Griffins trim playoff roster, release Dower Nilsson, Draper, Kiiskinen returns to Finland

Grand Rapids wasted no time tightening its playoff group after closing out Manitoba, cutting three names and making clear where the next round’s trust now sits. The Griffins released forward Noah Dower Nilsson from his professional tryout, moved forward Kienan Draper off his amateur tryout, and sent Jesse Kiiskinen back to HPK in Finland as the club reset for a Central Division finals matchup with the Chicago Wolves.

The timing said plenty about Grand Rapids’ postseason priorities. The Griffins had just beaten the Moose 3-1 in the Central Division semifinals on May 8, after entering the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs as the division’s top seed, and they already had the kind of regular-season control that gave them room to streamline. Grand Rapids went 6-1-1-0 against Manitoba and outscored the Moose 32-17, then clinched a playoff berth on Feb. 27 with 20 games and 51 days still left in the regular season. This was not a roster built on guesswork. It was a roster built to win now, with the next step coming against Chicago and the Griffins still trying to chase a third Calder Cup title after championships in 2013 and 2017.

Dower Nilsson was the cut that will draw the most second-guessing if the series turns. He signed a three-year entry-level contract with Detroit on April 4, 2026, after being selected in the 2023 NHL Draft, and he brought a strong Swedish track record with him: 16 points, six goals and 10 assists, in 48 SHL regular-season games with Frölunda, plus four points in six SHL playoff games and two assists in 12 Champions Hockey League appearances during Frölunda’s title run. He joined Grand Rapids on May 4, then was released five days later, a reminder that playoff depth charts can change quickly once the games become tighter and the bench gets shorter.

Draper’s move was much more predictable. He signed an amateur tryout on April 13 and a two-year AHL contract that begins in 2026-27, made his pro debut at Iowa on April 15, and finished the AHL regular season with a minus-one rating in two games. His senior year at Michigan, where he put up 18 points, 59 penalty minutes and a plus-21 rating in 40 games, showed why Grand Rapids wanted him in the system. Kiiskinen’s return to HPK fit the same larger development rhythm, one that lets Detroit manage prospect paths while keeping the Griffins’ playoff bench aligned around the players Dan Watson is most likely to lean on. Watson has taken Grand Rapids to the postseason in each of his first two seasons, reached the 2024 division finals, and carried a 5-7 playoff record into this spring, which makes every roster choice feel like an early read on how far this run can go.