From the second day of the Red Wings’ summer development camp ’18:
Givani Smith deserves major credit for having to rehash the racist taunts he had to deal with during the Kitchener Rangers’ playoff run during today’s media availability. Smith was forthright and honest regarding the fact that he faces racism on a regular basis, and he spoke bluntly about the challenges he faces at times and the fact that the hockey community reached out to him when he needed them most. Smith is ready to put those issues behind him and head to Grand Rapids to start his professional career, but he was very brave in revisiting a tough chapter of his hockey history today:
Me and MLive’s Ansar Khan spoke with defenseman Gustav Lindstrom, a defenseman who has NHL skills in a still-growing body. Lindstrom spoke about his past season, earning a contract with the SHL’s Frolunda Indians, his already-participating status in terms of dryland training and on-ice fitness with Frolunda, and his goals for his upcoming campaign:
My interview with Jared McIsaac went…okay. I asked McIsaac about his skill set, why he felt he was drafted in the early 2nd round, his attributes as a player and the whirlwind that has been going from the draft to the Wings’ development camp:
Aside from my stupid phone ringing in the middle of the interview, my discussion with Ryan O’Reilly went better. O’Reilly is a Texas-born player who still spent a season playing for Little Caesars hockey, so he discussed his eclectic background, his preparations for attending UMass-Lowell a year from now (he’ll play for the USHL’s Tri-City Storm first) and his take on the Wings’ fantastic facility: