The Detroit Red Wings signed a player who may serve as a good example for some of their prospects who are struggling to develop, because one Andrew Copp, who just signed a 5-year contract at $5.625 million per season, is a late-bloomer.
At 28 years of age, the “naturally-talented athlete” was a tremendous football player in high school, a tremendous college hockey player at the University of Michigan…And then he was a checking forward for the vast majority of his 7 seasons with the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets, not really posting point-every-other-game stats until the 2020-2021 season.
When Copp spoke with the media on Wednesday afternoon, he told MLive’s Ansar Khan that he’s improved over the years…
Copp is coming off his best season with career highs in goals (21) and points (53). He stepped up following a trade-deadline deal from Winnipeg to the Rangers. His offensive game blossomed in New York, where he collected eight goals and 18 points in 16 regular season games and six goals and 14 points in 20 playoff games during the team’s run that ended in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals against Tampa Bay.
“I think I’ve gotten a lot better over the years,” Copp said. “Felt like (offense) was always kind of in there, just wasn’t something I was asked to do too much. Whether it was playing in a checking role or concentrating on the defensive side, the PK, I worked on my game a lot. With some production comes confidence and it just kind of snowballs.”
And that he believes his new team will continue to improve, too…
The Red Wings have missed the playoffs six consecutive seasons but are deeper and should improve in all areas following the free-agent acquisitions of Copp, wingers David Perron and Dominik Kubalik and defensemen Ben Chiarot, Olli Maatta and Mark Pysyk, as well as last week’s trade for goaltender Ville Husso.
“I like the opportunity to continue to grow, have a leadership role and have a good opportunity paired with the influx of talent and the trajectory this organization is on,” Copp said. “It might take all five years; it might be past that, but I think this organization is headed for really good things and the sky’s the limit. I’m looking forward to spending all five years and hopefully more with the organization and trying to get to that ultimate goal.”
And the Wings’ GM said this about Copp’s game:
“He’s 28, he’s a very good athlete, he’s very versatile, he’s playing center, he’s playing wing, he can play on the power play, he plays on the penalty kill, he’s a good face-off man,” Yzerman said. “At 28, I’m comfortable offering a player a five-year contract because he’s a good athlete. We know he takes care of himself, he’s very professional.”
