Blashill: Young Guys Have Chance of Making Roster “More Than Ever Before”
By Nick Seguin
5 years agoThe Detroit Red Wings are embracing their rebuild. On locker clean-out day, Ken Holland was very animated and open about wanting to go younger, focus on the draft, and stay away from free agency.
“The theme going forward is the future,” Holland said. “It’s rebuild. It’s young kids. It’s young kids put into the lineup when they’re ready.”
While some of the messaging since then has been a little confusing (i.e. the possibility of re-signing Mike Green), head coach Jeff Blashill is remaining consistent with what his boss said at the end of the season.
In a recent appearance on The Red & White Authority podcast, Blashill spoke candidly with host Art Regner about what the roster could look like next year.
“There’s less sure bets in terms of guys being cemented in certain spots in the lineup,” Blashill said. “Why? Because we haven’t been good enough for two years.”
Having missed the playoffs twice in a row over the last two seasons, Blashill is eager to return his team to competitiveness. “That means if other guys come in and are better than the guys we have, they’re going to play – more than ever before, and in greater numbers than ever before.”
Blashill tempered his statement by saying that young players still have to put in the work and earn their spot in the lineup. Nobody is being handed anything.
RASMUSSEN, HRONEK AMONG THOSE CONTENDING
Blashill did mention some prospects by name who he thought had a really good chance of making the team. One of them was Michael Rasmussen, the team’s first round selection in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. Blash loves Rasmussen’s net-front presence and thinks he could make a real impact on the power play, an area where the team struggled mightily this year.
Rasmussen put up 33 points in 14 playoff games for the Tri-City Americans of the WHL this season. He is not eligible to play in the AHL next year due to his age, so he’ll either be back in the WHL or in a Red Wings jersey. I’m putting my money on the latter.
Filip Hronek is another prospect Blashill spoke very highly of. He drew a direct comparison to Will Butcher, a player that elevated the New Jersey Devils last season. Blashill loves Hronek’s ability to quarterback a powerplay and the way he sees the ice. “He’s a very, very good facilitator. He shoots when he should shoot, he passes when he should pass, it’s not super flashy but it’s extremely efficient”.
Some other prospects that Blashill mentioned who have a legitimate shot of making the team are Libor Sulak and Joe Hicketts on defense (he did give an honourable mention to Dennis Cholowski) and Dominic Turgeon and Evgeny Svechnikov on forward.
UPDATE ON COACHING
Blashill is actively looking for an assistant coach to replace John Torchetti behind the bench. He spoke at length about the power play needing to be improved and how to bolster the team’s offense.
While he doesn’t have a timeline on locking down a replacement, he doesn’t expect the process to drag on for too much longer. He’s already interviewed numerous candidates.
ON THE DRAFT…
The other thing Blashill mentioned on the podcast was how much he loved Quinn Hughes. He gave him a solid review, but made sure to qualify that he was speaking as the head coach of Team U.S.A. and not a member of the Detroit Red Wings organization.
So if you are looking for a hint of who the Wings are going to take with that 6th overall pick this year, you won’t find it here!
With notes from NHL.com.
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