The Athletic’s Max Bultman posted a profile of Red Wings pro try-out forward Austin Watson this morning, discussing the big 32-year-old’s attempt to earn a spot on Detroit’s roster:
Add in that PTOs can be notoriously hard to turn into actual contracts, and Watson is certainly looking at an uphill battle over the next two weeks in Detroit. But having seen this team up close, from the other side of the ice, he believes he can help them.
“Very familiar with playing against this team, seeing the skill, seeing the high-end players and the growth that this team has taken over the last few years,” Watson said. “But also knowing that a little bit of that physicality, a little bit of that — pardon my French, but a little bit of that ‘F— you’ attitude, a little bit of that toughness, that meanness, is something that looked, potentially, like I might be able to come in here and help provide.”
Watson is quick to note he doesn’t feel he’s made his career as a so-called enforcer. He doesn’t view himself as “the toughest guy in the world.”
“But I’ve not backed down from anybody, ever, either,” he said. “I’m pretty active if you look at the fight card every year, and I take pride in being a loyal teammate and always looking out for guys. But that, I think, comes with playing the game hard: getting in on the forecheck, being fast up the ice, back in the own zone, really taking pride in that 200-foot game.”
Clearly, the Red Wings found that at least worth exploring over the course of the exhibition season.
“We want to have a little of that element,” Lalonde said. “But at the same time, we need the player to help us.”
Continued (paywall); at 6’4″ and 205 pounds, Watson, a former 10th overall pick of the Nashville Predators in 2010, can definitely fit the bill as an enforcer type, and I’m not one for placing a roadblock in front of Carter Mazur, Marco Kasper or Nate Danielson…
But last night against Chicago, at least, Watson made a seeing-eye pass to Tyler Motte for the Red Wings’ first goal, he looked fully capable of performing in a 4th line role, and there was a growl to his game. There was much more to his game than fisticuffs–which he did not engage in last night–and he looked like a player who is smart enough to know when to pick his spots and when to utilize a good skill set.
I’m not saying that he set the world on fire, and it was just one exhibition game, but it was an encouraging showing nonetheless.
We’ll see what happens over the course of the exhibition season. He may have to sign a two-way contract and start out the season in Grand Rapids, but if he’s willing to do so, I think that it won’t hurt to have somebody riding shotgun for all of the Red Wings’ bright prospects in GR.
