Back on June 28th, Red Wings prospect Carter Mazur told DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills that he’s put 15 pounds on a 170-pound-listed frame.
Today, MLive’s Ansar Khan took note of the remarks made by Red Wings assistant GM/director of amateur scouting Kris Draper and Red Wings director of player development Dan Cleary regarding the ways in which players can add muscle without adding “bulk“:
“All these kids that we talk to, they talk about, ‘I got to put weight on,’ ” Kris Draper, Red Wings assistant general manager and director of amateur scouting, said. “But in the end, it’s going to happen over time, and we just have to be patient.
“I’ll give you a perfect example of Carter Mazur. I think he was at 165 when we drafted him (2021), and he’s weighing in at almost 195 pounds right now. He’s 23 years old, and he’s finally been able to put all that weight on. And he’s putting on the right weight, and it’s something that he knows he needed to do. Some kids, it takes a little bit longer.”
I’ve talked to several prospects who say that the first time they put on weight, they ended up finding themselves too heavy or too slow, so they end up losing 5 or 10 pounds to find their optional weight.
The Europeans have said that to me more than anybody else, but it seems to be an issue with a significant minority of prospects (under 50%, but not far under 50%), so it’s incredibly important that Mazur told Mills that he’s worked under the tutelage of the Grand Rapids Griffins’ training staff in order to add muscle but not “bulk” to his wiry frame.
Mazur was injured during his second shift on March 6 in his NHL debut with the Red Wings. He missed three months early in the season with the Grand Rapids Griffins due to a collar bone injury.
“He’s had some tough-luck injuries over the course of his pro life, which has been unfortunate,” Dan Cleary, Red Wings assistant director of player development, said. “But I tell him, ‘I know this sucks, but you got to start over, you got to dig in, you got to rehab, you got to keep going’ because he was in such a good place last year. Put in tremendous work.
“He’s put on good weight to his frame. He’s been able to keep it and he’s going to need it. But I think for him it’s just some bad luck. And I’m hoping he can get past that bad luck, and I believe he will.”
Continued; as Khan suggests, Mazur may not make the Wings’ opening-night roster, because the Wings’ roster is 12 forwards deep right now…
But it’s hard to imagine the 23-year-old spending the entire season in Grand Rapids, even though he is still waiver-exempt this upcoming season.
He brings a gritty element to the forward lines that the Wings didn’t completely address by bringing in Mason Appleton or having Austin Watson at the ready, and if the Wings are to get faster and meaner, as GM Steve Yzerman suggested, they’re going to need more bottom-six forwards and middle-six defensemen who have Mazur’s edge.
