| … Barber, Criscuolo, Hirose and Pickard Rejoin Griffins Prior to Holiday Break … DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today assigned right wing Riley Barber, center Kyle Criscuolo, left wing Taro Hirose and goaltender Calvin Pickard to the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins. Barber, 27, joined the organization when he signed a two-year contract with the Red Wings prior the 2020-21 season and made his Red Wings debut in Saturday’s 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils. Barber has appeared in 53 games with the Griffins over the last two seasons, totaling 50 points (27-23-50) and 36 penalty minutes. Last season, he was named to the Central Division All-Star Team after leading Grand Rapids with 20 goals and 34 points in 32 games. The Pittsburgh, Penn., native is a veteran of 336 AHL games, posting 267 points (133-134-267) and 240 penalty minutes over seven seasons with the Hershey Bears, Laval Rocket, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Griffins. Barber previously saw NHL action with the Washington Capitals (2016-17) and Montreal Canadiens (2019-20), picking up two penalty minutes in 12 games. The 6-foot, 190-pound winger also has 15 points (5-10-15) in 38 career AHL postseason games. Originally drafted by the Capitals in the sixth round (167th overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Barber signed with Washington after spending three seasons at Miami University, where he scored at over a point-per-game pace with 123 points (54-69-123), a plus-24 rating and 62 penalty minutes in 116 games. Barber earned several collegiate honors, including CCHA Rookie of the Year and First All-Star Team in 2012-13 and NCHC Second All-Star Team in 2013-14, and helped the RedHawks to a conference championship in 2014-15. He also won a 2011 Clark Cup championship in the United States Hockey League with the Dubuque Fighting Saints and spent the 2011-12 season with the U.S. National Team Development Program. Barber also captained the United States at the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship after winning gold at the event in 2013, combining for 12 points (7-5-12) in 12 games between the two tournaments. Criscuolo, 29, has played parts of four seasons with the Griffins over two separate stints with the club, rejoining the organization in 2020-21 after signing with Grand Rapids to begin his professional career in 2015-16. Criscuolo made his Detroit debut on Dec. 1 versus Seattle and registered his first NHL point in Saturday’s victory over the Devils with an assist on Dylan Larkin’s hat-trick goal. He previously appeared in nine NHL games with Buffalo during the 2017-18 campaign. In 265 AHL games between the Griffins, Rochester Americans, Lehigh Valley Phantoms and San Diego Gulls, he has totaled 155 points (66-89-155), a plus-29 rating and 96 penalty minutes. As a first-year pro in 2016-17, Criscuolo helped the Griffins capture a Calder Cup championship, contributing 41 points (17-24-41) in 76 regular-season games and adding nine points (5-4-9) in 19 postseason contests. This season, the 5-foot-9, 175-pound forward leads the Griffins in points-per-game, racking up 17 points (9-8-17) in 15 games. A native of Southampton, N.J., Criscuolo spent four seasons at Harvard University from 2012-16 and logged 113 points (53-60-113), a plus-42 rating and 46 penalty minutes in 124 collegiate games, serving as captain of the Crimson as a junior and senior. Harvard won an ECAC conference championship in 2015, and Criscuolo was a back-to-back ECAC Student-Athlete of the Year, All-Ivy League Second Team and All-ECAC Second Team member. Prior to his time at Harvard, Criscuolo spent the 2011-12 season in the USHL with the Sioux City Musketeers, notching 44 points (21-23-44) in 59 games. Hirose, 25, has split his professional career between the Red Wings and Griffins. He has appeared in 43 NHL games since debuting in 2018-19, totaling 16 points (3-13-16) and 10 penalty minutes, while adding 74 points (14-60-74) and 18 penalty minutes in 86 games with Grand Rapids over the last three seasons. In 2021-22, Hirose has logged 22 games for the Griffins, ranking among team leaders with four goals (T5th), 15 assists (1st and T7th in the AHL), 19 points (1st) and 40 shots (3rd). He was originally signed as an undrafted free agent after spending three years at Michigan State University and logged seven points (1-6-7) in 10 games during his first NHL stint in 2018-19. 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. Pickard, 28, is tied for sixth in the AHL in wins this season, sporting a 9-7-2 record, 2.47 goals-against average, 0.926 save percentage and one shutout in 19 games for Grand Rapids. Pickard saw time in three different leagues in 2020-21, notching a 2-1-1 record with a 3.16 goals-against average and 0.874 save percentage in six games with the Red Wings in addition to playing three games with the Griffins and six for the Vienna Capitals in Austria’s top professional league. Pickard has appeared in nine games for Detroit over the last two seasons and has made 113 appearances in his NHL career, logging a 34-53-10 record, 3.01 goals-against average, 0.904 save percentage and four shutouts with the Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers, Arizona Coyotes and Red Wings. A 10th-year pro, Pickard has also played 255 AHL games with the Lake Erie Monsters, San Antonio Rampage, Toronto Marlies, Tucson Roadrunners and Griffins since 2011-12. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound netminder has a 120-91-22 record, 2.64 goals-against average, 0.914 save percentage and 16 shutouts. Originally drafted by the Avalanche in the second round (49th overall) of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Pickard spent his entire major-junior career with the Western Hockey League’s Seattle Thunderbirds from 2008-12, totaling a 91-120-27 record, 3.29 goals-against average, 0.909 save percentage and 12 shutouts. The Moncton, New Brunswick, native has also represented Canada at the 2016 and 2017 IIHF World Championships, winning a gold and silver medal, respectively.     |
