RITOLA GETS THE CALL
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Detroit Red Wings on Saturday recalled left wing Mattias Ritola from the Grand Rapids Griffins, who today welcomed back goaltender Dan Turple on assignment by the Atlanta Thrashers.
Ritola, who turned 21 on Friday, leads all Griffins with a plus-15 rating and places second among the team’s rookies with 22 points (6-16—22) in 60 games. The native of Borlange, Sweden, is playing his best hockey of the season, showing points in four of the last five games (2-3—5).
Ritola joins Griffins teammates Darren Helm and Jimmy Howard on the Red Wings’ roster. Should he make his NHL debut this afternoon when Detroit hosts the Nashville Predators at 1 p.m., he would become the 93rd Griffins alumnus in the franchise’s 12-year history to play in the NHL.
In light of Howard’s ongoing stint with the Wings, Turple will serve as the backup to Adam Berkhoel during tonight’s 7 p.m. Griffins home game against the Lake Erie Monsters. Turple, who has played most of the season with the ECHL’s Gwinnett Gladiators, shows a 3.00 goals against average and a 0.857 save percentage for one period of work for Grand Rapids on Feb. 24.
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