MLive’s Ansar Khan offers the following from new Red Wings goaltender John Gibson, who is somewhat familiar with Metro Detroit from his time with the U.S. National Team Development Program, and Gibson also knows Wings coach Todd McLellan:
“I got a little taste of cheering for the Red Wings when I lived in Ann Arbor for two years playing at the NTDP (2009-11),” he said. “You see how close they’ve been the last few years. That’s where I want to be. I want to be fighting for the playoffs, getting in the playoffs. I truly feel that all you have to do is make it in the playoffs. And once you do that it’s a whole new season, whether you’re the Presidents’ Trophy winner or the eight seed.”
Gibson knows Todd McLellan, who coached him with Team Canada in the World Cup of Hockey, and assistant Trent Yawney, his former AHL head coach and an assistant with the Ducks.
“Anytime that we were going against one of (McLellan’s) teams, you know they’re well-coached, well-structured, disciplined,” Gibson said. “He kind of holds his standard and his principles and you just kind of piggyback off that. I had a lot of experience with Trent Yawney as well. I kind of grew up with him. So just kind of having some familiar faces there helps the transition.”
