Carter Mazur will be making his NHL debut tonight, and the Jackson, Michigan native spoke with the Free Press’s Helene St. James about the circumstances of his call-up…
Carter Mazur woke up from a nap to see three missed calls from Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman. Mazur wasn’t sure what to think, given it’s the week of the NHL trade deadline.
“It’s kind of a bad time to get a phone call from Steve right now,” Mazur said Thursday, “but it was pretty awesome to hear what he had to say to me.”
That’s because the message was for Mazur to make his way from Grand Rapids to Detroit, and to ready himself for his NHL debut.
“I was awake for two minutes, so it was pretty quick,” Mazur said. “It was like, yeah, we’re calling you up. I thought it was still dreaming for sure, but it was awesome.”
And St. James spoke with coach Todd McLellan about what the Wings’ expectations are for #43…
“The feedback from the coaching staff and management is that he had a really good training camp, was on the cusp of staying here, but maybe needed a little more time,” Wings coach Todd McLellan said Thursday. “And then the injury that he sustained probably set him back a little bit. I understand he’s extremely competitive, really competes for open ice and has some pace and intensity to his game. We could use that. This wasn’t loss-driven, this was ingredient and earned.”
MLive’s Ansar Khan also spoke with Mazur, McLellan and Elmer Soderblom about Mazur’s imminent debut…
“Detroit’s a gritty city, so I think that’s something I can add to this team, and then hopefully the wins will come,” he said.
“Growing up a Red Wings fan and seeing how much they’ve won and how much the fans really love the playoffs, it’s something that I hope I can be a part of, hope to help them get in the right direction. I know they are moving in the right direction, so it’s pretty awesome to join a team and a push that they’re in right now.”
Mazur will join five former Griffins teammates in the lineup — Marco Kasper, Elmer Soderblom, Jonatan Berggren, Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson.
“I think he can bring a lot of energy,” Soderblom said. “He works really hard out there and just a skilled player, good around the net, has a good touch for goals and stuff like that. He plays physical as well. I think he can bring a lot of energy.”
And the Hockey News’s Sam Stockton spoke with Mazur and McLellan, too:
Mazur will wear number 43 on his back, which he views as an homage to former Red Wing Darren Helm, with whom he fell in love as a young Red Wings fan as his classmates were enamored with Pavel Datsyuk.
“I love the battle,” Mazur noted. “Detroit’s a gritty city too, so I think that’s something I can add to this team. I just feel like I can add my game and hopefully contribute the way I can, and hopefully the wins will come.” In other words, from a young age, Mazur showed signs of the tenacious streak McLellan alluded to.
Meanwhile, Mazur said he expects to have between 200 and 300 friends and family members supporting him Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena. When alerted of this fact after morning skate, McLellan quipped, “I think I have a lot of friends but nowhere near that number, so this guy’s pretty popular.” Mazur will be looking to give his team, his coach, and that throng of friends and family cause to smile Thursday night as Detroit takes on the Utah Hockey Club.
