MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a profile of Red Wings prospect/roster player Taro Hirose this morning, discussing Hirose’s rookie campaign and his expectations for the upcoming season:
The Calgary native, who at 23 was one of the older prospects at development camp last month, will spend most of the off-season in metro Detroit, training and working on his game and, as he put it, “show them I can play at that level.”
Hirose, dubbed “Taco” by teammates, is trying to be shiftier on the ice.
“Being a smaller guy, that’s something I have to do, have that quickness,” Hirose said. “Definitely something I work on and watch video on and try to improve my overall game.”
He tries to pick up nuances from watching players like Patrick Kane and Johnny Gaudreau.
“Those elusive guys who make plays with the puck on their stick and always want the puck on their stick … those guys are hard to stop and that’s sort of who I want to be,” Hirose said.
“I’ve always been a guy who needs to work on my first couple steps for that separation. Simply being a smaller guy, I’m not going to go in the corner against (Zdeno) Chara and outmuscle him, Just got to be quick and explosive and sort of think my way out of situations.”
