And then there were 22…
By Craig Jones
3 years agoNothing says hockey is back more than the Wings releasing their official 22-man roster. Fans may still be skeptical given last season’s 17–49–5 record, but being slotted in a top-heavy division will force the Red Wings to come out of the gate strong. If they’re able to capitalize on their back-to-back games against the ‘Canes and the Blackhawks could give them a strong start to 2021 and give Hockeytown something to celebrate. They’ve listed the usual suspects on their 22-man roster, opting to carry seven defensemen, two goalies and 13 forwards. Surprisingly, they’ve assigned two goalies to their six-man Taxi Boys squad but, given the recent NHL COVID announcement, having fit reserve goalies could be the difference-maker.
Forwards Defensemen Goalies Taxi Boys
🏒RW Filip Zadina 🏒 D Alex Biega 🏒 G Thomas Greiss 🏒 D Denis Cholowski
🏒C Robby Fabbri 🏒 D Filip Hronek 🏒 G Jonothan Bernier 🏒 C Michael Rasmussen
🏒RW Anthony Mantha 🏒 D Marc Staal 🏒 D Gustav Lindstrom
🏒C Luke Glendening 🏒 D Patrik Nemeth 🏒 RW Givani Smith
🏒C Valtteri Filppula 🏒 D Jon Merrill 🏒 G Calvin Pickard
🏒RW Bobby Ryan 🏒 D Danny DeKeyser 🏒 G Kevin Boyle
🏒LW Tyler Bertuzzi 🏒 Troy Stetcher
🏒C Dylan Larkin
🏒LW Adam Erne
🏒C Frans Nielsen
🏒LW Mathias Brome
🏒C Sam Gagner
🏒C Vladislav Namestnikok
Notable Additions and Omissions
Without a doubt, the addition of the Swedish stud Mathias Bromé to the 22-man roster has raised some eyebrows. The 6’0” and 183 lbs left-winger has seized his opportunity in training camp and, given the fact that he’s been playing in Sweden during the pandemic, he’s certainly in top condition. The high-scoring Swede impressed both Blashill and Steve Yzerman, so Wings fans will be hoping he can add some much needed scoring to the Wings bottom-six.
As predicted in the Taxi Boys, Michael Rasmussen just missed out on making the active roster. Having said that, the forward group should be on high-alert, because the British Columbian native will be champing at the bit to make a permanent jump to the Wings active roster.
It’s somewhat surprising to see the Wings carry two goalies on the Taxi Squad considering Blashill’s public praise of his goaltending tandem. That being said, COVID has made it better to err on the side of caution, so retaining both Calvin Pickard and Kevin Boyle makes sense if the Wings brass assume they will be forced to thrust one of their 28-year-old goalies into action.
Darren Helm, Jared McIsaac and newly acquired Christian Djoos have been listed as non-roster, while Pat Nagle was released from his PTO. Furthermore, the Wings assigned forwards Riley Barber, Kyle Criscuolo, Turner Elson, Taro Hirose, Chase Pearson, Evgeny Svechnikov, Dominic Turgeon, Joe Hicketts, Brian Lashoff, Dylan McIlrath and Kaden Fulcher to the Grand Rapids Griffins.
The season kicks off Thursday when the Wings host the Hurricanes at Little Caesars Arena. Hockey is BACK!
Twitter:@Jonesinthezone
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