MLive’s Ansar Khan posted an article which discusses Cross Hanas’s strong performance at the Red Wings’ 2023 Prospect Tournament, which was a critical step on the road back from an undisclosed (shoulder) injury which cost him the vast majority of the 2022-2023 season. Hanas’ 4 goals and 2 assists in 3 games co-led the Wings’ prospects in scoring:
“The first couple of months were pretty tough,” Hanas said. “The rehab is no joke. It’s a lot of work, a lot of time. Probably the biggest thing you got to do is be patient, have a good work ethic. I can’t stand sitting out a game, so having to sit and watch every game the rest of the season was really tough. But it makes you just want to keep working and get your rehab done as fast as possible. Time is your best friend for injuries like this, just to let it heal.”
Hanas said it was the first time he’d ever been injured for any length of time.
“I’m a real big competitor and I want to be out there all the time,” he said. “I couldn’t tell you how bad it was killing me to sit up in the crowd every single time we were at home at the games and having to watch and feeling useless, kind of.”
Despite Hanas’ age and inexperience as a pro, only Taro Hirose and Austin Czarnik have played more games with the Griffins among forwards projected to start the season with the AHL club.
“We put him in a leadership role here for this tournament, which I think is important for his personal growth,” Watson said. “He’s very vocal, he plays with energy, just have to make sure he plays with emotion and not emotional. At times he can get too emotional about things and maybe his game goes off. That’s something we’re going to have to direct him to.”
