DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today recalled center Gemel Smith from the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins and reassigned defenseman Luke Witkowski to the team’s taxi squad from the Griffins.
Smith, 27, made his season debut with the Griffins last week and skated in three games with the team on his conditioning stint, logging one assist, a plus-one rating, eight penalty minutes and two shots on goal. He had been sidelined since training camp due to injury and is looking to play his first NHL game since appearing for the Tampa Bay Lightning on May 10, 2021 at Florida. The eighth-year pro is the older brother of Red Wings forward Givani Smith and has spent the past three seasons in Tampa Bay’s system before Detroit claimed him off waivers on Jan. 19, splitting time between the Lightning and American Hockey League’s Syracuse Crunch during the organization’s back-to-back Stanley Cup championship runs. Smith has logged 88 NHL games with the Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins and Lightning, notching 24 points (12-12-24), a plus-three rating and 53 penalty minutes. The 5-foot-10, 203-pound forward has also skated in 289 career AHL games between the Texas Stars, Providence Bruins and Crunch and compiled 173 points (76-97-173), a plus-22 rating and 203 penalty minutes since making his professional debut in 2014-15.
Originally drafted by the Stars in the fourth round (104th overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Smith is a Toronto, Ontario, native who played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League prior to turning pro, picking up 203 points (89-114-203), a plus-33 rating and 166 penalty minutes in 264 games with the Owen Sound Attack and London Knights from 2010-14. Smith also registered 28 points (12-16-28), a plus-four rating and 31 penalty minutes in 47 OHL postseason games and twice played in the Canadian Hockey League’s Memorial Cup with Owen Sound (2011) and London (2014). Smith also twice won a medal with Canada on the international stage, winning gold at the 2011 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and capturing bronze at the 2012 IIHF World Under-18 Championship.
Witkowski, 31, has skated in 27 games with the Griffins this season, picking up three points (0-3-3) and 49 penalty minutes. The Holland, Mich., native is in his second stint with the Red Wings after previously spending two seasons with the Red Wings from 2017-19 and logging six points (1-5-6) and 86 penalty minutes in 65 games. Witkowski rejoined the organization in the offseason after serving as captain of the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch in 2020-21, posting two points (0-2-2), a plus-eight rating and 32 penalty minutes in 14 games before his season was cut short due to injury. In 2019-20, Witkowski appeared in 12 games with the eventual Stanley Cup-champion Tampa Bay Lightning, logging three points (1-2-3) and 13 penalty minutes while adding six points (2-4-6), a plus-12 rating and 63 penalty minutes in 29 games with the Crunch. Over nine professional seasons, Witkowski has notched 13 points (2-11-13) and 162 penalty minutes in 131 NHL games between Detroit and Tampa Bay and 50 points (9-41-50), a plus-33 rating and 668 penalty minutes in 288 AHL games with Syracuse and Grand Rapids.
Originally drafted by the Lightning in the sixth round (160th overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Witkowski spent four seasons at Western Michigan University, where he won a CCHA championship in 2012 with Jeff Blashill as his head coach and was teammates with Red Wings defensemen Danny DeKeyser (2010-13) and Jordan Oesterle (2011-13). Witkowski was also a CCHA Second-Team All-Star as a senior in 2013 prior to signing his first professional contract and ended his collegiate career with 38 points (7-31-38), a plus-seven rating and 235 penalty minutes in 152 games from 2009-13. Witkowski also spent two seasons in the USHL from 2007-09, combining for 35 points (9-26-35), a plus-20 rating and 257 penalty minutes in 113 games between the Ohio Junior Blue Jackets and the Fargo Force, where he served as captain in 2008-09 and was a USHL All-Star.
