Detroit — Defenseman Jake Walman talked last month about wanting to be a player the coaching staff and his teammates could count on.
Walman wanted to establish himself as a regular, NHL player, someone who was in the lineup consistently and playing meaningful minutes and in every situation.
Gradually, over the last several weeks, people are seeing Walman becoming that kind of player.
Walman is nudging 20 minutes per game most nights, he’s paired with Moritz Seider, and is beginning to look like a revelation unearthed by general manager Steve Yzerman after being acquired from St. Louis as part of the package last trade deadline for Nick Leddy going to the Blues.
“He’s earned it,” said coach Derek Lalonde, of Walman’s increased role and responsibility. “Obviously a fresh start (with a new team), but (from) when he got into the lineup, everything from that point on, he’s earned.”
Walman didn’t start the season until November because of offseason shoulder surgery. Walman started on the third pairing with Jordan Oesterle, and has moved up the depth chart with his ability to move the puck, passing and ability to win battles.
“There’s no doubt there’s been some confidence growing with him,” Lalonde said. “We hope he keeps building on it and it’s sustainable, because that’s a real good sign for him and for us as a group.”
One reason Walman wasn’t able to enter into the St. Louis lineup consistently was the fact he was prone to mistakes in the defensive game, along with trying to make the big offensive play when it wasn’t there.
Gradually, the big turnover is leaving Walman’s game.
“He’s taken out huge mistakes in his game,” Lalonde said. “You don’t see the high risk in his game. His compete has been great, he’s winning battles. He is the reason we’re getting some good exits and stops in our defensive zone and the puck;s coming out.
“He has some good offensive instincts on the rush, and he’s able to help us create some offense from the offensive blue line, but I will take some of those battles he’s won in our zone, and has got us out, as successful.”
Walman, 26, said recently that experience and having been in the NHL for several years now, that it was important to turn a corner in his career. Lalonde also sees some signs.
“Maybe maturity, you would hope growth,” Lalonde said “I would give credit to (assistant coach, in charge of defense) Bob Boughner a little bit. We’ve talked about fresh starts. For the most part, we’ve had some pretty consistent seasons out of our defense, which is good.”
Defensively dropping
The Wings have fallen to ranked 21st among the 32 teams, allowing 3.33 goals per game heading into Friday’s game against Florida.
The Wings had been in the teens for much of the season and had shown marked improvement, overall, defensively over last season.
But there have been too many defensive lapses recently, though captain Dylan Larkin said defense remains a priority.
“In our locker room it’s the focus every day,” Larkin said. “It’s in every video session. We do a lot of video and a lot of it is on defense.”
Lalonde wants defense to be stressed, but feels in this last stretch the Wings haven’t gotten away from their scheme much and possibly are just on the bad end of poor luck.
“Our process has been very similar,” Lalonde said. “Goals against have creeped up but the chances against, our underlying numbers, have not. They’ve been pretty consistent with where we’ve been when we’ve had some success. Is that good enough? I don’t know.”
Red Wings at Maple Leafs
▶ Faceoff: 7 p.m. Saturday, Scotiabank Arena, Toronto
▶ TV/radio: BSD/CBC/97.1 FM
▶ Outlook: The Leafs (23-9-7) are only 5-4-1 over their last 10 games and now own a slim four-point lead over Tampa for second place in the Atlantic Divison. … Toronto defeated the Wings in the only other game between the teams this season. … A sure sign of Toronto’s development and improvement this season? Though they rank 10th in goals per game (3.36), the Leafs have improved to fourth overall in goals-against (2.67).
ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @tkulfan