Detroit — Time goes by fast. It’s nearly four years since the Wings stunned the NHL in Vancouver by selecting Moritz Seider sixth overall in the 2019 Entry Draft.
It was a surprising pick in that Seider was expected to go somewhere in the teens. Some analysts felt the Wings may have reached a bit for the German defenseman.
Turns out general manager Steve Yzerman more than knew what he was doing. Seider won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s best rookie a year ago.
This season, Seider got even better.
“I’ve been living the dream ever since,” Seider said of his draft night, talking with the media Wednesday during an end-of-season Zoom call. “I’ve had an opportunity to make a living out of my dream, which not everybody in the world can say. I’m real proud of that. I live in the (United) States now and I’ve been around an awesome organization with unbelievable teammates and have enjoyed every single minute.
“I was living at home and playing in the German League. Now I’m living in my own apartment, away from home, in a different country and I’m real happy.”
The Wings are, too. It likely won’t be too long before Seider is being mentioned among the best defensemen in the NHL.
“He is real good,” captain Dylan Larkin said, when talking about Seider. “What I loved most about his season is, probably the (offensive) numbers weren’t there (from a year ago) but there was never even a look of frustration. And he wasn’t always on the power play, but he was never frustrated. He just did his job and did what he had to do to help the team.
“I don’t know how many blocks he had (190), but it was a lot and he just does the little things you need to win. He can be one of the best defensive defensemen in the NHL, and good offense as well.
“I’m not sure what his ceiling is, but he’s going to be a good player.”
No Red Wings player had more ice time than Seider, who was on the team’s first power play and penalty killing unit. He also defended against the opponent’s best offensive lines and was a physical presence, keeping opponents honest.
This all came from a 22-year-old whose best years are ahead of him.
“He’s a beast out there,” said defenseman Jake Walman, Seider’s defensive partner. “He can do it all. He can do everything by himself.”
As Seider looks back on how this season went, he’d like to see the Wings still playing and competing in the playoffs. The team goals are still the most important. But individually, Seider was pleased how Year 2 in the NHL went for him.
“I’m in a real good place,” Seider said. “I got shots better on net, I was happy with that. I’m a better defender than I was last year. Doing a good job of shutting the best lines down on a daily basis, and that’s all I’m trying to do.”
The Seider and Walman pairing developed so well this season, it’ll be interesting to see where it can go in the months ahead.
“We complement each other real well,” Walman said. “Whenever he’s up in the play, I’ll sit back. Whenever I’m up, he’ll stay back. I know where he’s going to be and he knows where I’m going to be.”
Seider began the season with Ben Chiarot, but both players struggled statistically. The switch to Walman appeared to spark Seider, as Walman’s skating ability and renewed focus on playing defense meshed well with Seider’s strengths.
“I really like coming to work with him and hopefully we’ll be even better next year,” Seider said.
The Wings finished six points better in the standings, and had significant improvement on team defense, power play and the penalty kill over last season.
They stayed, mathematically, in the playoff race until the last week of the regular season. Playing some meaningful games in the final month is something Seider believes will motivate the team.
“First of all, it was a great feeling,” Seider said. “We want to keep that. We should take that to memory and into the summer. Having those feelings, and being in the mix, that should give us a lot of confidence next year.
“We are pushing that bar.”
Stay or play
A clearer picture is emerging of which Wings are going to participate in the World Championship May 12-28 in Tampere, Finland and Riga, Latvia.
Yzerman is an associate GM under Doug Armstrong (St. Louis) for Canada, while coach Derek Lalonde will be an assistant coach for Team USA and head coach David Quinn (San Jose). Wings assistant coach Alex Tanguay will serve in the same position for Canada.
Among Wings players, Joe Veleno (Canada) and Lucas Raymond (Sweden) will play as likely will Walman, who didn’t disclose if that’ll be with Canada or Team USA (Walman has dual citizenship). Olli Maatta (Finland) expects to play, but isn’t yet completely certain.
Seider, Larkin, goaltender Ville Husso and forward Andrew Copp declined invitations.
Copp also played 82 games following offseason core muscle surgery and will rest.
“I decided not to go just to take a little time and kind of let the body heal up,” Copp said.
ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @tkulfan