The Detroit Red Wings named Dan Watson the head coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins, the 12th head coach in franchise history.
Watson, 43, is coming off a season in which he led the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye to the Conference Finals after a 45-19-5-3 regular season. He worked with Toledo for 14 seasons as an assistant coach (2009-14), assistant coach (2014-16) and head coach (2016-23); As a head coach, Watson has been a Kelly Cup finalist in 2019 and 2022 and has won three league titles and two regular season championships. He was named ECHL Coach of the Year in 2016-17.
A native of Glencoe, Ont. Watson played 193 games as a defenseman over parts of four AHL seasons with Syracuse, Cleveland, and Providence.
Watson succeeds Ben Simon, who has served as the Griffins’ coach for the past five seasons.