MLive’s Ansar Khan posted an early-morning article which focuses on Red Wings prospect and Grand Rapids Griffins defenseman Donovan Sebrango, who will serve as an alternate captain for Team Canada at the World Junior Championship this month.
Sebrango has 2 AHL seasons under his belt as a 20-year-old prospect because the OHL cancelled the 2020-2021 season due to COVID, opening a spot for Sebrango in Grand Rapids, and he’s played in 96 AHL games since:
“It’s pretty obvious I’m not going to be an offensive guy at the next level,” Sebrango said. “Being gritty is something I pride myself on and being able to shut down their top players.”
Sebrango signed an amateur tryout contract with Grand Rapids in January 2021 after the OHL season with Kitchener was suspended, and later canceled, due to the pandemic. He appeared in 31 games with the Griffins as a 19-year-old, making him eligible to play in the AHL in 2021-22, when he appeared in 65 more.
“Especially from my first year to my second in the AHL, it’s been a completely different growing experience,” Sebrango said. “Your first year, you kind of got a mixture of junior guys being brought up and East Coast (League) guys.
“And then (in 2021-22) kind of my first taste of what real AHL hockey is like. It was a big wake-up call, a growth year, kind of being able to see the men you play against and where you have to be to get to the next level. … You got NHL-ready players and your fourth-line big guys that are willing to go through you to get the puck. It keeps you on your toes.”
