Svechnikov, Hicketts, McCollum Sent Down to Grand Rapids

On Wednesday afternoon after the overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Red Wings sent down Evgeny Svechnikov, Joe Hicketts and Tom McCollum to the Griffins.

Looks like the Griffins wanted some veteran help down the stretch before their run for back-to-back Calder Cups.

The Griffins have a total of five games left, and only the very last game of the season is at home. This is a crucial time for the Griffins and I don’t blame them for wanting back some important depth that the Red Wings called up earlier in March. Not having clinched a playoff berth yet, the Griffins are in a tough division with all but one team still vying for one of those four playoff spots.

The Griffins are in Tuscon this weekend, facing a dominant Roadrunners team that have already bought their ticket to the Calder Cup Playoffs. The Griffins are looking for as much depth as they can get for this extremely important roadtrip ahead of them.

Evgeny Svechnikov has 4 points in his 14 games with the Red Wings, Joe Hicketts has 3 assists in his 5 games, and Tom McCollum did not play a single minute this season.

With the Griffins, Svechnikov was off to a slow start after recovering from an injury, but bounced back his total to 22 points in 52 games this season. Joe Hicketts has been struggling for the Griffins, with only 10 points in his 63 games. But has played an important role on the blueline for this team.

Tom McCollum has played in 34 games for the Griffins this season, posting a 2.72 GAA and a .909 sv%.

With a hopeful Calder Cup run, Svechnikov and Hicketts will be ready to be full-time contributors to the Red Wings team in 2018-19.