Grand Rapids Griffins Sign East Grand Rapids Native, Lose Coach.

Hottest day of the summer. 97 in the shade. Lets think about ice, cold, freezing hockey! Ahhhh that's better. The Griffins have a couple of announcements. For starters, the Griffins on Tuesday signed forward and East Grand Rapids native Luke Glendening to a contract. Glendening becomes the first player from Greater Grand Rapids to ever sign with the AHL team.

And he could join the likes of Mike Knuble and Drayson Bowman as Grand Rapids natives who made it to the NHL. Luke helped EGR win the first of it's 5 state football championships in 2006 and also played baseball and hockey. It's the hockey that stuck as went to the U of M and played there, earning numerous CCHA honors and now playing with his hometown team.

The Griffins are also looking for a new coach. The Griffs boss for the past 3 seasons, Curt Fraser, has left the organization to be an assistant with the Dallas Stars. Fraser's contract was up at the end of last season, and was expected to return to the team before the Stars offer came up. Fraser was the Griffs all time leader in regular season wins. The next coach will be hired by the Red Wings as part of their agreement with the team.