From the Grand Rapids Griffins:
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Detroit Red Wings on Saturday announced that Grand Rapids Griffins head coach Ben Simon and assistant coach Todd Krygier will serve as coaches alongside Red Wings assistant Doug Houda for Detroit’s home game against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, Dec. 18.
Simon has 319 pro games under his belt as a head coach, with a 176-109-19-15 record (0.605). The 11th head coach in Griffins franchise history has posted a 92-76-15-10 ledger (0.541), along with a 2-3 record in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Before becoming head coach, Simon served the first three seasons of his Grand Rapids tenure as an assistant under Todd Nelson, now an assistant coach with the NHL’s Dallas Stars, helping the Griffins capture the 2017 Calder Cup. Simon made coaching stops at Sheffield (EIHL), Rockford (AHL), Cincinnati (ECHL) and Toronto (AHL) before coming to Grand Rapids.
Krygier is in his third season behind the Griffins’ bench after being named an assistant coach in the summer of 2019. He oversaw a 2019-20 power play unit that ranked sixth in the AHL (20.9%) and powered the club to a third-place finish in the Central Division. Krygier improved on that performance in the shortened 2020-21 season with a power play conversion rate of 21.5%, which was good for fifth in the AHL. Before joining Grand Rapids, he was an assistant coach at Western Michigan University in the NCHC from 2016-19 and logged a 58-47-8 record with the Broncos.
Simon and Krygier will be familiar faces in the Detroit locker room, as the pair helps coach the team during training camp in Traverse City, Mich. Simon has been a head coach or an assistant for nine players on the Red Wings’ roster while Krygier has helped develop seven current Detroit players.
The Griffins will return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 22 when they welcome the Milwaukee Admirals to Van Andel Arena at 7 p.m. This weekend’s home games against Toronto have been postponed due to league COVID-19 protocols affecting the Marlies, as well as Toronto Public Health workplace guidelines.
