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AA stays; Mantha to the 'A' |
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The Detroit Red Wings have set out a mantra for the 2016-17 season that their gameplan will be all about speed, and ultimately, that fact – along with NHL experience - was the difference that earned Andreas Athanasiou the final roster spot among Detroit’s forwards over Anthony Mantha.
“Last year,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill listed as the decider in Athanasiou’s favor. “The job he did last year put him in a spot coming into camp where he was more established as a player.
“I thought they had almost even camps. I thought in Chicago they needed to be better. In Pittsburgh, they were good. Against Toronto, they were OK. They had their little moments going into the third.
“When I said going into camp that you’ve got to make us better and you’ve got to knock other guys out of the box - in the end I thought they played the same, so the edge goes to AA.”
Athanasiou saw things a bit differently than his coach.
“I was happy with my play in camp,” Athanasiou said. “I had a strong summer. I knew coming into it I’d be ready for it.
“I just do what I have to do and fortunately it worked out.”
Other distinct advantages that worked in Athanasiou’s favour were that he has shown he can produce while playing limited minutes and that he could kill penalties if needed. He can also fill a fourth-line spot, a role that really doesn’t suit Mantha’s game.
“He’s probably more versatile,” Blashill said of Athanasiou. “When you’re a big body like Anthony Mantha and you don’t play lots of minutes, it’s hard to get yourself going. When you’re a fast skater (like Athanasiou) I think you can pop on the ice anytime and get yourself going.
“Guys that are skaters like that can certainly do it. I think that gives AA an advantage. But the biggest thing was the body of work he did last season gave him the edge going into camp. I thought they had even camps and the edge goes to AA.”
It Isn’t Over
Just because the club has set its season-opening roster, Blashill made it clear the battles continue all season long, both for ice time and for jobs.
We had a great, great preseason out of the (Luke) Glendening line (with Steve Ott and Drew Miller). They were great. Can they keep it up? If they keep it up, they’ll keep playing. If they falter, then somebody goes in those spots.
Other guys – I thought (Riley) Sheahan had a great preseason. I thought (Gustav) Nyquist had a great preseason. I’ve told our guys we’re going to be merit based on playing time and I’ve told our guys we’re constantly every shift trying out for ice time. That will continue.
“Does somebody go down (to AHL Grand Rapids and do well)? Does Mantha go down, does Bert (Tyler Bertuzzi) go down and play great down there and demand to be up?
“We’ll see.”
Wild For Pulkkinen
For the second straight day, the Wings lost a right-winger on waivers when the Minnesota Wild claimed Teemu Pulkkinen. On Sunday, the Carolina Hurricanes claimed Martin Frk.
“We’ve got an abundance of especially wingers in the organization, so in two days we’ve lost two wingers that obviously we didn’t have in our top 13, otherwise they’d still be here,” Blashill said. “Every organization has different needs.
“For me personally, Teemu’s done an unreal job of working for me over the course of I guess it’s four years now. He’s done nothing but work hard whenever I’ve asked him to, so I wish him the best.”
Kronwall to IR
The Wings placed defenseman Niklas Kronwall (knee) on the injured list retroactive to Sept. 22. He won’t play in Thursday’s opener at Tampa Bay against the Lightning.
“We think Nik Kronwall is going to play here in a week or two, so we’re not putting him on long-term IR,” Detroit general manager Ken Holland said.
The Wings also recalled goaltender Eddie Pasquale from AHL Grand Rapids but that was strictly a paper move. They needed Pasquale’s salary to get to as close to the cap as possible in order to maximize their opportunity to utilize the long-term injury list.
Forward Ben Street was assigned to Grand Rapids after clearing NHL waivers.
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