Kulfan offers a second look at Red Savage

Yesterday evening, MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a profile of Red Wings 2021 draft pick Red Savage, noting his familiarity with Kris Draper and the Draper family, and this evening, the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan also profiled Savage. Kulfan notes that the Wings’ 114th overall pick is a plucky, hard-working center whose work ethic impresses Draper and others:

Savage, whose brother Ryan also plays at Miami (Ohio), kept his eyes open watching his dad, who played 12 years in the NHL despite being an eighth-round draft pick. There were certain qualities Brian Savage passed on to Red that were “nonnegotiable,” such as work ethic on the ice.

“It’s something I go into every game (thinking about),” Savage said. “The biggest thing I focus on is trying to affect the game, whether or not I get on the scoresheet. I can win faceoffs and kill penalties and provide offense.

“The biggest things he’s taught me about becoming a good hockey player are the things you do away from the rink. It’s the preparations and putting yourself in the best spot to thrive. He’s really taught me a lot of great lessons about getting there.”

Draper feels Savage will benefit from having seen his dad’s dedication to the game.

“Red grew up in NHL dressing rooms and in hockey environments and Red knows what a pro is,” Draper said. “He has insight and has seen the sacrifices his dad made throughout his career, and that’s how Red is wired as well.”

Continued; Savage won’t participate in the prospect tournament this fall as he’s going to be embarking upon his college career at Miami of Ohio, but I believe that there’s an incredibly high probability that he signs and plays in the organization at some level.

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George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, when MLive hired me to work their SlapShots blog, and I joined Kukla's Korner in 2011 as The Malik Report. I'm starting The Malik Report as a stand-alone site, hoping that having my readers fund the website is indeed the way to go to build a better community and create better content.