As it appears that Emmitt Finnie, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Axel Sandin Pellikka are going to make their NHL debuts tomorrow evening, MLive’s Ansar Khan asked both the rookies’ Red Wings teammates (in Andrew Copp, Patrick Kane and Moritz Seider) and coach Todd McLellan what they might say to the young players:
“They will make mistakes, but we have 15 other guys to kind of help them and make them comfortable,” Seider said. “And it’s just about how fast they can kind of adjust to the NHL speed. Obviously, exhibition season is a little different than the regular season and now it’s up to us to kind of push him into the games and try to just establish a culture where they feel very comfortable and ready to go.”
The message to the kids from coach Todd McLellan is to be prepared for a significant upgrade in intensity.
“There’ll be some casual conversations, but I won’t bring all three of them in and say, ‘Hey, guys, it’s going to get really fast and intense. But I know that the players around them have reminded them or prepared them for that,” McLellan said. “I don’t want them wound up. They’re going to have enough nerves and I want them to play a little loose, a little free. Their palms will be sweaty. They should be. Mine will be. But I want them to play free and not overburden them.”
Said Seider: “If you say you’re not nervous, then maybe something’s wrong with you. I was at least (in his NHL debut), and that’s a good thing. Try to build it into adrenaline and hopefully your legs will take you a little bit further.”
The players themselves are more nervous about their surroundings than their debuts right now:
“When they just come up and talk to me, it makes me more comfortable with being here,” Brandsegg-Nygard said. “Just to be around here can be a little nervous sometimes. And every time they just come up to you and just talk to you, it’s nice.”
Said Sandin-Pellikka: “Since Day One of camp, I feel like everyone’s talkative, everyone’s getting into the group in some sort of way. It’s comforting as a young guy coming in here. I wasn’t that nervous, but you know, there’s still some nerves coming into a whole new team, whole new locker room, new guys.”
Continued (paywall)
