DETROIT- The Detroit Red Wings today assigned forwards Christoffer Ehn, Martin Frk, Matt Puempel and Dominic Turgeon and defensemen Jake Chelios, Joe Hicketts, Filip Hronek and Dylan McIlrath to the American Hockey League's Grand Rapids Griffins and assigned goaltender Kaden Fulcher to the ECHL's Toledo Walleye.
Red Wings assign nine players
Eight players joining Griffins, who need one point to clinch AHL postseason berth
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Ehn skated in 60 games with the Red Wings in his first NHL campaign and produced nine points (3-6-9) and six penalty minutes in 10:37 average time on ice. His most recent stint with the Red Wings included his first career shorthanded and game-winning goal on March 25 at San Jose. The 23-year-old center has also made 14 appearances for the Griffins this season and notched seven points (2-5-7). A native of Skara, Sweden, Ehn is in his first season in North America after spending three full seasons with Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League, where he registered 32 points (11-21-32) and won an SHL championship in 2015-16. Ehn is a former fourth-round pick (106th) of the Red Wings in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.
Frk, 25, has split the 2018-19 season between Detroit and Grand Rapids, logging six points (1-5-6) in 30 NHL games with the Red Wings and racking up 13 points (4-9-13) in 10 games with the Griffins. Saturday's season finale versus Buffalo marked Frk's 100th NHL game, and he shows 31 points (12-19-31) and 18 penalty minutes over parts of three seasons with Carolina (2016-17) and Detroit (2017-19). Originally a second-round pick (49th overall) of the Red Wings in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Frk has totaled 224 games for Grand Rapids since 2013-14 and recorded 131 points (67-64-131) and 191 penalty minutes for the team, helping them win a 2017 Calder Cup championship.
Puempel, a native of Windsor, Ontario, appeared in eight games with the Red Wings in 2018-19 and scored his first goal with the team on April 2 versus Pittsburgh. The 26-year-old has notched 16 points (11-5-16) in 87 career NHL games between the Ottawa Senators, New York Rangers and Red Wings since 2014-15. Formerly a first-round pick (24th overall) of the Senators in 2011, Puempel joined the Red Wings organization via trade in Oct. 2017 and has appeared in 116 games with the Griffins in that time, posting 104 points (46-54-104). He ranked second on the Griffins in goals (24), assists (26) and points (50) at the time of his recall. Puempel has appeared in 291 career AHL games with the Binghamton Senators, Hartford Wolf Pack and Griffins, totaling 218 points (107-111-218) over parts of seven AHL seasons.
Turgeon has appeared in nine NHL games for Detroit over the past two seasons, making his NHL debut on Jan. 14, 2018 against Chicago. The 23-year-old has also skated in 209 games for the Griffins over the past three campaigns, logging 69 points (26-43-69), including 19 points (6-13-19) in 69 games with the team in 2018-19. Turgeon won a Calder Cup championship as a first-year pro in 2016-17 after spending four seasons with the Western Hockey League's Portland Winterhawks. In 259 WHL games, the Pointe-Claire, Quebec, native recorded 152 points (67-85-152) and 91 penalty minutes.
Chelios, 28, made his NHL debut with the Red Wings on March 29 vs. New Jersey and appeared in five games with the team. The son of Hockey Hall of Famer Chris Chelios, who was with the Red Wings from 1998-09, his debut marked the sixth father-and-son combination to suit up for the Red Wings. Chelios has appeared in 59 games for the Griffins this season, picking up 14 points (1-13-14) among his 107 career AHL points (17-90-107) in 294 career AHL games with the Chicago Wolves, Charlotte Checkers and Griffins. The sixth-year pro attended Michigan State University from 2010-14 and contributed 54 points (17-37-54) in 154 games with the team.
Hicketts made the Red Wings' opening-night roster and played 11 games for Detroit in 2018-19 after making his NHL debut in 2017-18 by skating in five games, posting three assists. The 22-year-old also leads Griffins defensemen with 27 points (3-24-27) in his third professional season. In 201 career AHL games, Hicketts has logged 73 points (13-60-73), a plus-10 rating and 122 penalty minutes. He was also a member of the Griffins' 2017 Calder Cup championship team and has 10 points (1-9-10) in 24 career AHL playoff games. The 5-foot-8, 180-pound defenseman was originally signed by the Red Wings as an undrafted free agent in Sept. 2014 after attending the team's development camp and training camp.
Hronek led all Red Wings rookies with 23 points (5-18-23) in 46 games after making his NHL debut on Oct. 4 versus Columbus. He finished fourth in NHL scoring by a rookie defenseman after finishing the season on a four-game point streak, the longest point streak by a Red Wings rookie defenseman since 1991-92, and seven total points (1-6-7) in his last six games. The second-year pro has also racked up 23 points (7-16-23) in 28 games with the Griffins and has 64 points (19-45-64) in 105 games with the team over the last three seasons. Originally drafted in the second round (53rd overall) by the Red Wings in 2016, the 21-year-old racked up 61 points (14-47-61) in 59 games for the Ontario Hockey League's Saginaw Spirit in 2016-17 prior to turning professional.
McIlrath, 26, skated in seven games with the Red Wings and has played in 50 NHL games since 2013-14 with the New York Rangers, Florida Panthers and Red Wings, notching five points (3-2-5) and 98 penalty minutes. McIlrath is a veteran of 350 AHL games, totaling 73 points (21-52-73), a plus-27 rating and 756 penalty minutes with the Connecticut Whale, Hartford Wolf Pack, Springfield Thunderbirds and Griffins since 2010-11. In 49 games for Grand Rapids this season, he has nine points (1-8-9) and ranks among team leaders with a plus-12 rating (T3rd) and 94 penalty minutes (1st). The Winnipeg, Manitoba, native was also a member of the team's 2017 Calder Cup championship team and has notched seven points (0-7-7), a plus-12 rating and 61 penalty minutes in 44 career AHL playoff games.
Fulcher became the 10th player to make his NHL debut with the Red Wings in 2018-19 - most in the NHL - when he entered Saturday's game versus Buffalo during the second period and made nine saves on 11 shots. The 20-year-old has appeared in 28 games for Toledo in 2018-19, posting a 15-7-6 record, 3.00 goals-against average, 0.899 save percentage in his first professional season. He recently posted the first shutout of his pro career by making 27 saves on March 3 against the Indy Fuel. Fulcher was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Red Wings on Oct. 3, 2017, earning a contract after attending the Red Wings' 2017 development camp and training camp as a free agent invitee.
