Earlier this morning, Red Wings coach Todd McLellan appeared on 97.1 the Ticket’s “Costa and Jansen with Heather” show, giving a 10-minute interview to the hosts, speaking about the Red Wings’ season to come, expectations for said season, the Red Wings’ leadership group, its youth movement and the need for team cohesion to make an earnest push for a playoff spot.
Update: Here are some written quotes from 97.1 the Ticket:
Nine of Yzerman’s draft picks and six of his first-rounders will have a significant say in whether the Red Wings can snap a franchise-worst nine-year playoff drought.
“There certainly is (a youth movement), but that is not going to take us to the never-never land,” head coach Todd McLellan said Wednesday on 97.1 The Ticket. “We’re going to need a lot from everybody on the team including the veterans, but the youth has come in and infected a bit of enthusiasm and energy and the older players have embraced them.”
The biggest names of the aforementioned group are Seider and Raymond, alternate captains for the first time in Detroit. The hottest one might be Sandin-Pellikaa, the 20-year-old defenseman with major offensive upside. The most notable is Finnie, a seventh-round pick two years ago who spent most of last season in the WHL and forged his way onto the Red Wings’ roster over the last month by playing with irresistible pace. On a team that wants to play fast.
Finnie, who turned 20 in June, will start the season as the complement to Detroit’s one-two punch of Raymond and center Dylan Larkin on the top line. All three rookies on the Opening Night roster are here because of their play, not their pedigree, a long-standing tenet of the Red Wings’ organization.
“It wasn’t a token, ‘Hey, we’re going with youth this year and we’re going to just play them and see what happens,'” said McLellan. “They earned their way onto the roster. Finnie is a speedster, I talk about him being fueled by nitro. He’s a guy that can really skate, he hunts the opposition down in all situations, he’s got some pretty good puck skills and a mind.”
Brandsegg-Nygård, the 15th overall pick last year who turned 20 this month, is “more of a bully, heavier-set, more physical,” said McLellan, “and definitely a shooter. He finds open ice and can shoot the puck.” He will add some thump to the lineup that the Wings have been lacking.
Sandin-Pellikaa, the 17th overall pick in 2023 who turned 20 in March, plays “with tremendous vision and a great hockey mind” on the backend, said McLellan. “Very creative. A little undersized, but we think that we can help him with that.” Listed at 5’11, Sandin-Pellika should help the Wings get up the ice with his deft passing ability and will get a look on the second power-play unit.
The Red Wings believe “all three (rookies) can be a factor” this season. They’ll almost have to be for the team to take the step that it intends to.
