Red Wings prospect Lucas Raymond spoke with Rakapuckar’s Henrik Leman earlier this week, and here’s a rough translation of the Swedish-language interview:
Lucas Raymond has a plan – look for shots first
► He posted a goal against Oskarshamn, and a goal against Örebro. It was no coincidence. Lucas Raymond, 18, has a plan:
► “I have worked hard mentally, want to get a mindset’ to take more shots.”
► It bodes well for Frölunda which is screaming for goal scorers. And it’s clear where the Detroit-drafted Raymond’s focus is:
► “I want to win Swedish Championship gold.”OSKARSHAMN. ON TUESDAY, Frölunda almost tied it on the power play, and the puck went to Lucas Raymond, who did not hesitate, a couple, three strides into the attack zone–bang, shot, no doubt, goal.
In Gothenburg on Thursday, Raymond showed a pickpocket thief’s talents when Örebrobacken Robin Salo carried the puck, got chopped like a cobra–bang, shot, no doubt, goal.
Five SHL goals now for the right-handed 18-year-old, upon whom the Detroit Red Wings are building much of their faith in the future.
“It’s nice that they are going in,” says the Gothenburger, contentedly.
And it’s no coincidence, either. Raymond, who possesses well-developed sense of play and really very similar to Ryan Lasch in the way he plays, has a plan for his hockey.
“I have worked a lot mentally, watched video, want to get a ‘mindset’ to take more shots. I want to develop it. I think when I’m looking for shots first, then it opens up better passing paths. It only brings good to have shots as the first thought, instead of looking, looking, looking [to pass] and then you have to throw away the shot.”
Wise words by a young man who, on a line with pass-oriented Jan Mursak, just searched, searched, and searched this autumn.
But if Lucas Raymond’s mental work goes the way he hopes, he will find the desired “mindset”, then we will see the 18-year-old take more shots in the future.
Good for him, I think.
Good for Frolunda. Guaranteed.
“I think this is part of my development,” says Raymond and he continues:
“In the junior leagues I had a lot of time, you could afford to pass in a few situations, if you can say so. Here (in the SHL) it goes fast, you do not get so many chances, so then you have to take care of them.”
It’s been almost a month now since the NHL draft, since Lucas Raymond was selected as number four by the Detroit Red Wings.
Here at home, the talk has become more and more quiet. But Raymond remembers:
“Before the draft, it was extremely significant. And right after. But our season was underway, and it was nice to get into a kind of everyday life schedule. It was a game two days a week, you have to go to practice, focus there, it was meetings… you were directly back in the right ‘mindset.'”
** But you’re still having some interviews with North American media, huh?
“Some, but I have tried to shut them out as much as possible. I have tried to select a few to stay focused here, there have mostly been a few interviews with Detroit’s own channels.”
Recently, the magazine The Athletic presented a large ranking of the world’s 155 best players under 23 (i.e. potential ranked), a list topped by Auston Matthews with Rasmus Dahlin as second and Elias Pettersson as third.
In 17th place – Lucas Raymond.
“That’s cool! I had not seen it,” he says spontaneously.
** You are not online and vacuuming up everything that is written about you?
“Of course you sometimes stumble on something, social media is used by all young people, but you should block out both positive and negative [stuff] so you do not get into too high peaks and deep valleys.”
Otherwise, it is easy for an acclaimed 18-year-old to float away, lose his footing, feel like, “I’m going to the NHL” rather than living in the present.
Does not seem to be the case in Raymond’s case.
“I understand what you mean, but I do not think so, not with the environment we have here. I want nothing more than to win Swedish Championship gold with Frölunda, that is my only focus.”
