As fall pushes its way toward Traverse City, it’s clear Detroit may have plenty of donuts (i.e. holes in goaltending) but no Seider.
Feds has rightly stated that you shouldn’t put too much stock into these tournaments. Bednar had a very good 32 minute stretch in the final of 3 games (0-3) and Cossa, well, he’s part of that donut issue I mentioned. More holes than a case of timbits.
Soderblom and Tuomisto had some decent moments, but again these are 3 year veterans. What wasn’t apparent was anyone deciding to grab on to an opportunity (save some good moments for Cross Hanas) for fans to think they’ll be pushing veterans for spots. Had Edvinsson healed up and been part of the lineup, maybe something would have come of that. No real honest idea of how that would shake out.
When the main team/griffins/and invites hit the ice it may be a different story. The reason Seider was mentioned was that his attitude at his first camp post draft was impressive. He was a leader, even in groups with veterans after the prospects tournament. He would talk to anyone regardless of role/rank and jumped right in. It didn’t feel like a leader emerged over the past few games. That can always change, right?
As always, full disclosure, prospects playing in Europe or in the NCAA weren’t at the tournament. This wasn’t everyone. Mazur is already banged up and that’s not a good sign. The tournament was also much shorter than it used to be. About half as many games were played. In the years where that was the case, the ice never really recovered. The constant stream of play along with bodies filling the small rinks caused issues that lasted all the way through training camp. That, and the prospects were exhausted by the end.
This wasn’t a full picture of what Detroit has in the pipeline, but seemed a solemn reminder that players either need to jump ahead in development or be brought in for the team to move forward. Debrincat will have a lot of eyes on his first shifts (and probably be buying a lot of tickets for the first few home games).
There isn’t an infallible “Yzerplan”, but there has been improvement. When you’re ranked in the divisional basement, that improvement doesn’t seem like much, but Seider and Raymond both have shown some hope for the franchise. The center position feels soft (and a little pricey for the 2nd and 3rd line) but it would be a joy to be wrong about that.
A new year, a new iteration. New faces and a GM that has pretty much cleaned the slate of the previous regime. Grand Rapids lost players to Detroit last year and a new coach was brought up from the ECHL ranks. We’ll see if there is a general move forward, or if this is just a shuffle toward returning to a post season appearance.
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