DetroitRedWings.com’s Ethan Sears posted a wise article in which Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill discusses the fine line between prospects “surviving” at the NHL level and truly “thriving” among their NHL peers:
Blashill has made the point a number of times during camp that he wants players to grab spots, not merely be a little bit better than someone else. He explained that Thursday night as the difference between surviving and thriving.
“I would say there’s a lot of guys that can kind of play in the league and you kinda survive,” Blashill said. “And they go out shift by shift. Maybe they try to not let anything bad happen. They don’t really create a whole bunch of positives. They just kinda survive and I think that’s – although there’s guys that end up in those spots that shouldn’t be or are young players, it doesn’t make any sense to have them in a spot where they’re just surviving.”
For players like Veleno or Raymond, Blashill and Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman believe it’s better to let them blossom in Grand Rapids if they’ll spend their time in the NHL surviving as opposed to thriving.
“It should be readily apparent from everybody out there from the impact they have on the game that they’re gonna be able to help the hockey team be a way better team.,” Blashill said. “If you just see a flash here, like oh, he’s a good skater, well that’s not good enough. The impact on the game is what matters the most. Again, are they thriving or are they kinda surviving?”
