MLive’s Ansar Khan penned an off-day notebook on the topic of the day, one Mathias Brome’s attempt to earn a spot on the Red Wings’ roster as a 26-year-old rookie:
“I think I’m a good two-way player. I can play on offense and defense, too,” Brome said. “That will make me have a good chance to make the team. If I put that in every night hopefully, I can get a spot. I’m really hoping I have a good chance to make the team, but it’s up to me to do it. I’m going to take every day here and do my best and see how long it will take to make the team.”
If Brome doesn’t earn a spot on the Red Wings’ season-opening roster, he likely would be named to the taxi squad since he is exempt from waivers.
Having played 23 games for Orebro in the fall (four goals, 16 assists) gave him a head start.
“I feel ready and I feel like I’m in game mode,” Brome said.
Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill watched tape of Brome playing in Sweden.
“Those are always a little bit hard comparisons because you don’t know exactly how the league translates,” Blashill said. “The two things that have stood for me and are going to help him at the NHL level is, one, he seems to be a little thicker, a little stronger on his skates than maybe I saw on tape, and two, he’s got good tenacity. Those two things will help an under-sized guy have success. He’s got some smarts; he’s got some skills. He has a chance to be a good NHLer and we’ll keep giving him opportunities and seeing where he’s at.”
