Since 2019, Taro Hirose has been a key part of the Red Wings organization, playing at both the NHL and AHL levels. Now, he’s embarking on a new chapter.
Hirose has signed with EHC München, a team in the German DEL league, as announced by the club on Friday. His move marks the end of a six-year association with the Red Wings, which was the third-longest tenure of any player with Detroit.
Hirose joined the Detroit Red Wings as an undrafted free agent in 2019 after a standout season at Michigan State, where he scored 50 points. He made a strong impression early on, collecting seven points in his first 10 NHL games while playing alongside Henrik Zetterberg. Over the next four seasons, Hirose received multiple call-ups to the Red Wings, including a career-high 26 games in the 2019-20 season, during which he added another seven points to his tally. In total, he recorded 20 points over 60 NHL games.
As other prospects around him developed, Hirose’s NHL opportunities dwindled, and he spent last season exclusively in the AHL, where he accumulated 201 points in 248 games.
Now, Hirose is set to start anew with EHC München in Germany, a team that could benefit from his scoring ability. He joins a roster that includes a few former NHL players from the mid-2010s, like Tobias Rieder and Ben Smith.
It is somewhat unexpected that Hirose opted for an overseas move rather than seeking another AHL opportunity, given his strong performance in recent seasons. Although he still has one year left of eligibility as a “development player” under AHL rules, which allows for players with fewer than 260 professional games to participate, it seems that at 28 years old and without recent NHL success, teams are hesitant to sign him.
During his six years with Detroit, Hirose had the third-longest tenure with the team among active players, behind Michael Rasmussen, who is starting his seventh year with the Red Wings, and Dylan Larkin, who is entering his 11th season dating back to his AHL playoff debut in 2015.
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