Griffins Reassign Truscott to Toledo, Release Hawkins from PTO

Three days after bringing him up, the Grand Rapids Griffins returned defenseman Jacob Truscott to the ECHL's Toledo Walleye. The Griffins also cut forward Brandon Hawkins loose from his professional tryout contract, sending him back to Toledo as well, in a pair of moves announced March 16.

The roster shuffling began March 13, when Grand Rapids signed forwards William Dufour, Brandon Hawkins and Jackson Jutting to professional tryout agreements while simultaneously recalling Truscott from Toledo. That window closed quickly. Truscott's AHL stint lasted just three days before the Griffins reversed course.

Truscott, a Port Huron, Michigan, native, put together a tidy if brief résumé at the AHL level. He made his professional debut with Grand Rapids on Oct. 18 against the Manitoba Moose and collected his first pro point, an assist, on Oct. 28 at Iowa. Through five games in the AHL this season, Truscott posted two assists, zero penalty minutes and a plus-four rating. He had already established himself in Toledo before the recall, appearing in nine games with the Walleye and logging four assists, zero penalty minutes and an even plus-minus. Truscott first suited up for Toledo on Nov. 7 at Kalamazoo, recording an assist in his ECHL debut. The Griffins selected him 144th overall in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft out of Vancouver Canucks picks.

Hawkins generated some buzz when Grand Rapids announced his PTO on March 13. The Griffins' Instagram account greeted him with the caption "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. THE MAYOR. BRANDON HAWKINS," drawing responses from fans and even the ECHL Hockey account, which posted "THE MAYOR" with applause emojis. His stay with the Griffins proved equally brief, and no statistics from his time on the roster were provided in the team's release.

Dufour and Jutting, the other two PTO signings from March 13, remain with the club. Dufour, 24, brings cross-league experience: he has played in four different leagues this season, spending the most time in the ECHL with the Fort Wayne Komets, where he totaled 19 points on seven goals and 12 assists in 18 games. He also has one goal in six AHL games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Fan reaction on social media captured the sentiment concisely: "Dufour has been killing it for Fort Wayne."

The March 13 news arrived on an otherwise disrupted day for the Griffins. Their home game against the Milwaukee Admirals was postponed due to unsafe ice conditions at Van Andel Arena. The club said the game would be rescheduled for a date to be determined and that all tickets would be honored, with further options communicated directly to fans.

Truscott's reassignment marks a continued back-and-forth between Grand Rapids and Toledo as the Griffins manage their depth down the stretch of the 2025-26 season.