Ever since the Detroit Red Wings drafted German defenseman Moritz Seider with the 6th overall selection in last year’s NHL Draft, fans have been envisioning him as a major piece of the team’s rebuild and as a future fixture patrolling the blue line.
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And he’s shown glimpses that he’s ready for the big time in his first season in North America, suiting up for the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins.
In 46 games with the Griffins, Seider has two goals and 18 assists, with a minus-5 rating.
“We’re really pleased with his development,” Yzerman said. “At the start of the season, I thought he would average 17 minutes, 18 minutes maybe. I looked at the ice time recently, he’s been 25, even 27 minutes a game. An 18-year-old D-man in that league, it’s tough. He’s playing in all situations and he’s touching the puck.
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“We watched him play a lot last year on the men’s team in Germany (Adler Mannheim) and he didn’t get a lot of (power play) time. Here in GR, he’s getting on there and he’s handling the puck and you see his play along the blueline and the offensive part of his game coming and being able to log those big minutes is great experience for him.”
Seider has missed the past four games with an injury after taking a massive hit from an opponent.
– – Quotes via Ansar Khan of MLive Link – –
