Red Wings officially activate forward from injury reserve

The Detroit Red Wings have received reinforcement from injured reserve.

The team activated forward Mason Appleton from injured reserve on Sunday in preparation for their game against the Washington Capitals.

The depth forward has played 26 games this season and scored 9 points (3-6) for the Red Wings while serving in both top-six and bottom-six roles.

He served as a steadfast replacement for Patrick Kane who's been out with an injury.

In his absence, the team has had to make due with call-ups like John Leonard in the lineup and Elmer Soderblom providing depth scoring.

The 400-game NHL forward was moved to injured reserve after missing five games due to a lower-body injury.

At first, the team thought he'd be able to return to the lineup from his injury suffered at the beginning of December. Despite that, the team would have to shift him onto IR as the outlook changed, which was originally an optimistic return date of December 10th.

General manager Steve Yzerman signed Mason Appleton, the depth forward, to a two-year, $2.9 million average annual value contract in July.