GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday assigned defenseman Libor Sulak to the Grand Rapids Griffins while the Griffins released defenseman Mackenze Stewart from his professional tryout, returning him to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye.

The 23-year-old Stewart skated in all four of the Griffins’ games this season.

Sulak, 24, became the 170th Griffins alumni to play in the NHL when he made his debut with the Red Wings on Oct. 4 vs. Columbus. Sulak has skated in six games with Detroit this season, showing six penalty minutes and seven shots on goal while averaging 19:22 of ice time.

The 6-foot-2, 207-pound blueliner made his AHL debut with the Griffins at the end of last season, contributing two assists in two games. Prior to joining the Griffins in 2017-18, Sulak led all team defensemen in scoring with a career-high 32 points (9-23—32), while adding a plus-five rating and 66 PIM in 42 games with the Lahti Pelicans in Finland.

A native of Pelhrimov, Czech Republic, he played two pro seasons (2015-17) with Orli Znojmo in the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga, Austria’s top pro league. In 106 regular season games, Sulak totaled 46 points (16-30—46) and 55 PIM and added nine points (5-4—9) in 22 playoff appearances. He led the club with a plus-19 rating and ranked fourth on the team in scoring with 28 points (10-18—28) in 54 games during the 2016-17 campaign, a season after being named the league’s rookie of the year posting 18 points (6-12—18) in 52 contests.

Competing in the Czech junior league, he helped KLH Chomutov claim back-to-back league titles in 2014 and 2015.

Sulak has represented the Czech Republic on the international stage at the 2018 and 2017 IIHF World Championships, the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship and the 2012 IIHF World Under-18 Championship.

The Griffins host the Texas Stars tonight at 7 p.m.

Single-game tickets are currently on sale. Fans can secure their full-season, select-season or group ticket packages by calling (616) 774-4585 ext. 2 or visit griffinshockey.com for more information.

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