Witkowski, 31, has skated in 19 games with the Griffins this season, picking up one point and 45 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 picking up 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 48 points (9-39-48), a plus-31 rating and 664 penalty minutes in 280 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.
Brattstrom, 24, began his first season in North America in 2021-22 and has appeared in seven games between the Griffins and ECHL's Toledo Walleye. In five games with Grand Rapids, he has a 0-3-2 record, 5.32 goals-against average and 0.835 save percentage, while posting a 2-1-0 record with a 4.29 goals-against average and 0.829 save percentage in three games with Toledo. Originally drafted in the sixth round (160th overall) of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, Brattstrom spent the 2020-21 campaign with KooKoo in the SM-Liiga, Finland's top professional league, where he ranked as one of the league's top netminders by posting a 2.20 goals-against average and 0.903 save percentage, alongside an 18-12-7 record and one shutout.
The 6-foot-4, 200-pound goaltender also logged three professional seasons in Sweden for Timra IK, in both the Swedish Hockey League and second-tier Allsvenskan. Brattstrom compiled a 5-14-0 record, 2.81 goals-against average and 0.897 save percentage in 23 SHL games and a 43-17-0 record, 2.08 goals-against average, 0.915 save percentage and six shutouts in 60 second-tier games between 2017-19. The Gothenburg, Sweden, native spent four seasons with Frolunda HC's junior clubs prior to joining Timra, posting the top save percentage in the under-18 league in the 2013-14 campaign (0.930). He also led the Swedish junior league in save percentage (0.935) with Timra's under-20 team in 2016-17.
