Marek Tvrdon was sent to the ECHL by the Red Wings, rather than back to the Giants. (Province Files.)
The Detroit Red Wings sent left winger Marek Tvrdon from the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye on Monday, rather than sending him back to the Vancouver GIants.
Tvrdon is eligible to play in the WHL as an overage.
It’s not a huge surprise that Detroit opted that route after Tvrdon played in just one of Grand Rapids’ first 10 games this season. Should he return to Vancouver, the Giants will undoubtedly trade him, and Detroit has no power where he ends up in that regard. More importantly, you can bet that Tvrdon wasn’t keen on coming back to junior and Detroit is using a stay in pro, even at the ECHL level, as motivation.
Teams are permitted three overages. The Giants are happy with the trio they have right now — wingers Cain Franson and Tim Traber and defenceman Dalton Thrower. Teams are permitted two Euros. Under new league rules this year, the two the Giants picked up over the summer — forward Andreas Eder and defenceman Dmitry Osipov – can’t be traded. To add Tvrdon, the Giants would have to outright release one of the Euros, as well as trade or release one of the 20 year olds.
What’s more, Giants coach Don Hay had been publicly critical of Tvrdon’s work ethic during his three seasons in Vancouver. And the Giants gave Tvrdon’s No. 17 jersey to prized rookie Tyler Benson at training camp, leaving Tvrdon with No. 15 instead. That’s a pretty good statement about player-team relations.
Being both a Euro and a 20-year-old — a two spotter, in WHL speak — Tvrdon would probably only a draft pick in trade.
