The Detroit Red Wings’ prospects play the New York Rangers at 4 PM today, so the coaching staff chose to give the players a very, very optional morning skate.
Starting goaltender Patrik Rybar, back-ups Kaden Fulcher and Justin Fazio, and scratches Pavel Gogolev, Nicholas Guay, Trevor Hamilton and Cole Fraser skated, with Filip Zadina making a 10-minute guest appearance.
The Wings still brought out a full complement of coaches as Ben Simon, Daniel Cleary and Shawn Horcoff watched from the stands: goalie coaches Jeff Salajko and Brian Mahoney-Wilson, Griffins assistants Mike Knuble, Matt MacDonald and Brad Tapper and skill development coach Brandon Naurato all took part in drills with the Wings’ three goaltenders and four skaters.
After the “optional,” coach Ben Simon discussed his rationale in allowing the players who played (they did warm up off the ice) to skip the on-ice portion of their morning skate with a 4 PM game in the offing; Simon also discussed the work that the scratches put in to develop their skills, the fact that everybody is being evaluated at all times, regardless of whether they’re playing; he confirmed that Rybar will start as well:
Kaden Fulcher and I talked about his nice, bright and shiny red Vaughn pads, which he’s trying to break in during practice, his status as a back-up this evening, his work with Brian Mahoney-Wilson, Jeff Salajko and an NHL veteran in Mike Knuble, and some of the issues he has to improve:
Pavel Gogolev, a 30-goal-scorer with the OHL’s Peterborough Petes, was not drafted, so he’s on a try-out with the Wings, and Gogolev spoke with myself and The Athletic’s Max Bultman regarding the attending the draft, latching on with the Wings, working through practices as much as games and trying to get noticed:
Finally, defenseman Cole Fraser was particularly blunt in admitting that he’s dealing with a difficult situation in having to sit, but Fraser suggested that he’s going to be the best teammate he can be as he works on his skills in the morning skates. He addressed his in-and-out-of-the-lineup status, playing with Gogolev, working hard to improve as the Wings’ training camp awaits, his assets as a player and the mentorship that his agent, Adrian Gedye (a.k.a. Tyler Bertuzzi’s dad) provides:
