Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen posted an article which discusses Moritz Seider’s attempts to learn how to play NHL hockey over the course of the Red Wings’ preseason, as well as his attempts to gain knowledge as Nick Leddy’s defensive partner:
The reason why the Red Wings are pairing Seider with Nick Leddy is they hope some of New York Islanders’ defensive culture will rub on Seider. Leddy played seven seasons on Long Island, the past three for defensive-minded coach Barry Trotz.
This sounds like a Yoda-Luke Skywalker narrative from Star Wars, but mentoring has long been a favorite teaching tool for NHL coaches. They are big on culture.
“Nick has been around for awhile,” Blashill said. “He’s got a veteran presence to him and he’s a great skater. But he’s also come from a team that I think does it right as much as anybody in the NHL. Their attention to detail is great. So I think he can he can bring some of that wisdom not just to Seider but to all our guys on our team. They’ve introduced some young defensemen over there in New York the last couple of years. I think Led’s has seen those guys develop, so I think he can impart some of that wisdom to Seids as well. Seids is a real smart, confident person, too. I think there’s probably give and take. I’m sure there’s some things that some of our defensemen can learn just through the interaction with Moritz. We think it could potentially be a good pairing.”