The kids weren’t just all right for the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.
They were spectacular.
The line of Dylan Larkin between Teemu Pulkinnen and Tyler Bertuzzi combined for five goals and 10 points in a 6-1 pre-season rout of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Well, that’s what it said on the front of their jerseys.
It point of fact, for the most part these were actually the Scranton/Wilkes Barre Penguins who visited the JLA, as the Penguins brought just six NHL regulars on the trip, forwards Evegeni Malkin and Patric Hornqvist the only two of which could be considered high-end NHLers.
Based on his AHL-leading 34 goals last season, we know Pulkkinen can dominate at that level. And if that’s the destination for Larkin and Bertuzzi this season, they should also be in line to quickly become prominent AHLers.
“I think the future is bright,… Larkin said. “All of the young guys out here playing – (forward Tomas) Nosek has had a great camp. (Goalie Jake) Patterson had a good rookie tournament.
“I think it’s a compliment to the drafting that they’ve done and all the people they brought in, and then all the players that are putting the work in.
“You look at Tyler and Anthony (Mantha), all of us had great off-seasons. I think it’s showing in this camp.…
It’s also showing exactly how difficult the decisions are going to be for the Detroit brass as they get down to the brass tacks of settling on a lineup to start the season.
Pulkkinen knows he’ll be here. No longer waiver exempt, the Wings would never try to send him down to the minors. But if he’s going to carve out any ice time of significance for himself when the real games begin next month, he’ll need to continue to do what he’s done three times in two pre-season games – put the puck in the net.
“Absolutely,… Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. “When that’s what you do you have to score.
“I think Pulky has worked really hard at rounding out his game and becoming more of a 200-foot player than when we first had him in Grand Rapids, but he’s still working on that.
“Certain other guys might get away with not scoring. If you’re a goal scorer you’ve got to score, so good for Pulky to score.…
Larkin, Detroit’s top pick in the 2014 NHL entry draft, presents a more pressing dilemma. Even with what he described as “hundreds of friends and family… watching his first appearance in a Detroit uniform on home ice, he continued to excel, scoring twice.
“I think Dylan has a maturity level way beyond his years,… Blashill said. “That’s one thing that struck me right away when he came to play for us last year in Grand Rapids. He has a real maturity level to him.
“He’s got a real good quiet confidence. He doesn’t have that fake bravado confidence. He’s just a confident kid, but a down-to-earth kid. He doesn’t let things bother him and he’s very competitive.
“That’s not to say there’s not errors - yes, he does need to continue to grow - but sometimes that competitiveness gets the best of him. But he’s a real, real mature person.…
Blashill was forthright and to the point when asked what Larkin must do to earn his Wings in camp.
“He’s got to be better today than somebody else that would have that spot,… Blashill said. “Better means lots of things. Better means playing a good 200-foot game. Better means within the role that he would be competing for. It might be a production thing, it might be a penalty-kill thing, it might a power-play thing.…
Seeking to be the first teenager to make the Wings out of training camp since Jiri Fischer in 1999, Larkin, 19, isn’t making the decision easy for the team.
“That’s my goal,… Larkin said. “I think every game I’m trying to get stronger and really try and work on my team game and in the defensive zone and keep moving forward.…
Bertuzzi’s situation is certainly the easiest to decipher. He’ll be starting the season in Grand Rapids.
“For me right now, it's just a learning experience, to see what it's like to play at the next level,… Bertuzzi said. “I feel like I'm playing pretty well right now and I'm hopefully giving them (an idea) what to do with me next.…
Svechnikov Down The Wings assigned 2015 first round pick Evgeni Svechnikov back to his junior club, the QMJHL’s Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, but also see brightness in his future.
“The first thing again, I like his approach,… Blashill said. “He's got a great approach. He's real strong on the puck and he's got good offensive ability. He can protect it, he can make plays in tight areas, he's got a real ability to pass the puck and I know he can score.
“He's going to have to continue to score to prove that but he's got real good hands. He looks like a big body that has real good physical tools, probably different than what we've had a lot of in terms of our draft picks, we've had some smaller guys with skill. He's a big body that has real good physical tools.…
Ouellet Out Defenseman Xavier Ouellet is the latest Red Wing to enter sick bay. He’s on the sideline with what the team is terming an upper-body injury and is listed as day to day.
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