The Free Press’s Helene St. James filed here customary 6 AM-posted column today, discussing Red Wings prospect Simon Edvinsson’s attempts to earn a roster spot on Detroit’s NHL team:
The first thing that struck Steve Yzerman was how big Simon Edvinsson looked.
Edvinsson is expected to compete for a roster spot with the Detroit Red Wings come fall, and he made a brief but favorable impression Thursday after travel issues delayed his arrival by several days. The 2021 No. 6 overall pick took part in a prospect-heavy three-on-three tournament at Little Caesars Arena.
“Seeing him here in development camp, he’s very tall, he’s very thick,” Yzerman said. “It’s actually the first time I’ve gotten to meet him in person since drafting him. He’s thicker than I expected in a good way. He looked very strong, his skating is excellent. We’re optimistic. We’ll give him an opportunity, and if he’s ready to play and play a regular role, that would be great for us. We’ll let the whole thing play itself out.”
Edvinsson’s credentials are sound: He’s 6 feet 6 and 205 pounds, a strong skater and comes to the Wings having posted 19 points in 44 games with Frölunda HC, the same Swedish Hockey League team that begat Lucas Raymond. Edvinsson worked hard to improve all facets of his performance.
“At the start of the season, it was defense,” Edvinsson said. “I had a great mentor in Sweden, Christian Folin, who is a former NHL defenseman, who helped me a lot with the defensive work, how to think in all situations and also build muscle to be able to compete against those guys,” Edvinsson said. “Then the longer the season went, it was more offensive plays, I started to do new stuff and develop my game after that. Everything was just working itself out. It was good.”
