DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills offers a recap of yesterday night’s 4-3 Red Wings’ prospects victory over the Dallas Stars’ prospects, and the most pertinent remarks come from Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan Watson, who’s managing Detroit’s bench for the duration of the prospect tournament:
Behind Detroit’s bench for the fourth straight NHL Prospect Tournament, Grand Rapids Griffins head coach Dan Watson noted he’ll be in “evaluation mode” over these next few days.
“I will say that for sure,” Watson said. “I’m looking to see what their skillsets are, maybe what roles they can fill. I saw [Dylan] James and [Kienan] Draper there — they were the first ones over the boards for penalty kill. Everyone’s got a role to fill in GR, and I’m just trying to see where everyone’s going to fit and what they can bring to our team.”
Although these games don’t count in the standings, they matter a great deal to all the youngsters who are trying to take the next step. And with only four preseason contests before the NHL’s newly expanded 84-game regular-season schedule begins next month, that leaves less room than before to prove oneself.
“It’s great to get those games and come into Camp as ready as you can be,” defenseman Anton Johansson said. “You have games under your legs, and you know what it’s all about.”
Johansson and forward Nate Danielson are two on the roster with a good deal of professional experience – Johansson has appeared in 178 pro games since 2019, while Danielson has played in 117 since 2017. As a result, Watson is counting on them to help set the tone for the rest of the group.
“They got to be leaders,” Watson said. “I think that’s the biggest thing. They’re thrust into these leadership positions now. Even Anton, this is his first Prospect Tournament, but he’s still looked upon as a guy who knows what we, as a staff, want and what the organization wants because he’s been around it. And so, these guys are leaned upon heavily to make sure that the guys know the schedule, they’re on time for everything, they understand the systems, they understand the structure we want to play with and how we want to play, sort of the mentality side of it. You can already see they’re taking that leadership seriously, and I think it’s good for their growth and their development in those types of roles.”
