Red Wings Recall Austin Watson from Grand Rapids

Detroit Assigns Ville Husso to Griffins

The Detroit Red Wings today recalled forward Austin Watson to the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins. Additionally, the Red Wings have assigned goaltender Ville Husso to the Griffins.

Watson, 32, has recorded three assists, a plus-three rating and seven penalty minutes in two games with the Griffins to begin the 2024-25 season. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound forward signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Red Wings on Oct. 7 after spending training camp on a professional tryout, logging one assist, a plus-one rating and 27 penalty minutes in four preseason appearances. Watson played the entire 2023-24 season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, tallying four points (2-2-4), a plus-two rating and 93 penalty minutes in 33 games. He spent the 2022-23 campaign with the Ottawa Senators, collecting 11 points (9-2-11) and 123 penalty minutes in 75 games. Originally selected by the Nashville Predators in the first round (18th overall) of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Watson has compiled 118 points (60-58-118) and 705 penalty minutes in 515 games with the Predators, Senators and Lightning since 2012-13. He has also tallied 19 points (10-9-19) and 48 penalty minutes in 45 postseason contests, helping the Predators reach the 2017 Stanley Cup Final. Additionally, Watson has played in parts of seven AHL seasons with the Milwaukee Admirals and Griffins, racking up 135 points (73-62-135), a plus-13 rating and 96 penalty minutes in 236 games.

A native of Ann Arbor, Mich., Watson is one of six Michigan-born skaters on Detroit’s active roster, joining forwards Alex DeBrincat (Farmington Hills), Andrew Copp (Ann Arbor), Dylan Larkin (Waterford) and Tyler Motte (St. Clair), and defenseman Jeff Petry (Ann Arbor). Prior to turning professional, Watson played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the Windsor Spitfires, Peterborough Petes and London Knights from 2008-12, winning OHL championships with Windsor in 2009 and London in 2012. During his major junior career, Watson registered 219 points (89-130-219) and 164 penalty minutes in 244 games, in addition to 22 points (12-10-22) and 27 penalty minutes in 43 postseason matchups. Watson captured a Memorial Cup title with Windsor in 2009 under Red Wings Associate Coach Bob Boughner, and later earned the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as OHL Playoff MVP with London in 2012. Watson also skated with the U.S. National Team Development Program in 2009-10, collecting six points (4-2-6) and 33 penalty minutes in nine appearances. On the international stage, Watson served as an alternate captain with Team USA at the 2022 IIHF World Championship, collecting one assist and 27 penalty minutes in 10 games. He also competed at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship, registering nine points(3-6-9) and a plus-six rating in six games. Watson earned a gold medal with Team USA at the 2010 IIHF World Under-18 Championship, logging three points (2-1-3), a plus-two rating and 33 penalty minutes in seven contests.

Husso, 29, has started one game with the Red Wings during the 2024-25 season. The 6-foot-3, 208-pound netminder was limited to 19 appearances with Detroit in 2023-24, posting a 9-5-2 record with a 3.55 goals-against average and an 0.892 save percentage. Husso also stopped all 25 shots he faced with the Griffins on Jan. 26 against the Belleville Senators during a conditioning stint. He spent the entire 2022-23 campaign with the Red Wings, logging a 26-22-7 record with a 3.11 goals-against average, an 0.896 save percentage and four shutouts in 56 games. Originally selected by the St. Louis Blues in the fourth round (94th overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, Husso has compiled a 69-41-16 record with a 3.03 goals-against average, a 0.902 save percentage and seven shutouts in 133 appearances with the Blues and Red Wings since 2020-21. Additionally, Husso has posted a 51-54-16 record with a 2.68 goals-against average, a 0.909 save percentage and 11 shutouts in 130 AHL games with the Chicago Wolves, San Antonio Rampage and Griffins, earning a place on the AHL All-Rookie Team in 2017-18.  
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A native of Helsinki, Finland, Husso played three seasons with HIFK in Finland's SM-Liiga from 2013-16 prior to arriving in North America, finishing with a 60-33-21 record and 10 shutouts in 121 appearances. In his final season with HIFK, Husso was named to the SM-Liiga All-Star Team and captured the Urpo Ylönen Award as the league's top goaltender after recording the circuit's best goals-against average (1.91) and save percentage (0.927) in 39 games during the 2015-16 campaign. On the international stage, Husso represented Finland at the 2018 IIHF World Championship, showing a 1-2-0 record with a 2.33 goals-against average and an 0.863 save percentage in three appearances. He also competed at back-to-back IIHF World Junior Championships in 2014 and 2015, winning a gold medal at the 2014 tournament. Husso was a member of Finland’s bronze-medal entry at the 2013 IIHF World Under-18 Championship and made three appearances at the 2012 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.

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