The Hockey News’s Jake Tye spoke with Grand Rapids Griffins assistant coach and former Griffins defenseman Brian Lashoff about the state of the Red Wings’ defense:
The Hockey News recently caught up with Brian Lashoff, Assistant Head Coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins, Detroit’s AHL affiliate, who shared compelling insights into the system and scheme adjustments being introduced ahead of next season by the Red Wings coaching staff. According to Lashoff, it’s important for a team that struggled in a particular area the previous year to reset and establish a new “standard” for their style of play moving forward.
“You see the structure they’re putting in place, the details that they’re focusing on, and I think those types of things are going to give them success in the long run,” Lashoff explained “I think the start of the season is going to be the biggest thing and I think that’s a great thing about their staff, and is setting a standard right away, and then holding the team to that standard.”
Lashoff is no stranger to the Red Wings organization, having played 136 NHL games over seven seasons with Detroit, including a notable NHL debut in which he scored his first career goal from the blueline. However, the bulk of his career was spent in the AHL, where he logged 629 games over 14 seasons with the Griffins, serving as team captain in his final years. In 2023, he transitioned from player to coach, joining the Griffins’ coaching staff. While the shift came with its challenges, Lashoff credited the strong support from the staff around him for making the adjustment much smoother.
“From the start, I’ve felt like things have gone well, I’ve been given responsibility right off the bat, I think that’s been huge for me to kind of learn and learn from Dan Watson and Steph Julian, two guys that I really respect who have had success as coaches,” Lashoff claimed “I’ve learned a ton from them, they helped me get my feet wet and get going right away my first year, and then last year continue to roll through things being a coach.”
Lashoff has played with several of the Red Wings current blueliners during his time with the Griffins like Moritz Seider, Simon Edvinsson and more meaning he can truly speak to the talent of the players after seeing it every day. He firmly believes with the new adjustments and some of the younger defencemen taking a step forward that their blueline can make a step forward this season despite making no significant changes.
“I think defensively, it’s a team that I think has the potential to be a strength of them, So we’re excited to see everything kind of get to work in September,” Lashoff said.
Continued; we can always hope that Lashoff’s words come to fruition.
