Griffins Clinch Earliest Playoff Spot Since 1993 After Hershey Win

With the Hershey Bears’ 4-1 win over the Rockford IceHogs on Friday, the Grand Rapids Griffins became the first team to clinch a berth in the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs and secured their third consecutive trip to the postseason, the club announced after the game. The clinch came even as Grand Rapids fell 3-2 to the Iowa Wild at Van Andel Arena that same night.

Grand Rapids enters the postseason race at 40-8-3-1 through 52 games, totaling 84 points and a .808 winning percentage. The Griffins’ 84 points and 40-8-3-1 mark rank as the second-best 52-game record in AHL history, and the club recently became the first team in league history to win 40 of its first 50 games. The team noted Feb. 27 as the earliest clinching date in franchise history, surpassing the previous mark of March 6 from the 2003-04 season.

The timing of the clinch leaves Grand Rapids with 20 regular-season games remaining and 51 days to play before the AHL schedule concludes on April 19. The club holds a 21-point lead over the second-place Chicago Wolves in the Central Division and a five-point advantage on the Providence Bruins in the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy race for the AHL’s regular-season title. With that cushion, the Griffins are pacing toward both division and league milestones while still chasing the 1992-93 Binghamton Rangers’ benchmark of 57-13-10 (.775).

Playoff logistics for the Central Division are set: five teams will qualify, the top three clubs will earn byes into the division semifinals, and the fourth- and fifth-place finishers will meet in a best-of-three first round. Seeding, matchups and dates for Grand Rapids’ 20th playoff appearance in 30 seasons will be determined after the regular season ends April 19.

Dan Watson will lead the Griffins into the postseason for the third straight year. Watson has never missed the postseason as a pro head coach and owns a 5-7 playoff record in his first two seasons guiding Grand Rapids, which reached the 2024 division finals under his direction. The franchise has won the Calder Cup twice, in 2013 and 2017, and owns an all-time AHL postseason record of 86-71 (.548).

The club’s organizational depth also shows in recent roster moves and imagery: a recent headline noted the recall of Jacob Truscott from Toledo, and an AHL-era image caption identified goaltender Sebastian Cossa (33) in Griffins/Red Wings gear. With 20 games left and a regular season that ends April 19, Grand Rapids has locked up the league’s first playoff berth and will spend the next two months defending a Central Division lead that has grown to 21 points.