William Dufour Released by Grand Rapids Griffins, Returns to Fort Wayne Komets

The Grand Rapids Griffins released forward William Dufour from his professional tryout, returning him to the ECHL's Fort Wayne Komets. The move, announced March 23, closed a brief AHL audition for one of the ECHL's most well-traveled forwards this season.

Dufour suited up for four games with the Griffins, showing one goal, four penalty minutes and a minus-three rating. The stint began when Dufour was loaned from Fort Wayne to Grand Rapids, effective March 13, 2026.

The Griffins had signed Dufour alongside forwards Brandon Hawkins and Jackson Jutting to professional tryouts; they also recalled defenseman Jacob Truscott from the ECHL's Toledo Walleye as part of a late-season roster push. Dufour's PTO came after a nomadic 2025-26 campaign that took him across four continents worth of leagues. He spent the most time in the ECHL with the Fort Wayne Komets, putting up 19 points (7-12-19) in 18 games, and also had one goal in six AHL games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, in addition to eight points (3-5-8) in four contests with Quebec of the LNAH and three points (2-1-3) in seven KHL outings with Lada Togliatti.

That breadth of league experience reflects an ongoing search for the right fit for a player selected 152nd overall by the New York Islanders in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. Last season in the AHL, Dufour competed in 45 games with the Bridgeport Islanders, totaling 18 points (8-10-18), and also skated in 12 contests with the Colorado Eagles, compiling four points (1-3-4). Throughout his AHL career, Dufour has logged 97 points, 147 penalty minutes and a minus-54 rating in 191 appearances since 2022-23.

The 24-year-old was a fifth-round NHL Draft pick by the New York Islanders in 2020. Despite the draft pedigree and a career that once included one NHL game against the Boston Bruins during the 2022-23 season, Dufour has yet to find stable footing at the AHL level. His current contract situation underscores that reality: Dufour is an unrestricted free agent with no qualifying offer after his last deal expired at the end of the 2024-25 season.

Back with Fort Wayne, Dufour rejoins a Komets club that lost significant firepower when he departed for Grand Rapids. The Komets lost some major firepower when Dufour inked a PTO with the Griffins, with fellow forward Jayden Grubbe also departing, dealt to the Vancouver Canucks organization around the same time. With the season entering its final stretch, Dufour's return gives Fort Wayne a proven scorer who averaged better than a point per game before his AHL call-up.