Riley Barber among three skaters added to Red Wings’ taxi squad

The Detroit Red Wings are strengthening their taxi squad by adding three additional members to that group, the team announced via social media Wednesday.

In total, the Red Wings have recalled forward @Riley Barber, defenseman @Luke Witkowski and goaltender @Kaden Fulcher from the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League, assigning all three skaters to the club’s taxi squad.

Barber, Witkowski and Fulcher will all accompany the Red Wings during their upcoming three-game road trip, which features stops against three west coast teams (Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks). All three players will be permitted to practice with the team while on the road.

In his first campaign with Detroit, Barber, 27, made his debut on Dec. 18 against the New Jersey Devils, where he logged 11:23 minutes of ice-time and posted a pair of shots on goal. In 23 games with Grand Rapids this season, he’s scored eight goals and 19 points.

Witkowski, 31, has spent the entire 2021-22 campaign in the AHL thus far, registering a pair of assists through 21 games with the Griffins. The 6’2″ blueliner has compiled 131 career contests in the National Hockey League, producing two goals and 13 points across six seasons.

As for Fulcher, 23, he signed as an undrafted free agent with Detroit in 2017 and has remained with the organization ever since then. So far this season, the 6’3″ netminder has appeared in eight games with the Toledo Walleye of the East Coast Hockey League, performing to a 4-3-0 record, a 1.70 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage.

The Ontario native made his NHL debut during the 2018-19 season, where he allowed two goals on 11 shots against in relief while facing Buffalo Sabres.

Detroit will begin its west coast trip in Anaheim on Thursday at the Honda Center, beginning at 10:00 pm ET.