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Praise for the “every day” players

February 6, 2022, 8:19 PM ET [44 Comments]
Jeremy Laura
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Previous post: Wings lose to Kings 5-3

When I used to work in an office (usually 15-50 people) only about 1 or 2 workers were hockey fans. The conversations about hockey were, “Can the Wings win it all this year? Vegas odds are really high if i bet now”. The next time I’d hear from that bunch was some time around April. It was all football through Christmas, build up to March Madness and then, “well, nothing else is going on, how is hockey?”

Internally, the most exciting hockey (if you’re not in the playoffs) is the first 15 games and the last 15 games. They can also be the most deceptive. I watched a panel of GMs talk about players who scored all their points in the first 15 and the last 15. Essentially, there are players that, once the pressure of the playoffs is completely gone they light up their stats.

So, this goes out to the players who have been there for the worst part of the grind. My “shows up every day” list:

Dylan Larkin - 23 goals and 21 assists in 42 games. Most of you know I feel that Larkin has done his best to carry this team without much support. This year, his line has given him a chance to shine.

Tyler Bertuzzi - 22 goals and 18 assists in 39 games and a +10. He just seems ready to go when he hits the ice.

Moritz Seider - 25 assists to lead the team in apples (4 goals) and has seen as high as 25 minutes as a rookie defender! Being an every day defender is tough, this kid keeps showing up.

Lucas Raymond - he’s slowed down a bit in goal scoring, but 35 points in 47 games for a 19 year old rookie is still worth some recognition.

Honorable mentions:
Robby Fabbri and Vlad Namestnikov. Both are there and ready for action. Fabbri is 3rd in goals scored w 12 (10 assists

Alex Nedeljkovic. A GAA of 2.9 is what the doctor ordered. Unfortunately as a team there’s a GAA of 3.43 (up from 3) but goals for is also up .5 at 2.72 instead of 2.23. Ned is still a nice add for the season.

So, the break here will serve as a reset for some players. At the end of last year Vrana came in and was on fire. He was scoring at a furious pace. Injury kept us from seeing how his year would start. I have a couple candidates of players who could “turn it on” at the end but may not sustain that success into next season.

Filip Zadina - to Zadina’s credit, he finds ways to contribute on the ice. He’s a player a lot of fans think will start “filling up nets” and never look back. His production could pick up.

Joe Veleno - Veleno is an emotional player. You can see when he’s “feeling it” and you can tell when he’s not quite engaged. This draft will mark 4 years since he was selected as the “steal of the draft”. We’re right in the wheelhouse of knowing what we have in both Zadina and Veleno. A huge finish would buy a summer’s worth of “see, he’s made it!”

I think Zadina and Veleno could both be NHL players, just not necessarily in the roles we’d hoped. If you think in terms of playoffs, it’s those 3rd and 4th line guys that find a way to contribute because the top lines are cancelling each other out. Being a bottom 6 NHLer isn’t a “failure”. It’s the hardest league in the world to grab and keep a job.

Honorables:

Look, we have a glut of players who show up and make a difference. I pointed out the higher “profile” players. But, Gagner, Hronek, Greiss, Suter (defensively has had some really good nights). Things are heading in the right direction. We need some help in the middle and on left side defense (would love to see Vrana come back). I just wanted to use this opportunity to point out a couple players who have treated this season like they want to hit the next level almost every night. Hope you enjoyed it.


Some of my previous posts:

Wings lose to Kings 5-3

Oesterle’s first as a Wing OT winner

Wings give up 4-1 lead, lose to Toronto

Wings can’t outscore ‘Hawks

Even in OT loss, top line continues to shine
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