNamara,

2590-606: The USCHL for the 1955–56 and 1956–57 seasons. For the 1957–58 season the St Paul Peters were replaced by a team called St. Paul K.S.T.P. The Rochester Mustangs were the only team to return for the 1958–59 season. Gone were St. Paul K.S.T.P. along with both Minneapolis clubs (the Culbersons and the Bungalows). The league returned to four teams when it replaced these clubs with the St. Paul Capitols, Minneapolis Millers and

2660-491: The USHL banner. League governors decided on a two-division format, with the junior-aged teams in the Midwest Division and the professionals in the U.S. Division. The teams played an interlocking schedule that was, predictably, dominated by the professionals. The USHL's split existence would last just two seasons. The minor-pro wing of the league folded following the 1978–79 season, providing junior hockey operators with

2730-426: The USHL cancelled the rest of 2019–20 season and playoffs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic . The start of the following season was delayed to November 2020 and some teams had to suspend operations for the 2020–21 season. The USHL Draft is an annual event conducted in two "phases" during the second week of May. The first phase is an eight-round draft of U-17 players for the upcoming season. The second phase of

2800-529: The USHL. Playoff champions from the junior era of the USHL. Grand Rapids Griffins The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional ice hockey team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan . They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL), playing their home games at Van Andel Arena . They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League , and are

2870-512: The coaching duties for the final twenty games of the regular season, as well as the playoffs, in which the Griffins were swept in the first round by the Cincinnati Cyclones . Picard, with 28 goals and 41 assists in 58 games, again led the team in scoring, though another recall to the Blues left him unavailable for the playoffs. In July 1998, Guy Charron was introduced as the Griffins' new head coach; his previous seventeen years of coaching experience included five years as an assistant coach with

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2940-414: The construction of a 10,000-plus capacity arena in the downtown area. Following the project's authorization, Amway executives Dave Van Andel and Dan DeVos formed West Michigan Hockey, Inc., in January 1995 with the intent of securing a minor league hockey franchise. The group promptly began discussions with the IHL, American Hockey League (AHL) and East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) to gauge interest in

3010-511: The draft is open to all players eligible to play junior hockey who are not already protected by a USHL team. The number of players drafted varies, as each team will draft until they have filled the 45 spots available on their roster. Undrafted players are open to try out for any team as a try-out player. Each team must reduce their roster to 23 players for the start of the season, but may carry 18 additional players on an affiliate list. Precursors to this league were: The United States Hockey League

3080-511: The first female professional hockey player in 1969–70, when the Marquette Iron Rangers signed Karen Koch . By the late 1970s, the USHL had fallen on hard times. In the summer of 1977, clubs from the recently folded Midwest Junior Hockey League contacted the USHL. A unique merger was formed, with the three junior teams ( Bloomington Junior Stars , Austin Mavericks , St. Paul Vulcans ) and three remaining pro teams ( Sioux City Musketeers , Waterloo Black Hawks , Green Bay Bobcats ) gathered under

3150-498: The first-year general manager of the Ottawa Senators. Dudley considered other franchises, and left the Senators before a deal was in place, but his replacement, Marshall Johnston , ultimately chose Grand Rapids. The two-year agreement called for the assignment of twelve Senators prospects to the Griffins each year. "[T]he most significant reason we've pursued this is because we want to win a championship", said McNamara. Griffins co-owner Dan DeVos echoed that sentiment: "This decision

3220-403: The franchise's first ever natural hat trick that season, and Petrovicky, who was named the IHL's Player of the Month for November after scoring five goals and 12 assists in 12 games. Petrovicky signed an NHL contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning in February, and the Griffins made numerous roster moves in the following weeks in an effort to qualify for the playoffs. The team finished with

3290-412: The hat that adorns the skeleton's head as a callback to the Admirals logos used from 1976 to 1997. This logo received very positive reviews, resulting in it becoming SportsLogos.net 's 2015 Best New Primary Logo of the Year. On March 16, 2016, Milwaukee Admirals owner/CEO Harris Turer along with Wisconsin Center District (WCD) announced that the Admirals signed a 10-year contract, bringing the Admirals to

3360-510: The hockey club were unveiled in November. The logo was designed by Sean Michael Edwards Design, Inc., a New York firm whose portfolio includes logos for the Florida Panthers and Seattle Mariners . In keeping with the traditional theme desired by the club, navy blue and gold were chosen as the primary colors, along with hunter green, red and silver accents. "We didn't want to be trendy in any way", DeVos said. In January 1996, Bob McNamara , former IHL goaltender and assistant general manager of

3430-439: The league became the United States Central Hockey League and would be called this for five years, 1956 to 1960. Only three of the four teams who had made up the Minnesota Hockey League for the 1954–55 season returned. Those teams were the Rochester Mustangs along with both Minneapolis clubs, the Culbersons and the Bungalows. Gone were the St. Paul Saints who replaced by a team called the St. Paul Peters. These four clubs would make up

3500-418: The league three teams for 1953–54 season. The Rochester Mustangs were the only team to return for the second and final season of the Minnesota Hockey League. Gone were Hibbing and Grand Forks. The league added two teams in Minneapolis called the Culbersons and Bungalows and a new team in St. Paul, again called the Saints, to give the league four teams for 1954–55. After two seasons as the Minnesota Hockey League

3570-463: The league's history. During the 2023-24 season, the Admirals set a new franchise record of 19 consecutive wins, which is also the second-longest winning streak in AHL history as of 2024. The winning streak lasted from January 5, 2024, which was also their first game of the calendar year, until February 25. The Admirals have been the top-level affiliate of the Nashville Predators since that team's founding in 1998. "I like to say that for our players,

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3640-418: The ongoing restrictions during the pandemic, the Admirals were one of three teams that opted out of the 2020–21 AHL season . After the Admirals announced their season was cancelled, team ownership also announced that all of their full-time employees would still be paid for the year. On November 17, 2023, the Admirals made history when defenseman Luke Prokop made his AHL debut as the first openly gay player in

3710-429: The only club to return for the fifth and final season of the American Amateur Hockey League in 1951–52. Gone were the St. Paul 7-Up/Koppy's, Twin City Fords and the Minneapolis Jerseys, replaced by the St. Paul Saints, Hibbing Flyers, Minneapolis Millers, Eveleth Rangers and the first club based outside of the state of Minnesota, the Sioux City Iowa Sunhawks, which gave the league six clubs for 1951–52, its final season as

3780-433: The only hockey operations chief in franchise history, retired. Initially, the Griffins opted to forgo having a general manager, instead relying on the Red Wings for hockey operations support. However, in early 2012, Red Wings assistant general manager Ryan Martin was named general manager of the Griffins as well. On March 7, 2012, the Griffins and Detroit Red Wings announced a five-year affiliation agreement extension through

3850-409: The opportunity to redefine the circuit. The 1979–80 season was the league's first as an entirely junior arrangement. The league's last season as a senior hockey league was 1978–79. During this final season the league comprised seven teams in two conferences. The U.S. Conference (with the Green Bay Bobcats , the Sioux City Musketeers and the Waterloo Black Hawks ); while the Midwest Conference (with

3920-415: The preferences of Red Wings management, and back-and-forth player assignments. For this reason, the NHL Red Wings suspended the AHL Red Wings franchise with the intent of moving it to Toledo, Ohio , just a short distance from Detroit. These plans never materialized, so that AHL franchise stayed dormant for years until being sold and reactivated as the San Antonio Rampage . Since ‘91-‘92 (with the exception of

3990-435: The presence of the Norfolk Admirals in the AHL, as Milwaukee had used the nickname since 1970, well before the Norfolk team was established as the Hampton Roads Admirals in the ECHL . (In the 2015–16 season, that AHL franchise moved to the AHL's Pacific Division as the fourth incarnation of the San Diego Gulls , and a Norfolk club was re-established in the ECHL.) They won their first Calder Cup in 2004 when they defeated

4060-425: The previous season's defensive core also returned, though Don McSween was traded following Kerry Huffman 's signing early in the season. Goaltender Pokey Reddick requested and was granted a trade after splitting playing time with Ian Gordon early in the season; Patrick Lalime signed with the team shortly thereafter. By December, the Griffins were contending for first place in the Northeast Division, largely on

4130-427: The road to Nashville runs through Milwaukee and a look at our roster illustrates this. (T)his is the kind of environment that we want our prospects to develop in." Coincidentally, the two cities' baseball franchises share a reverse affiliation, as the Nashville Sounds are the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers . During the 2006–07 season, the Admirals were also part of an unusual affiliation agreement with

4200-406: The season in last place in their division. They won only 11 games, lost 35, and tied two games that season. The Admirals won the USHL league championship in 1976 , winning seven straight games in the league's playoffs. In the off-season, the team was purchased by former Chicago Blackhawks announcer Lloyd Pettit and his wife, Jane Bradley Pettit . For the 1977 – 78 season the Admirals joined

4270-421: The second worst record in the 1998–99 IHL season, and failed to earn a playoff spot. (The IHL, down to 16 teams that year, had adopted a 12-team playoff format.) Metropolit's 81 points led the team and placed him ninth in league scoring; he went on to play in eight NHL seasons. Late in the 1998–99 season, general manager Bob McNamara on numerous occasions discussed an affiliation agreement with Rick Dudley ,

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4340-491: The strength of their goaltending and the top forward line of Picard, Metropolit and Greig. Picard was recalled by the St. Louis Blues in January for fifteen games; Chris Lindberg signed with the team shortly after Picard's recall, but was later suspended by the IHL after bolting to play for Swiss team EV Zug . The Griffins' record fell to 30–25–7 by March, and disagreements over what changes needed to be made prompted McNamara to fire head coach Dave Allison. McNamara assumed

4410-511: The team after a stint in the German Ice Hockey League (DEL). The Griffins were paced by the top forward line of Picard, Jeff Nelson and Demitra; all three averaged over one point per game during the regular season. Demitra left the Griffins in March 1997 after signing a contract with the St. Louis Blues , and scored over 300 goals in sixteen NHL seasons. He was replaced on the first line by rookie Kevyn Adams , who went on to play in ten NHL seasons. Grand Rapids finished in last place in

4480-417: The team included forward Robert Petrovicky and Darren Rumble . Early-season signees Joe Frederick and Andrei Vasilyev provided an offensive boost, but injuries on the defensive side preceded a franchise-record seven-game losing streak in November, leaving the Griffins with the worst record in the IHL at that point. Among the few bright spots for the team was the play of linemates Metropolit, who scored

4550-415: The team was sold by the original owner Reed Fansher to a group of investors. One of the investors, Erwin J. Merar, owned an appliance store and the team was renamed the "Admirals" after a brand of household appliances sold in Merar's store. Beginning with the 1973 – 74 season the Admirals joined the United States Hockey League . Their first season in a league was not particularly successful as they ended

4620-476: The ‘00 and ‘07-‘08 and ‘08-‘09), Detroit has had an ECHL affiliate, who have been very successful, in Toledo, named the Storm and later the Walleye that have been able to feed players into Grand Rapids, with some of them making it up to the NHL and even Detroit. On April 5, 2002, with a 3–2 victory at Chicago, the Griffins won the AHL's inaugural Bud Poile Trophy as the 2001–02 West Division champions. On March 9, 2003, thanks to losses by Rochester and Cincinnati,

4690-424: Was established as the American Amateur Hockey League in 1947 and began play for the 1947–48 season. When the league began operations it had five teams in and around the Twin Cities arena along with a team in Rochester. The league was made up three clubs from St. Paul which were 7-Up, Koppy's and Tally's, and two from Minneapolis, Jersey's and Bermans, along with a team from Rochester called the Rochester Mustangs. After

4760-432: Was not based on a financial analysis. Our intent was to improve our record." In June 2001, the IHL ceased operations. The Griffins were among six IHL teams admitted to the American Hockey League (AHL) at that time. Because the AHL did not allow owners to control multiple teams (unlike the IHL), the DeVos family's other IHL teams (the Orlando Solar Bears and Kansas City Blades ) were forced to fold. On January 24, 2002,

4830-418: Was swayed by the community's response, which included over 8,000 season ticket requests, and the new, fully financed arena. At the announcement of a "name the team" contest in June 1995, DeVos hinted that the group was looking for something "with a face ... with a personality, that we can translate into a mascot of some sort". "Grand Rapids Griffins" was chosen as the winning entry, and the logo and colors of

4900-406: Was the first USHL player to sign an NHL contract immediately after playing in the league. At the conclusion of the 2014–15 regular season, the USHL has tallied 251 alumni that have played in the NHL and has 347 current players with NCAA college commitments. According to the league, approximately 95 percent of its players will eventually land a Division I college scholarship. On March 18, 2020,

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