The Free Press’s Helene St. James has written her customary early-morning-posted article focuses on the Red Wings’ first-day-of-training-camp lineup, including that promising line of Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond:
“He just scores,” Larkin said. “I’ve known him for a while. I’ve watched him. We all kind of know what he brings. I think his hockey sense is very underrated. He’s just a really good hockey player. I saw it last year playing against Ottawa, he’s challenging guys to fight — I don’t think we want to do that too much, but he’s got an edge and it’s good. He’s just a good hockey player, and everyone knows what he has done and can do.”
DeBrincat has two 40-goal seasons on his résumé. Both he and Raymond shoot right. Even if the line isn’t a regular feature, it is one that the Wings can assemble when needed.
“It would be really exciting,” Larkin said. “I’ve always played with Lucas and I think he looks great coming into this camp. I’m excited for him as well as Alex. It would be pretty cool, a couple righties, so I’d be looking at a lot of one-timer options, and they both like to shoot the puck, and I like to shoot it as well. We can all skate and think, so I think it would be a fun line to play on.”
Ultimately, [coach Derek] Lalonde and his staff (and inevitable injuries) may decide to put DeBrincat and Raymond (whose listed weight of 188 pounds is 12 more than last year) on different lines, but that can always change within a game, depending on the situation. What stokes excitement is that the Wings appear to have the depth for three lines that can all put the puck in the net.
Continued; I’m with Larkin and Lalonde. What you realize about DeBrincat when you see him is that he’s far more of a complete player than you thought he might be. He’s not just a sniper–he moves the puck up the ice well, he’s got a bit of an edge to him, and he can make plays, too.
