Bill Roose has an interesting update for us today.
With the injury to Jonathan Ericsson, the #RedWings have recalled rookie defenseman Adam Almquist from the @griffinshockey.
— The Wheel Deal (@Bill_Roose) March 19, 2014
Almquist played two games for the Wings earlier in the season and has scored 4.5% of all goals scored by Red Wings‘ defensemen this season (he has one of the 22 total).
His last NHL game was November 7th against Dallas. Since then he’s played for the Griffins, racking up 45 points in 60 games in the AHL this season (4G 41A). He plays heavy power play minutes and has stepped into a larger role for the Griffins since a season-ending injury to Alexey Marchenko in February.
It’s not immediately clear whether this will be considered an emergency recall or one of the four “regular” recalls allowed by the CBA. With Jonathan Ericsson set to miss the next 10-14 days 4-6 weeks due to his broken finger, the Wings were down a defenseman, but that had been solved in-game as Brendan Smith moved back from his temporary stint at forward to play at his natural blueliner position. The Wings may make an emergency recall to keep their roster strength at six defensemen, but with Smith being classified as a blueliner, that would be the number they’re already at.
Regardless, Almquist is one of the defensive prospects who is running out of options and is playing very well in the AHL this season. He’s undersized by NHL standards, but has very good instincts and moves the puck effectively.
We’ll update this story as more information comes out about how the roster will shake out for Thursday’s game against the Penguins.
UPDATE 1
Ken Holland said Almquist was recalled as insurance in case one of their 6 D can’t play tomorrow, since GR will be on bus to Iowa.
— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) March 19, 2014
