Post by Stripe on Sept 26, 2006 16:15:16 GMT -5
WINGS SEND SIX TO GRAND RAPIDS
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday assigned six players to the Grand Rapids Griffins, including forwards Brendan Brooks, Matt Ellis, Eric Himelfarb and Evan McGrath; defenseman Dan Smith; and goaltender Stefan Liv.
Brooks, 27, logged 79 games with the AHL’s Peoria Rivermen last season, contributing 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points. Known as one of the league’s fastest skaters, he is just two years removed from his breakout 2004-05 campaign with Worcester, when he potted 20 goals and finished fourth on the IceCats with 38 points.
Ellis, 25, became the youngest captain in Griffins history last season before enjoying a career year with 20 goals, 28 assists and 48 points in 74 games. Embarking on his fourth season in Grand Rapids, he ranks among the franchise's all-time leaders with 217 games played (10th), seven shorthanded goals (1st) and 572 shots (4th), while showing 43 goals and 104 points.
Himelfarb, 23, enters his third full season as a Griffin, having totaled 31 goals and 76 points in 145 games. Last season, he scored 10 goals and 28 points in 62 games with the AHL’s regular season champs.
Liv, 25, begins his first pro campaign in North America following six seasons in the Swedish Elite League with HV 71 Jonkoping. Detroit’s third choice (102nd overall) in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, he was a member of Sweden’s gold medal-winning teams at both the 2006 Winter Olympics in Italy and the 2006 IIHF World Championship in Latvia.
McGrath, 20, was Detroit's second choice (128th overall) in the 2004 draft. A first-year pro, he exploded for 37 goals and 114 points in 67 Ontario Hockey League contests last season with Kitchener.
Smith, 29, has played 561 games during a pro career that dates to the end of 1996-97, when he joined the Hershey Bears out of junior and promptly won a Calder Cup championship. The 1995 draft pick spent parts of five seasons in the Colorado Avalanche organization, registering 15 NHL games from 1998-2000. After signing with the Edmonton Oilers as a free agent on August 21, 2003, Smith played parts of three seasons with the franchise’s AHL affiliates before returning to the NHL with a seven-game stint last season. He spent the majority of the 2005-06 campaign with the Hamilton Bulldogs, finishing with 16 assists in 69 outings.