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Carter Rowney is the newest of the newbies. I think most of us landed on a comparison to Glendening. A 4th line center or depth for injury. I tend to appreciate the utilitarian guys. It’s the hardest league in the world to make. Some players will take the 5 minutes a night and make a career of it. Some can’t deal with that role and move on.
I remember watching interviews with Drew Miller. He was very frank, and a hard working player. He would get 1 or 2 year extensions and essentially say, “players like me aren’t going to get the long term deal. I’m grateful for the chance and will do my best with it…. Patrick Eaves was one of my all time favorites. His work ethic was through the roof. He would go to every special teams meeting, even if he wasn’t on those squads. He wanted to learn and work. Even his attitude in dealing with illness has been an inspiration.
All of that aside, Detroit has an interesting mix of new faces coming in. A goalie who has the potential to be a long term addition to this rebuild in Nedeljkovic . A veteran defenseman who is a power play specialist in Leddy. A second year center who wants to show he can produce with out two all world wingers in Suter. Below is the list of new faces. I’ll do asterisks by the names of prospects who may earn a longer look. Here is your assignment.
Pick one of the names (or multiple if you’re bored). Tell us all in the comments who your favorite Newbie(s) is (are) and how you think they will impact the team. I’m not including Vrana as we know where he’ll be starting and have a pretty good idea that he’ll be in line to be the top producer. Just take a look and let us know who sticks out as someone you think could make Yzerman look even better. Who’s going to bring the biggest surprise to the party this year? I’m not looking for a scoring leader or superstar necessarily. Just someone who will carve out a spot for themselves with a surprise performance. You can also do a candidate that may not be listed here.
A for instance - there’s been some “chatter… that Stephens could grab the 3rd line center spot (Ras moves to wing). If he comes in and that third line is able to make some forward progress, that would be a nice boost. Jordan Oesterle could move up the depth chart due to injury and end up being a nice fit. Seider, expectations are high. But, he could still impress beyond what is hoped for. Etc. just grab the wheel and go for it.
Pius Suter - center Carter Rowney - center Mitchell Stephens - center *Jonatan Berggren - center *Joe Veleno - center *Lucas Raymond - wing *Seth Barton - defense Nick Leddy - defense Wyatt Newpower - defense Jordan Oesterle - defense *Moritz Seider - defense Alex Nedeljkovic - defense
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