The Hockey News’s Michael Whitaker spoke with Red Wings forward Emmitt Finnie regarding his expectations heading into Finnie’s sophomore season. Finnie plays like a Tasmanian Devil, and his play-driving, speedy, forechecking style earned pundits’ praise throughout the course of a superb freshman campaign:
“I think my confidence is high right now,” Finnie said. “Obviously, I had some success last season, and it was nice to carry that into the offseason.”
Showing the maturity of a seasoned veteran, Finnie acknowledged that there are still areas of his game he wants to improve, including his work on the backcheck.
“I really wanted to improve my game; I was trying to focus on lots of areas – winning battles low, just working on all areas of my game,” he said. “And defensively, I want to be sharper.”
Finnie, whom the Red Wings selected in the seventh round (201st overall) of the 2023 NHL Draft, recorded 30 points during his rookie season. Although he isn’t entering this season with a specific points target in mind, Finnie believes the production will follow if he continues to, as he put it, play the right way.
“I just take it as it comes,” he said of his point totals. “Obviously, you want to produce, and for me, it’s putting myself in the right position to score goals and making plays where I can get assists. If I just keep playing the right way, they’ll come.”
Finnie told Whitaker that he’s embracing coach Todd McLellan’s desire to coach a faster, tougher team as well:
“I think he wants our whole team to play hard, and it’s an area of my game I like to play,” Finnie said of his physicality. “I like to finish my checks and be hard on the forecheck, and I feel like that’s when I play my best, when I do that. I’m gonna continue to do that.”
