The Free Press’s Helene St. James profiles Red Wings prospect Carter Mazur this morning:
Mazur sees a role for himself as a player: “I like pissing people off, that’s a big part of my game,” he said. “I love chirping, getting under other people’s skin, I don’t care who you are. It’s something I enjoy and it makes hockey a lot of fun.”
Carter put in something of an audition playing for the U.S. at the World Championship, where the coaching staff included Wings coach Derek Lalonde. Lalonde told the Free Press after the May tournament what he liked about Mazur’s performance: “There are still a lot of areas where he needs to grow his game, but I got a very good impression from him. He put his nose right into things. It was impressive to see.”
Mazur had a goal and three assists in 10 games, and came away with valuable experience.
“I feel like it helped me a lot,” he said. “The first game, Miko Rantanen was out there, players of that caliber. It was special to be on the same ice as them and share it with them. But I felt like I was out there doing what I do best and I was ready and was put in a situation where I succeeded. I look forward to a future of playing against men here on out.
“It’s my lifelong dream to be a Detroit Red Wings and I know I’m close to it, but it’s still far, far away,” Mazur said. “I want to be a really good player in the NHL, I don’t just want to be someone that just sticks around for a couple games and gets sent down. I want to be a player that has a reason and competes and does everything. That is my main focus.”
Continued (no paywall as of 6:16 AM)
