Chase Pearson to make NHL debut Thursday against Islanders

When the Detroit Red Wings take on the New York Islanders on Thursday night, they’ll have a new face in their lineup.

The Red Wings recalled forward prospect @Chase Pearson from the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins on Thursday morning. Later in the day, the Wings announced that Pearson would draw into the lineup with @Filip Zadina (illness) and @Givani Smith (injury) drawing out.

Pearson, 24, was originally drafted by the Red Wings in the fifth round of the 2015 NHL Draft. The 6’3″, 202-lb. forward has seven goals and 17 points in 47 AHL games with the Griffins this season.

With Zadina and Smith both unavailable on Thursday, @Taro Hirose could be another candidate to enter the lineup against the Islanders. Hirose, 25, remains Grand Rapids’ leading scorer with 45 points in 52 games and also has three points in four games with the Red Wings this year.

Pearson looked to be trending toward being a high-scoring AHL forward in the shortened 2020–21 season, registering eight goals and 22 points in just 28 games, but his production has regressed to previous levels this season. The Cornwall, Ontario product is a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights.

With Pearson in the lineup, here’s Detroit’s projected lineup for Thursday’s game (via Daily Faceoff):

@Jakub Vrana – @Dylan Larkin – @Lucas Raymond
@Joe Veleno – @Pius Suter – @Tyler Bertuzzi
@Taro Hirose – @Michael Rasmussen – @Oskar Sundqvist
@Adam Erne – @Chase Pearson – @Sam Gagner

@Jordan Oesterle – @Moritz Seider
@Marc Staal – @Filip Hronek
@Jake Walman – @Gustav Lindstrom

@Thomas Greiss (expected starter)
@Alex Nedeljkovic

And here’s what the Islanders are expected to run with (also via DFO):

@Anders Lee – @Brock Nelson – @Anthony Beauvillier
@Zach Parise – @Mathew Barzal – @Oliver Wahlstrom
@Josh Bailey – @Jean-Gabriel Pageau – @Kyle Palmieri
@Matt Martin – @Casey Cizikas – @Kieffer Bellows

@Zdeno Chara – @Noah Dobson
@Adam Pelech – @Ryan Pulock
Sebastian Aho – @Andy Greene

@Ilya Sorokin (expected starter)
@Semyon Varlamov

The Red Wings (26–30–7) will drop the puck against the Islanders (27–25–9) at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday evening. You’ll be able to catch the game on Bally Sports Detroit Extra.

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