The Free Press’s Helene St. James wrote a column this morning which discusses the Red Wings’ hopes for defenseman Simon Edvinsson, who played alongside Moritz Seider last night against Toronto. Edvinsson had some hiccups over the course of the Wings’ 2-0 loss, but coach Derek Lalonde believes that Edvinsson is moving in the right direction:
Edvinsson’s development is a welcome sight for the Wings as they prepare for the 2024-25 season. Since he was drafted at No. 6 three years ago, it’s been projected that one day he would partner with Seider, the No. 6 pick in 2019 who has established himself as a cornerstone of the rebuild.
“He’s a top four talent,” coach Derek Lalonde said of Edvinsson. “We want to defend, we want to be long, we want to be hard to play against, but a lot of times that partner relationship, a lot of it is just puck-support chemistry.
“It’s a really hard ask of a young D to play top-two minutes with the types of matchups they’re going to face. But we’d love to see if he can handle it. Mo wasn’t too far from this a few years ago, and he flourished in it.”
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Things can change quickly, of course, but a week out from the Oct. 10 opener, the top four spots look solidly claimed by Seider, Chiarot, Edvinsson and Petry. The sheer height and skill level of Seider and Edvinsson has the makings of monster pairing, but in any iteration, Edvinsson’s arrival as a full-timer thrills.
“There’s a reason he got drafted so high and there’s a reason why he should be in our lineup,” Seider said. “He’s done everything that you could possibly ask from him. He’s a tall, skating defenseman who’s not afraid to step up, has great offense, and sees the game very similar to me. Those are things that get you excited, and you want to play with someone like that.”
Continued (paywall); as MLive’s Ansar Khan noted, Edvinsson played OK last night, but he won’t learn how to play top four minutes until he plays top four minutes:
Edvinsson was paired with Moritz Seider but likely will go back to playing alongside Jeff Petry when the season starts Oct. 10 vs. Pittsburgh.
“He had some lapses in his game play in the rush,” Lalonde said. “He turned some pucks back that got him in trouble. We’re trying to build some consistency in his game. Just OK tonight, but that’s his first game in a while, so reps are very important for him.”
