DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted a profile of Red Wings prospect and Michigan State University senior forward Red Savage, who’s a tenacious checker and excellent all-round forward. Savage told Mills that he transferred to MSU from Miami of Ohio to challenge himself to become a better player:
“I think it helped me individually as well, playing with elite players and having that security on your back knowing that even if you don’t play your best, the team will still pick you up and force you into games,” Savage said last month at the Red Wings’ 2024 Development Camp. “It was a lot of fun. I think my game especially improved a lot throughout the year.”
Savage set NCAA career-highs in goals (10), assists (17) and points (27) in 38 games last season, helping the Spartans earn their first-ever Big Ten title.
“It’s definitely a really big change up for me, going from Miami to Michigan State,” Savage said. “It was a lot of fun playing for a super successful team under coach (Adam) Nightingale and the number of great teammates that we had throughout the whole ride.”
Savage said navigating the NCAA transfer portal was also a growth experience because the process involved a lot of self-reflection.
“(The transfer portal) is pretty much free agency,” Savage said. “You go in with different ideas of where you want to go or where might fit your needs the best. I had a group of five or six teams I know I wanted to talk to. It was important to get to know every coach, go over every different option and lay everything out to go over the pros and cons for each team.”
Continued; Savage definitely has the same professional mindset as his father, long-time NHL’er Brian Savage, and while he projects as a fourth-line center, he’s going to be hell on earth to play against.
