The Hockey News’s Ryan Kennedy has been taking in the Red Wings’ prospect tournament in Traverse City, MI, and Ellis has taken note of the free-spirited, free-wheeling Moritz Seider, who is most certainly a fan favorite and is also most certainly making a name for himself at the prospect tournament:
As the Traverse City tournament winds down, the next mission for Seider will be challenging for time at Detroit’s main camp. Seider spent the summer training with his German squad, Adler Mannheim, and he was very complimentary of the conditioning coaches over there, not to mention the organization itself. But he could stay in North America even if he doesn’t make the Red Wings, as he is eligible to play in the AHL with Grand Rapids. Because of his two-way game, he could help the Griffins right away, but the AHL would also be a good challenge because as [Wings director of player development Kris] Draper noted, Seider still needs to get stronger and can sometimes get in trouble defensively when going up against older players who can push back on his 6-foot-4, 207-pound frame. Of course, most of Draper’s thoughts on Seider are overwhelmingly positive.
“The one thing I’ve noticed is how hard he passes the puck,” Draper said. “For an 18-year-old kid, he snaps his passes. Our player development guys, Shawn Horcoff and Dan Cleary, that’s something they talk to the younger guys about; passing the puck harder. And Moritz gets it.”
Wherever Seider ends up this fall, he’s bound to make fans. And unless he becomes indispensable to the Red Wings, he’ll also get an incredible opportunity at the world juniors, where Germany is back in the top grouping after winning promotion from Division 1A last year (in large part to Seider’s efforts, unsurprisingly). In the meantime, the kid that most folks didn’t know anything about during the draft, is making his name known in Michigan. And while he may not know who he’ll be playing for yet, he knows nothing is given; it has to be earned.
“That’s what it’s all about, you have to wait until main camp is over,” Seider said. “Now it’s about working my ass off every single day, trying to be a better hockey player and making the team.”
