DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills spoke with Red Wings forward and Grand Rapids Griffins recall Sheldon Dries on Tuesday, discussing his hometown ties with the Wings and his decision to sign with the team, despite knowing that an AHL assignment was his likely stead:
“This is a huge opportunity,” Dries said at Xcel Energy Center on Tuesday morning. “You want to take it day-by-day, don’t get ahead of yourself too much, enjoy the moment and the small things. And when your name is called, be ready.”
Dries, a native of Macomb, Mich., played four seasons (2013-17) at Western Michigan University, even serving as the Broncos’ captain during his sophomore, junior and senior campaigns. Originally signed by the AHL’s Texas Stars as a free agent in 2017, Dries, in addition to his NHL experience, has compiled 231 points in 322 AHL games with the Stars, Colorado Eagles, Abbotsford Canucks and Griffins.
“He knows what to feel and expect when he goes into a lineup and into arenas,” Detroit head coach Todd McLellan said about Dries. “We’re not flying his parents in for the first game and all that type of stuff that goes on. He’s well-established. We have a good idea what he’s been doing in in Grand Rapids and now, it’s a matter of how we want our lineup to look on any given night. [Rasmussen] could be back quickly. So, it is a full-time or a part-time thing for him? I don’t know, but we’ve called up guys before and they’ve taken advantage of somebody else’s misfortune, and they’re still here.”
Amid his first season with the Griffins after signing a two-year, two-way contract with the Red Wings in July, Dries has posted 27 points, including a team-leading 19 goals, in 48 games.
“A great group of guys,” Dries said about Grand Rapids. “Right now, we’re on a little bit of a skid but up until probably the last 2-3 weeks we were rolling and doing good things. There’s so much skill and young talent down there. It’s fun to go to the rink every single day.”
To join the Red Wings organization was a lot more than just “a dream come true” when the 30-year-old was considering his free-agency options last summer.
“It was the opportunity, but family was a big aspect to that as well,” Dries said. “Having both teams [Red Wings and Griffins] so close, I know I’m kind of that bubble player that can be called upon. It was important, for me, for my family to always be around. We just had a daughter, and she’s nine months old now, so that was huge for the grandparents to see her grow up as well.”
