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Grewe won't take to licking |
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Put a licking on an opposing player?
Albin Grewe is down with that.
“I like to go under my opponents’ skin,” explained Grewe, selected 66th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in last week’s NHL entry draft. “I like to hit my opponents. Stuff like that.”
Licking an opponent?
That’s where Grewe draws the line.
“No,” he said with a bit of a chuckle when asked if he’d ever licked another player during a game.
This was Brad Marchand’s signature move during the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs. Now, if you want to compare everything Grewe does to the Boston Bruins pest, he’s fine with it.
But when it comes to licking, he won’t do that.
“Marchand, he’s my favorite player,” Grewe admitted. “I’ve always played as I do, and then I also watched Brad Marchand and if he can play like he does, so can I.”
Known in Sweden by the nickname T-Rex due to his abrasive style, Grewe, 18, was quick to point out that his game contains characteristics far beyond being an agitating distraction to the other team.
“I’m a power forward, the six-foot, 187-pound Grewe said. “I like to score goals.
“I think I’m a great goal-scorer and I can pass to my teammates for good chances, too. I think that’s my best part. I think I have this combination of physical play and score goals.”
One aspect of his game he’s sought to rein in are his visits to the sin bin. Grewe sat out 102 penalty minutes in just 25 games last season with Djurgarden in the Swedish junior league.
“It’s a balance,” Grewe said. “I can be better there and not take stupid penalties. Sometimes it happens, but I can be better there.”
He’ll play again in his homeland during the upcoming season but the thought of being a Red Wing is dear to his heart.
“I always watched Detroit when I was a younger kid,” Grewe said. “I liked the Swedes - (Henrik) Zetterberg, (Niklas) Kronwall - all the good Swedes here, so it’s fun to be here.”
On draft day, Wings veteran Kronwall sent a congratulatory text message to Grewe.
“He said, ‘Welcome to Detroit, looking forward to meeting you,’” Grewe said.
Sitting It Out
Some of the best parts of the Wings’ future are putting their future on hold for the moment.
That list includes Filip Zadina, last year’s first-round pick, who is nursing a hamstring strain, as is late-season sensation Taro Hirose.
Jonatan Berggren, a 2018 second-round pick who didn’t play after November due to a stress fracture in his back, saw the ice Wednesday for the first time since arriving at development camp.
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Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
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