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What should have been a night of celebration turned quickly into an evening of fret and worry for Detroit Red Wings fans.
A couple of hours before the Wings claimed Evgeny Svechnikov with the 19th pick of the first round of the NHL entry draft, Detroit general manager Ken Holland revealed that veteran center Pavel Datsyuk had undergone ankle surgery and there was a chance Datsyuk could miss the start of the 2015-16 NHL season.
“At the end of the regular season Pav blocked a shot, he missed a game,” Holland said. “We thought it was bruised. In the Tampa (playoff) series his leg looked a little wobbly.
“After the playoffs it was determined he had tendon issues. We felt time off would get the job done. He went to Russia for six weeks. He called (Red Wings athletic therapist) Piet Van Zant on Saturday and said his ankle’s not better.
“Yesterday we put together a trip for him to see Dr. (Robert) Anderson in North Carolina, the same doctor who performed surgery on (the ankle of Detroit Tigers first baseman) Miguel Cabrera.”
When Dr. Anderson looked at Datsyuk’s ankle, the news was not good.
“He had ruptured tendons,” Holland said.
Surgery was performed and now the question is, how long will it take Datsyuk, who will be 37 when next season gets underway, to heal?
“The doctor will look at him again in three months,” Holland said. “For 4-6 weeks he’ll be in a cast/walking boot, then get started with rehab. Sometime during camp he’ll be re-evaluated by Dr. Anderson.”
As to whether Datsyuk might still be idled when the regular season begins for the Wings Oct. 9 at Joe Louis Arena against the Toronto Maple Leafs, that answer is unclear at this point.
“A lot has to do with how the body heals and how we go about the rehab process,” Holland said.
Datsyuk missed the start of last season due to a shoulder injury and missed a total of 19 games overall due to a variety of ailments, but still managed 29 goals and 65 points in 63 games. A knee injury cost Datsyuk 47 games during the 2013-14 campaign.
The Next Russian?
While Datsyuk begins the healing process, countryman Svechnikov became the first Russian the Wings have taken in the first round since defenseman Max Kuznetsov was claimed 26th overall in 1995. He’s the seventh straight forward Detroit has selected with its first pick of the draft.
“We had the opportunity to move back, but we had him rated pretty high,” Detroit director of amateur scouting Tyler Wright said. “He’s too good a player to pass up at 19. A big kid, really smart, good skill, hockey sense. We think he’s a top six forward.
“We’re pretty excited.”
A 6-2, 201-pound left-handed shooting right-winger, Svechnikov is equally effective as a playmaker or finisher and possesses an explosive first step that causes defenders to back off as he accelerates with the puck. Deadly from the blue-line in, his game has been paralleled to that of Montreal Canadiens star Max Pacioretty.
Svechnikov’s 78 points were second-best among QMJHL rookies and his points-per-game average (0.95) was second among QMJHL draft-eligible prospects behind the 1.48 of Halifax’s Timo Meier, who went ninth overall to San Jose.
Svechnikov believes his decision to come to North America and play in the CHL will serve to advance his progress to the NHL.
“It was really important,” Svechnikov said. “For me it’s a huge step, for the NHL, and I wanted to come here year before but couldn’t.
“It’s very important for me because I want to play in the NHL.”
He also thinks it puts him ahead of the curve than players who stay in Europe because he’s already adapted to the North American lifestyle and smaller ice surface.
“Obviously it’s a big difference between Russian hockey and Canadian hockey so everything is quick on the smaller ice,” Svechnikov said.
The Wings saw signs of how committed Svechnikov is to North American assimilation when they interviewed him at the NHL scouting combine. He was the only Russian player there who was not accompanied by an interpreter.
“He didn’t know a word of English at the start of the season and now he speaks fluently,” Wight said. “He stays the summer training in Montreal.”
From Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Svechnikov has represented Russia in international play on several occasions, most recently at the 2014 Under-18 World Championship in Finland, tying for the team lead with seven points (3-4-7) in five games. He also won a silver medal at the 2014 World Junior A Challenge and the 2013 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge
Now that he’s a Wing, Svechnikov might be reconsidering his favorite NHL player, which he said was Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin.
“When he came up on stage the first thing he said was ‘Pavel Datsyuk,’ so he was pretty excited,” Wright said.
Andersson Signs
Restricted free agent center Joakim Andersson agreed to terms with the Wings on a one-year deal worth $815,000.
Andersson, 26, appeared in 68 games for the Red Wings in 2014-15, picking up eight points (3-5-8) and 22 penalty minutes. He’s a solid defensive forward and strong penalty killer who gives the Wings depth at forward and is certainly a better option as an extra forward than the creaky body of Daniel Cleary.
Andersson is also well known to Wings coach Jeff Blashill, having helped him win an AHL Calder Cup with the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2012-13.
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