Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond’s mother happens to be a nutritionist, so perhaps it’s not as surprising as we think that Raymond “bulked up” this past summer. As Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff notes, the 5’11,” 188-pound Raymond gained 12 pounds of muscle during the Wings’ lengthy offseason, and Raymond believes that he’ll be able to withstand more battles in the corners as a result:
“For sure you want to play with an edge and be physical,” Raymond said. “That was for sure one of the reasons (for bulking up). You want to be able to protect yourself, look after yourself in that way. I think this will help for sure. I think it was also me feeling like I could get more power out of it. I’ve felt a huge difference in that, which I feel real comfortable with. That was probably the main reasons.”
Raymond, 21, slipped from 23 goals as a rookie to 17 last season. While adding muscle to his frame, he was cognizant of doing so in a manner that wasn’t going to hinder his quickness or elusiveness on the ice.
“It isn’t bulking up in just the sense of getting bigger,” Raymond said. “It was bulking up in the sense where I want to get stronger and grow muscles. I think if you can combine that and keep the same lean but gain a bigger muscle mass, that’s helping you in every aspect. Happy I was able to do that.”
Raymond isn’t the only person with the Red Wings noticing the difference it’s making.
“The first three steps, it’s really wowed from what he was at the end of last season to how quick he looks now,” Detroit captain Dylan Larkin said. “He’s put on some weight. He’s got the explosive power to go with it. It’s good to see.”
Continued; Raymond is still growing into his body, as is Moritz Seider. We tend to forget that their developmental curves are still ascending.
