The Detroit Red Wings announced earlier this week that Toledo’s Dan Watson would be the next head coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins.
It’s been a long time coming for Watson, who spent the last 13 seasons with the Walleye in the ECHL. Watson had been an assistant on former Detroit Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill’s staff as he began working his way up the coaching ladder, eventually earning a spot on the Red Wings bench. It’s a pretty cool thing to see coaches working their way up through a team’s affiliate, similar to player prospects.