| Detroit Free Press
Why lines looks like a strength for the Detroit Red Wings in training camp
Detroit Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill talks after Day 2 training camp on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2021.
Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Red Wings opened Day 2 of training camp with a high-intensity practice. Granted they are only playing against themselves, but it’s noticeable how much better they look than last season’s squad.
One noticeable change is the depth up front. There’s the top line of Dylan Larkin with Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi, a combination that has exhibited chemistry for several seasons.
Things can change between now and Jan. 14 when the Wings open the season against the Carolina Hurricanes, of course, but it looks like there’s a good fit with Sam Gagner, Valtteri Filppula and Vladislav Namestnikov. Filppula is a deft passer, Gagner is a savvy, right-handed shot and Namestnikov is a smart, two-way player.
“There’s an opportunity to create some chemistry there,” Gagner said Saturday. “All three of us like to have the puck and get open for each other and support the puck. There’s a recipe for success there.”
Blashill expressed concern the line doesn’t have a natural checker, but on the other hand, they are three versatile players.
“Vladdy has become a really good net front presence over time,” Blashill said. “He’s made those comments to me that that has become his office in the NHL.
“They are all smart players. They kind of all want to play the same way. When you can get guys that see hockey the same, you can build good chemistry. They are all accountable defensively, they are all guys that can make plays with the puck. Sam is more of a shooter than the other two, but we have to get Val and Vladdy to shoot the puck.”
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There’s another line with capable offensive players in Bobby Ryan, Robby Fabbri and Filip Zadina. Ryan brings veteran experience and a right-handed shot, Fabbri can play wing or center and was one of the Wings’ better scoring stories last season after being acquired in a trade. Zadina comes into the season with the benefit of having played in the Czech Republic during autumn.
Darren Helm, Luke Glendening and Adam Erne form a line that can grind.
“We are not going to be a one-line team,” Blashill said. “With some of the additions, we have the opportunity to have more scoring depth and lines that can play a little bit differently. We might have more of a north-south line with Glennie and Helmer, and more of a puck-possession type line with Val and Sam and Vladdy, if that’s the way it steps.
“It is going to be critical that we have four lines that we think can make an impact in their own way in the game.”
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Here he goes again
Evgeny Svechnikov is part of the second group, the ones who face bumping someone from the first group for a spot in the lineup. He has to be on the roster because he is no longer waiver exempt, but that doesn’t guarantee he’ll be playing.
It’s been tough sledding for Svechnikov, drafted 19th overall in 2015. He suffered a knee injury in September 2019 that required surgery and forced him to miss the entire season. He didn’t make the Wings out of camp in 2020, but feels good about his chances this time around.
“I have more experience, I grow up more, I mature more,” he said. “I am excited. I put in so much work this offseason. Overall I just feel very good. I feel in best shape of my life. Again.”
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.