GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- The Grand Rapids Griffins begin the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs on Saturday against Manitoba. One of the veterans leading this team is Eric Tangradi with 31 goals this season.
The left wing said it's been helpful to stay healthy this year and continue playing with Ben Street. "You know our line has led the way, just trying to contribute as much as we can. Especially when we’ve had trouble scoring goals we’ve been able to keep the pace, so it’s a fun year but going into the playoffs we know that other teams are aware of that so it’s gonna be even harder for us to get space and get ice so we’re ready for the challenge.”
Street said his chemistry with Tangradi plays a huge role in their success. "We kind of know where each other is gonna be the ice and a lot of it just comes from helping each other out after shifts if we see stuff or we think something might work we aren’t afraid to voice it to each other and try stuff out and I think that’s kinda been the reason why we’ve been able to have some success and keep having success."
And with players like Evgeny Svechnikov and Jared Coreau back with the Griffin, coach Todd Nelson said he thinks they can bring an extra edge from their experience in the NHL this year. “Getting those guys down from being up top, they come back with more confidence. Every player that goes up for a while and comes back they know what they have to do to get back up there and having those two guys join us just makes our team deeper and both guys will be relied upon on in the playoffs.”
Svehcnikov said this year has been a great learning experience for him. “Just to be around those guys that have been in the NHL for a long time. It was a great experience – little details every day off the ice and on the ice. It was great. And now coming here trying to help some young guys as well and you know keep learning myself as well.”
