The Detroit Red Wings not only have a solid grip on 31st place in the NHL, but they also feature the NHL’s last ranked defensive numbers.
Naturally, it wouldn’t be unusual for fans to want to see a glimpse of what their first overall draft selection from this past summer can do at the NHL level, especially with nothing but pride riding on the line for the remainder of the season.
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Moritz Seider has performed well in his first professional season in North America, amassing 19 points (2G, 17A) with 26 PIM in 45 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Head coach Jeff Blashill was asked today about the possibility of calling up Seider from Grand Rapids, and the prospects of that happening didn’t sound too promising.
“There’s factors in play, where Grand Rapids is at, what’s best for his development,” Blashill said about Seider. “It would be hard-pressed for me to see them totally secure a playoff spot; it usually comes down to the end. Steve (Yzerman) and I have had conversations about the possibility, but we’ve made no definitive decisions on whether or not that will happen, so we’ll wait and see.
“With Moritz, it will be totally dictated on what we think is best for his development and there’s no number of games that have been discussed (if he’s called up), that it’s got to be this or got to be that. It’s simply a matter of what’s best for his development and that’s an ongoing process to evaluate and there’s a lot that goes into it that we’ll keep looking at and make the decision.”
Of course, the team wants to be careful in how fast they bring along his development, as some players can succumb to the rigors and pressures of being exposed to NHL-level hockey too early in their careers.
Seeing as how Seider figures to be a major part of Detroit’s future, they don’t plan on rushing him until they feel he’s ready.
“My understanding is he’s done a really good job. He’s played really good hockey. I’m a big fan. I think he’s going to be a really good player. How good? We’ll see,” Blashill said. “I think he’s still learning the give and take of offensive risk management. It’s something that he didn’t get a chance to do a whole bunch last year because of the level he was playing at. He might not be getting that here (Detroit) either.”
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“Sometimes when you play at the highest level you end up playing over-safe sometimes. I think he’s got some offense to give and it’s just understanding that risk management and it’s a learned process but I think he’s getting better at it and my understanding is he’s having a good, solid year.”
– – Quotes via Art Regner of DetroitRedWings.com Link – –
