DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji penned a training camp notebook which focuses on Patrik Nemeth’s assets, and she also noted Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill’s take on the state of the team heading back to Detroit from training camp:
Although it’s a bit of a hike from Detroit, Blashill said coming up to Traverse City every year is always a great experience.
“I think I prefer it, our guys prefer it. We like coming up here,” Blashill said. “There’s multiple reasons. One, you get to come up here, you’re kind of away for a little bit. Your guys get to play some golf. It’s beautiful up here. It’s a little getaway. It’s not super long. It’s great. Traverse City’s a beautiful spot in the world.
“Me personally, both my sister and my parents live here. I definitely like coming up here. Just from an aspect of team, it’s really worked well. People up here are great. You also get to hit a whole of Western Michigan and Northern Michigan that you don’t get to hit on an everyday basis in Metro Detroit.”
Being away from home, the players and coaches also get to focus on hockey, which led to a successful camp.
“Unreal work ethic. Unreal competitiveness. I thought yesterday’s Red and White Game was as competitive as any Red and White Game we’ve ever seen,” Blashill said. “Nik Kronwall echoed that. Certainly the most competitive in his memory. It kind of goes to I think what guys have said. They’re sick of what we’ve been and they want to change that. Now you keep making those decisions, it gets way harder as you get into October and then December and January. So we just gotta keep grinding here, keep plugging away. But it’s a good start.”
