Jeff Blashill signed a three-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings to remain head coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins through the 2016-17 season. Photo/Grand Rapids Griffins
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]fter two successful seasons at the helm of the Grand Rapids Griffins, the Detroit Red Wings announced Wednesday that they have signed Jeff Blashill to a new three-year contract to keep the head coach in Grand Rapids through the 2016-17 season.
“I’m thrilled to be able to remain with the Griffins,” Blashill said in a press release. “Both the Red Wings and Griffins are top-notch organizations filled with talented people that I enjoy working with. My family loves it here, and I’m happy to be able to continue to call Grand Rapids home. The AHL is a very challenging league, and we have a great group of young players and veteran leaders. I’m looking forward to being able to continue to work with them.”
The 40-year old Blashill has spent two seasons in Grand Rapids at the helm of the Griffins. In the 2012-13 season, his first as a professional head coach, Blashill led the Griffins to the franchise’s first Calder Cup championship.
This past season, the coach helped the Griffins stay around the top of the AHL, despite a lot of turnover from the previous season. Blashill helped the team earn a regular season record of 46-23-2-5 (99 points) – surpassing the franchise’s 42 wins and 92 points from the championship season – before entering the playoffs. Grand Rapids was eliminated in the Western Conference Semifinals in six games to the regular season champions, Texas Stars.
In April, the American Hockey League announced that Blashill was named the 2013-14 winner of the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as the league’s outstanding coach. With the award, Blashill became the Griffins second AHL Coach of the Year winning and third to win his league’s coach of the year honor, following Bruce Cassidy in 2001-02 and Guy Charron in 1999-2000 for the International Hockey League season.
Blashill also became the first Griffins head coach in 12 years to take part in the AHL All-Star Classic, guiding the league’s all-stars to victories over Färjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League in both the skills competition and All-Star Game. The event marked the first international contests in AHL All-Star history.
The Griffins and Blashill played a roll in the success of the Red Wings this past season by preparing 10 of his 2013-14 players for their NHL debuts, including nine members of the Wings. Seventeen members Blashill’s 2013-14 squad were called up to play a total of 329 NHL games, with 13 players from his championship team logging time in Detroit. The Griffins’ success helped Detroit extend it’s playoff streak to 23 consecutive seasons.
“Jeff Blashill has done a tremendous job in Grand Rapids,” said Red Wings general manager Ken Holland. “Our young players were instrumental in getting us into the playoffs for a 23rd straight season, and the championship experience they got under Jeff in Grand Rapids was invaluable in turning those young players into NHL players. We’re excited to keep one of the top young coaches in hockey to continue to lead in the development of the next wave of Red Wings.”
Blashill was named head coach of the Griffins on June 25, 2012 by the Red Wings after serving as an assistant coach for the Wings the prior season. Before joining the organization, Blashill served as the head coach of the Western Michigan Bronco’s CCHA team in 2010-11, where he earned several national coach of the year awards.
