Red Wings Unfiltered: The Kids Are Proving They Are Ready & Belong

A number of Red Wings youngsters have turned up their games to put earn the eye of Yzerman

The Red Wings continue to find themselves in the midst of a playoff push for the first time in years. Some of their vets have helped lead the way (Dylan Larkin and Patrick Kane, among others), as have some less seasoned players like Mo Seider and Lucas Raymond. But amongst all of this, one youngster has brought some solidification to the back end of the ice for the Red Wings: Simon Edvinsson.

Meanwhile, down in Grand Rapids, the Griffins have been spearheaded over the last few games by their newly put-together first line heading into the AHL playoffs.

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Edvinsson Doing the Little Things Right

Before being called up by the Red Wings on March 20th, Edvinsson, one of the team’s top-ranked prospects, found himself leading the way statistically for the Griffins defensive group and looking more confident in his defensive play, which helped lead to his call-up. In 10 games with the Wings so far, his stats have not shown up a ton, but he has brought some consistency and strong play on both ends of the ice for a team that has lacked in defensive play.

There have been a number of times that Edvinsson has made plays in the offensive zone to create more chances and eventual goals. While these plays don’t show up on the scoresheet, they go a long way in the locker room and also surely catch the eye of head coach Derek Lalonde and GM Steve Yzerman. But it has not only been on the offensive end of the ice that Edvinsson has made an impact, as he has shored up some of the sloppiness from the team’s defensemen. The biggest reason that he was sent back down to Grand Rapids at the beginning of the season was to further develop himself, specifically as a “defenseman”.

Simon Edvinsson, Detroit Red Wings (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)