It was a wait to be sure, but the wait proved to be worth it for Xavier Ouellet.
After nursing an upper-body injury for the past week, the Detroit Red Wings defenseman finally made his pre-season debut Monday at Boston and Ouellet turned in a solid effort in a 3-1 win over the Bruins.
Ouellet, 22, picked up an assist and was plus-three in 22:14 of ice time. He had a hit and two takeaways.
“I was really excited,… Ouellet said. “It was the first pre-season game for me, so I just couldn't wait to get going.…
Ouellet saw action in 21 games for Detroit last season after appearing in four games the previous season, and makes no bones about his objectives as the current campaign fast approaches.
“I'm here to stay,… he listed as his main hope for camp. “I come here every year to camp trying to stay, trying to do my job.
“I think the experience I got last year and the year before is just a plus for me, knowing what I'm going into. So I just need to go out there, play solid, play the game I can play.
“I think they know me here and they're going to have to make decisions.…
Ouellet also believes he has a solid handle on what it’s going to take for him to earn a regular turn on the Detroit rearguard.
“I think that if I really want to establish myself here, I’ve got to be really solid defensively,… Ouellet said. “That's going to be the main thing, making sure I don't give anything defensively.
“I think I have a little offensive ability and that's going to show with time and ice time, so I want to really focus on the defensive side of things.…
Although his injury has put him behind the eight-ball in terms of competing with the others in the hunt for spots on the Detroit defense, Wings coach Jeff Blashill insists that it hasn’t ruled out the possibility of Ouellet being part of the team when the regular season gets underway Oct. 9 at Joe Louis Arena against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“I won’t speak to odds,… Blashill said. “I think the fact that he’s finally able to play and show what he can do, he’s somebody that with the whole group of young defensemen, we’ve got a group that are good players. Now what they’ve got to do is be better than guys that were here a year ago. That’s what the goal is.
“Xavier to be at his best has to be extremely efficient. He’s got to do a great job of using his smarts not to give up chances and create chances through moving the puck in an efficient manner. That’s when I think he’s at his best.…
Assuming all are healthy, Detroit’s top two defensive pairs would appear to be set, Niklas Kronwall with Jonathan Ericsson and Mike Green with Danny DeKeyser. The third pairing will come from a group that includes returnees Kyle Quincey, Brendan Smith and Jakub Kindl, with Ouellet and Alexey Marchenko, both part-time Wings last season, also in the hunt.
“It’s still fluid in my mind,… Blashill said. “Lets have as much information as we can.
“Lets watch as many games as we can then make the decision later in the week.…
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