Americans love hockey! While there are many hockey teams in the American Hockey League (AHL), there are only a handful which could actually be classified as good hockey teams! Even fewer could be dubbed as those associated with exceptionally good National Hockey League (NHL) team! The Grand Rapids Griffins has the double distinction of being both an exceptionally good hockey team and associated with the Detroit Red Wings, an equally successful hockey franchise. The Griffins, ever since their inception, have entertained the true fans of hockey in the Grand Rapids with one nail-biting finish game after another! Indeed, the very existence of the franchise reinvigorates the game of hockey in the great state of Michigan!

The Grand Rapids Griffins are owned by Dan DeVos, and Curt Fraser is their head coach. The franchise came into being in 1996 as a member of the International Hockey League (IHL) and later merged into the AHL in 2001. Wearing the silver, gold, red, and navy blue colors, the team plays their home games at the famous Van Andel Arena. At present, some of the star players of the team are Tomas Tatar, Chris Minard, Jamie Johnson, Doug Janik, Garnet Exelby, Chris Conner, Fabian Brunnstrom, and Joakim Andersson. Travis Richards, however, remains the only player in the franchise’s history to have his number retired.

The fact that the Griffins play their home games at the Van Andel Arena explains the fact that the Grand Rapids Griffins tickets are often sold-out as soon as their schedule is released! Considered one of the best multi-purpose arenas in the United States, it can seat up to almost 11,000 screaming hockey fans. It can further accommodate almost over 13,000 fans for any music concert and a slightly less number for any arena football game. The arena is as old as the Grand Rapids Griffins and was built with a hefty sum of $75 million. Catering to all economic classes, the arena has over 9,000 permanent seats and offers 44 luxury suites to the rich and famous of Grand Rapids. As mentioned above, it is the site for all music concerts in the Grand Rapids area and famous stars and bands like Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Rush, Kiss, The Who, Bruce Springsteen and others have performed here.

The Grand Rapids Griffins over the years have won some of the most prestigious hockey titles. They have won the conference championship once and division championship five times (thrice while being in the AHL and twice when in IHL). Being a successful hockey franchise, the team players have made several individual records as well. For example, while Michel Picard has been the highest career goal scorer, Donald MacLean has been the highest goal scorer in a single season. Interestingly, Michel Picard also remains the highest point maker both career-wise and in a single season. There are other interesting statistics as well. But watch the very best team of AHL by buying the Grand Rapids Griffins tickets now!