The Hockey News’s Connor Eargood attempts to explain why the Red Wings chose to recall Austin Watson over younger players like Marco Kasper, Nate Danielson or Carter Mazur:
“I think it’s probably a fit, what we need,” Lalonde said Sunday, before Watson was called up, of the profile of who the Red Wings would most likely call up. “… Being a short term call up, it might be a more veteran guy than some of those young guys that probably need a more significant role in Grand Rapids.”
The Red Wings’ call-up considerations are this: They want to fill their needs at the NHL level with adequate players, but they also don’t want to disrupt their prospects in Grand Rapids for a minor role. They realize that Kasper, Mazur and probably Danielson too are — right now — better all-around hockey players than the likes of Watson, as well as depth forwards Sheldon Dries and Joe Snively for that matter. But the situation has to make sense to give the kids appropriate ice time. Playing 4:54 in the NHL doesn’t give them so much of a learning opportunity as playing 20-plus in the AHL.
Some of this comes down to development. Players can learn a lot in the AHL, as discussed late last week. General manager Steve Yzerman has shown patience with his prospects, forcing them to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are NHL ready and then still waiting a while longer to call them up (see: Simon Edvinsson).
But by and large, the decision is about roles, too. Even if the trio of prospects in Grand Rapids have the 200-foot identity that Lalonde desires, one that would perform well in the bottom six, it isn’t their envisioned role to plug into depth minutes. If the trio of prospects are going to try out for an NHL job, the Red Wings would rather interview them in a role they see the players filling in the future.
Lalonde spoke to this Saturday, saying “I personally like where we’re at with some more young guys, and that we’re forwarding them the opportunity to play in Grand Rapids. I mean, you guys saw Marco (Kasper) and (Carter) Mazur. I mean, there’s three or four of those kids that can play with us tonight, but what does that look like?”
Continued; good analogies and explanations here. The Red Wings want to see their younger players blossom in Grand Rapids via playing in significant roles over the course of significant minutes of ice time. Playing in the NHL may be the goal for each and every one of the Red Wings’ most promising youngsters, but playing limited minutes on the fourth line is not a path toward NHL success for them.
At some point, after “the kids” have gotten into a rhythm in Grand Rapids, and are playing well in all situations, they’ll get called up to play more meaningful minutes. We just aren’t at that juncture all of 3 games into the NHL schedule and 2 games into the AHL schedule.
