MLive’s Steve Kaminski spoke with Red Wings signing Kyle Criscuolo regarding his decision to rejoin the Grand Rapids Griffins after three seasons spent with other AHL teams:
Criscuolo played all 76 regular-season games for the Griffins in 2016-17, along with 19 playoff games. He finished with 17 goals and 41 points, and he scored in overtime against Milwaukee that closed out the Griffins’ playoff series against Milwaukee.
“Over the years, every time I have been a free agent, I have thought about going back to Grand Rapids and Detroit,” he said. “The organization is a place where I enjoyed my time. The organization was great to me. I’m very excited to get back. I am going to hang tight right now. Whenever Detroit’s camp opens up, I will head up there. Right now, I’m gearing up for that and making sure I’m in the best shape possible.”
Criscuolo was a rookie out of Harvard when he joined the Griffins three seasons ago. The 28-year old native of Southampton, N.J., signed with Buffalo in July of 2017 before joining Philadelphia in July of 2019.
“Kyle came in as a little bit of an unknown,” Griffins coach Ben Simon said. “He came in the year prior and played a handful of games. He played maybe five games, and he got a taste of Grand Rapids and how the program works. He then came in the next season, and he played significant minutes with us. I think he played every game and put up over 40 points as a rookie. He had a really successful first year. He came in and made us play him in key situations. He’s a versatile guy. We used him most of the year at center, but he is able to play the wing as well. He is no dummy, either. He went to Harvard and was a two-time captain at Harvard.”
