(Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)
DETROIT, October 8, 2020 – The Detroit Red Wings today agreed to terms with left wings Adam Erne and Taro Hirose on one-year contract extensions.
Erne, 25, appeared in 56 games with the Red Wings in 2019-20 before a lower-body injury cut his season short, registering five points (2-3-5), 28 penalty minutes and 142 hits, which ranked second on the team and was the highest per-game average on the club (2.54). The 6-foot-1, 212-pound winger was acquired from Tampa Bay by Detroit on Aug. 14, 2019 in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and has totaled 170 NHL appearances between the Lightning and Red Wings, notching 32 points (15-17-32) and 90 penalty minutes. Originally drafted in the second round (33rd overall) by Tampa Bay in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Erne began his professional career by skating in 150 American Hockey League games with the Syracuse Crunch, totaling 88 points (41-47-88) and 156 penalty minutes between 2013-18.
Prior to turning pro, Erne suited up for the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 2011-15, totaling 275 points (118-157-275) in 240 games. In his final season of junior hockey, the New Haven, Connecticut, native posted a junior career-best 86 points (41-45-86) and 102 penalty minutes, while adding 30 points (21-9-30) in 22 postseason contests en route to capturing the President’s Cup as the QMJHL champions. Erne led all QMJHL skaters in goals during the 2015 President’s Cup playoffs and finished second in points to capture the Guy Lafleur Trophy as the postseason’s most-valuable player. Before joining the Remparts, Erne skated with the Indiana Ice of the United States Hockey League for one season (2010-11) and recorded 18 points (10-8-18) and 49 penalty minutes in 45 games. Erne has also represented Team USA on the international stage, most recently the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship, as well as the 2012 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, totaling seven points (5-2-7) in nine games between the two tournaments.
Hirose, 24, signed with the Red Wings as a free agent on March 12, 2019 and has appeared in 36 NHL games since turning professional, producing 14 points (3-11-14) and eight penalty minutes. After making his NHL debut at the end of the 2018-19 campaign, Hirose tied a franchise record by notching an assist in each of his first five games with the team, which tied Dylan Larkin’s mark for longest point streak to begin a career. He split his first full professional campaign between the Red Wings and American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins, recording seven points (2-5-7) and six penalty minutes in 26 NHL games along with 27 points (5-22-27) and 12 penalty minutes in 35 AHL contests. Hirose’s AHL stint included a Griffins season-best seven-game assist streak, part of a longer stretch in which he produced 14 assists over a 13-game span from Jan. 18-Feb. 28.
A native of Calgary, Alberta, Hirose appeared in 106 games at Michigan State from 2016-19, totaling 116 points (33-83-116) and 39 penalty minutes. As a junior in 2018-19, Hirose led the nation in points (50), points-per-game (1.47), assists (35), multi-point games (15) and three-point games (9) en route to being named the Big Ten Player of the Year. Prior to his collegiate career, Hirose played two seasons (2014-16) with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks of the British Columbia Hockey League where he totaled 121 points (33-88-121) in 116 games. During the 2015-16 campaign with the Silverbacks, he ranked 13th in the BCHL in points (71) and fourth in assists (56), both of which led the team. Hirose also led the Silverbacks in scoring (18-32-50) in his first season with the club (2014-15), while being named the team’s Rookie of the Year.
