DetroitRedWings.com’s Josh Berenter filed a training camp notebook in which he discusses the fact that the 2020-2021 season will be unlike any that the Wings have encountered before…at the NHL level, anyway:
[Coach Jeff] Blashill said he’ll have to adjust his coaching style this season to prepare for back-to-back games against each opponent, as matchups become more of a chess game, similar to what he experienced as a college coach at Western Michigan University in 2010-11.
“It becomes a little less about pure pre-scouts and more about adjustments. That will be similar to the playoffs, it’s similar to the American League and honestly, really similar to college,” Blashill said. “It’s been awhile since I coached college, but that’s exactly what it is, you go at each other lots back to back, you’re trying to make adjustments for that second game. It’ll definitely be different, maybe a little bit more of a chess game.”
New Red Wings defenseman Troy Stecher also has college hockey experience, having played at the University of North Dakota for three seasons, and Stecher agreed that the new schedule format will be similar to the collegiate level.
“Every weekend in college, you played a team on Friday and Saturday at your home venue or their home venue,” Stecher said. “I think we can kind of bring that style into our locker room, where if you lose one game, it’s not the end of the world. You just got to find a way to rebound the next game. You never want to get swept in a series.
“It’s going to be a sprint. We’ve got to come out of the gate strong. It’s going to be exciting. I think it’s going to be good for the game of hockey in general.”
