| … Former Second-Round Pick Has Suited Up in 21 Games for Detroit … DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today recalled right wing Givani Smith from the team’s taxi squad. Smith, 22, appeared in 21 games with the Red Wings last season, recording three points (2-1-3), nine penalty minutes, 22 shots on goal and 42 hits in 9:41 average time on ice. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound winger also skated in 37 games for the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins last season in his second full professional campaign, posting 19 points (9-10-19) to surpass his rookie total of 13 points (6-7-13) in 64 games during the 2018-19 season. Smith also led the Griffins with 75 penalty minutes last season. In 104 career AHL games since 2016-17, Smith has notched 32 points (15-17-32), 163 penalty minutes and 124 shots on goal. The Toronto, Ontario, native was selected by Detroit in the second round (46th overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft and spent four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League prior to turning professional. In 236 games with the Barrie Colts, Guelph Storm and Kitchener Rangers from 2014-18, Smith tallied 135 points (73-62-135) and 411 penalty minutes, leading the league in penalty minutes in consecutive seasons in 2015-16 and 2016-17. In his final OHL campaign split between Guelph and Kitchener in 2017-18, Smith picked up 30 points (17-13-30) in 46 regular-season games before racking up 18 points (11-7-18) in 18 playoff games with Kitchener.  |
| … Winger Has Skated in 36 NHL Games with Red Wings … DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today reassigned left wing Taro Hirose to the team’s taxi squad from the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins. Hirose, 24, signed with the Red Wings as a free agent on March 12, 2019 and has appeared in 36 NHL games since turning professional, producing 14 points (3-11-14) and eight penalty minutes. After making his NHL debut at the end of the 2018-19 campaign, Hirose tied a franchise record by notching an assist in each of his first five games with the team, which tied Dylan Larkin’s mark for longest point streak to begin a career. He split his first full professional campaign between the Red Wings and American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins, recording seven points (2-5-7) and six penalty minutes in 26 NHL games along with 27 points (5-22-27) and 12 penalty minutes in 35 AHL contests. Hirose’s AHL stint included a Griffins season-best seven-game assist streak, part of a longer stretch in which he produced 14 assists over a 13-game span from Jan. 18-Feb. 28. A native of Calgary, Alberta, Hirose appeared in 106 games at Michigan State from 2016-19, totaling 116 points (33-83-116) and 39 penalty minutes. As a junior in 2018-19, Hirose led the nation in points (50), points-per-game (1.47), assists (35), multi-point games (15) and three-point games (9) en route to being named the Big Ten Player of the Year. Prior to his collegiate career, Hirose played two seasons (2014-16) with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks of the British Columbia Hockey League where he totaled 121 points (33-88-121) in 116 games. During the 2015-16 campaign with the Silverbacks, he ranked 13th in the BCHL in points (71) and fourth in assists (56), both of which led the team. Hirose also led the Silverbacks in scoring (18-32-50) in his first season with the club (2014-15), while being named the team’s Rookie of the Year.  |
