The Detroit Red Wings have promoted from within to be their American Hockey League affiliate’s new head coach as Dan Watson has been hired as the Grand Rapids Griffins’ bench boss.
The 43-year-old Watson comes to the Griffins after serving six seasons with the Red Wings’ ECHL affiliate, the Toledo Walleye. In total, the Ontario native spent the last 13 seasons in Toledo serving as an assistant coach, associate head coach, and head coach during that span.
As the head coach of the Walleye, Watson totaled 323 wins combined between the regular season and playoffs that included reaching the Kelly Cup Finals in 2019 and 2022.
Watson will look to get the Griffins back to being a perennial playoff team after missing/not participating in the Calder Cup Playoffs the last four seasons and not winning a playoff series since capturing the Calder Cup in 2017.
