Inside the Article:
The Detroit Red Wings featured their first Calder Memorial Trophy winner since 1965 last season when young German defenseman Moritz Seider burst onto the scene and played with the poise of a 10-year veteran. It seemed as though Detroit finally had a true top-pairing defenseman a decade after the retirement of former captain and perennial Norris Trophy winner Nicklas Lidstrom.
What did Moritz Seider say?
While the Red Wings missed the playoffs for the second consecutive year, there were considerable signs of growth that they can point toward as they break for the summer. One of the positives was that there was a point in February when Detroit was in a Wild Card postseason spot thanks to a successful western road trip. Though their postseason chances would soon end, Seider and the Red Wings are going to work on capturing that feeling of when they were in a Wild Card spot as motivation next year.
“It was a great feeling and we want to keep that,” Seider said on Wednesday. “That should be the memory we should go with into the summer, having those kinds of feelings to be in the mix. I think that will give us a lot of confidence next year. Just the fact we were pushing that far, and that late in the season, is a really good improvement.”
And while Seider's point total dipped a bit in his second NHL season, his defensive numbers improved. And according to the man himself, he feels as though he found his stride.
“I think I am in a really good place,” Seider said. “I found my stride during this season. I blocked shots better, so I was happy with that. I think I’m a better defender than I was last year, I’m doing a good job of trying to shut the best line down on a daily basis. That’s all I’m trying to do.”
Wrapping it up – Seider wants to lead by example
Moritz Seider also spoke about the importance of leading by example, which includes not only playing well but also working hard.
“I want everybody to listen to me but you can just not do that by just opening up your mouth and speaking,” Seider said. “You have to lead by example and you have to repeat it every single day, and that is what I am trying to do. I want to be the hardest working guy out there, I want to be out there in important situations, and it’s great when teammates recognize that, and it gives you, even more, trust to do even more.”
We hope that Seider can help Detroit break their lengthy postseason drought in 2023-24!
