The Red Wings claimed center Gemel Smith off waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning, meaning he will join his younger brother, Givani Smith, on the Red Wings roster. The two brothers have never been on the same team and they've never played against each other.
Gemel & Givani Smith are brothers, but never once played on the same team or against each other. Now, they're teammates for the @DetroitRedWings. On Wednesday, Gemel was napping & woke up to his phone blowing up. He saw a tweet w/ an 🐙 & he realized he was claimed by Detroit. pic.twitter.com/XewDaREagz
— Jeanna Trotman (@JeannaTrotmanTV) January 22, 2022
Gemel hasn't seem game time since the 2020 season after suffering a lower body injury during training camp. He was taking a nap prior to what would have been his returning game, but he woke up to messages and notifications on his phone. He saw a tweet of an octopus and didn't believe it at first, but that was when he realized he had been claimed off waivers by Detroit.
"I'm excited to be here," said Gemel. "Growing up, the Detroit Red Wings have always been my favorite team, so to be here with him (Givani) there is no better feeling."
Smith, 27, has yet to play this season while recovering from a lower-body injury. The eighth-year pro is the older brother of Red Wings forward Givani Smith and has spent the past three seasons in Tampa Bay's system, splitting time between the Lightning and American Hockey League's Syracuse Crunch during the organization's back-to-back Stanley Cup championship runs.
Originally drafted by the Stars in the fourth round (104th overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Smith is a Toronto, Ontario, native who played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League prior to turning pro, picking up 203 points (89-114-203), a plus-33 rating and 166 penalty minutes in 264 games with the Owen Sound Attack and London Knights from 2010-14.
