Of Grand Rapids Griffins-related note this morning:
- Andrew Streitel wrote a very, very good slate of game notes ahead of tonight’s game against the Texas Stars (8 PM at H-E-B Park Arena, and tomorrow at the same time, airing on FloHockey.tv), including the following:
Shine On, Captain
Yesterday, Dominik Shine was named the 19th captain in franchise history. He returns to Grand Rapids for his 10th season, becoming just the third player in team history to reach the milestone (Brian Lashoff 14, Travis Richards 10). During the 2024-25 AHL season, Shine posted career-high numbers in assists (32), points (46), power-play goals (5), game-winners (4), shots (149), and multi-point outings (11) to go along with 14 goals and 76 penalty minutes in 61 regular-season games. He also signed his first NHL contract on Jan. 27, 2025, and later that evening made his NHL debut against the Los Angeles Kings. Shine became the oldest skater to make his NHL debut since Evgeny Medvedev did so at 33 on Oct. 8, 2015, and the oldest Red Wings player to make his debut since Vaclav Nedomansky did it at 33 on Nov. 18, 1977. On the all-time regular-season franchise leaderboard, Shine ranks third in games played (483), tied for seventh in goals (75), tied for ninth in assists (109), ninth in points (184), sixth in penalty minutes (553), tied for eighth in short-handed goals (5), tied for seventh in game-winners (12), tied for first in unassisted goals (10), and tied for sixth in shots (797).
2. The Grand Rapids Griffins also post a monthly magazine called “Griffiti.” Amongst this month’s stories are the following:
A) Shai Buium discusses his unconventional hockey roots with Kyle Kujawa:
It’s certainly not uncommon to see the names of Southern California natives dotting rosters throughout professional hockey. Longtime Griffins fans will never forget two-time Calder Cup champion and Whittier native Mitch Callahan, for example. But the first time Buium expressed an interest in hockey, he was met with, well, some resistance.
“I was 6 years old, and I asked my mom if I could play,” said Buium. “She basically said, ‘Over my dead body you’re playing hockey – no way that’s happening.’”
It’s hard to believe that conversation would lead Miriam and Sorin Buium, Shai’s mother and father who immigrated to California from Israel in 1999, to raise three sons whose passions would come to dominate the family’s daily schedule. They knew nothing about the sport, but they had moved to an area of San Diego where one of Shai’s cousins had started playing hockey. He planted the seed – and even recommended a favorite team.
“My cousin played local hockey around San Diego,” said Buium. “He liked the Red Wings for some reason, and when it’s your older cousin, you just love whatever they love.”
The middle child between older brother, Ben, and younger brother, Zeev, Shai quickly took to the sport and eventually received parental approval to lace up his skates. Luckily, he had competition waiting for him at a moment’s notice.
“We always got along really well, but all three of us are really competitive,” said Buium. “We would just play 1-on-1-on-1 in the streets with a stick and our rollerblades. My older brother and I would just bully Zeev, so maybe that’s why he’s so tough now and so good on his skates. It paid off for me as well. I think that’s the way to get better, just always compete, and it’s best to do it with your brothers.”
B) Ondrej Becher speaks with Jonathan Mills about adjusting to the AHL:
Becher spent the entire 2023-24 campaign with the Western Hockey League’s Prince George Cougars, ranking among the club’s leaders with 32 goals, 64 assists and 96 points in 58 regular-season games. The skilled forward also notched 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) in 15 postseason contests, helping the Cougars reach the Western Conference Final.
“He got a great opportunity and took advantage of it and was really comfortable in it,” said Kris Draper, Red Wings assistant general manager and director of amateur scouting. “He certainly put up great numbers. His skating is something that, when you watch him play, he has that extra gear. Just another guy that you’re sitting there and you watch him and he’s able to bring that speed and skill set.
“One of those late-bloomers. He’s just starting to come into his own and starting to feel comfortable about the type of player that he could possibly be.”
From 2022-24, Becher compiled 134 points on 48 goals and 86 assists in 121 WHL games with Prince George. And before his time with the Cougars, Becher played the majority of the 2021-22 season with AZ Havířov’s under-20 squad in Czechia’s top junior league, recording 36 points (22 goals, 14 assists) in 45 games in addition to appearing in four contests with AZ Havířov in Czechia’s second division.
“I got to see Bechs play the past few World Juniors,” said Dan Cleary, assistant director of player development for the Red Wings. “He’s a little bit older, a late-bloomer I guess, but a fun guy. Obviously, he’s got skills.”
Moving to North America with his NHL dream in hand was also a big lifestyle change away from the rink for Becher, a native of Ostrava, Czechia.
“I left home when I was 18 years old,” Becher said. “I moved to a whole different country with people who speak a different language. The people here also live a different lifestyle, which I have had to adjust to. This experience has helped me a lot.”
C) The Griffins also spotlight fans ahead of the team’s 30th anniversary, profile Western Michigan University coach Pat Ferschweiler, and Randy Cleves gives a fine send-off to Mark Newman:
If a picture is worth a thousand words, it’s impossible to count how many masterpieces Mark Newman painted with his poetic prose during 29 seasons as the writer and photographer for Griffiti magazine.
Some impressive numbers are known, though, such as 121 issues produced, nearly 750 interviews conducted, and more than 1,000 games shot with his ever-present camera in his usual spots along Van Andel Arena’s glass.
This summer, Newman decided it was time to finally lay down his digital recorder, laptop and camera and join the retired ranks of Griffins legends he’s interviewed over the years. Like the great players whose stories he chronicled, Newman never just glided along, rested on his laurels, or took the easy way out. A multi-tool player, he put in the work, went to the hard places and, as they say, left it all on the ice.
All great epics have a beginning, and Newman’s Griffins saga began well before the first puck dropped. Bob Sack, then the Griffins’ senior VP of business operations, had been the executive director of the First of America Classic Senior PGA tournament when Newman served as a co-chair in 1994. Sack recruited Newman to assist with some marketing projects for the fledgling franchise before inviting him to develop a proposal for the team’s game-night publication.
“Bob said that they wanted to do more than a program, more like a magazine,” said Newman. “He basically said, ‘Come up with the idea, the name, the concept, the budget, story ideas, etc., and if we like your concept, it’s yours.’ When I presented my whole proposal, he said, ‘You have it.’ It felt like a dream project.
“I remember the thrill of seeing people reading the first issue on opening night in 1996. At the time, I thought it would be amazing if my writing gig with Griffiti lasted five years. Then suddenly it was 10, 15, 20, 25…”
Continued; Newman’s one of the game’s true “good guys,” and I wish him all the best in his next endeavor.
