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Berggren & Johansson in Detroit Next Season? Prospects Pushing For a Spot & More | THW Grind Line
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Jun 8, 2024
In this episode of The Hockey Writers Grind Line, Detroit Red Wings writers Devin Little and Evan Sabourin get together with producer Matthew Zator and special guest Anthony Rinaldi of the Calder Times to discuss whether Jonatan Berggren and Albert Johansson will be in Detroit next season full time, prospects that will be pushing for roster spots, and more. 0:00 Intro 1:03 One Good, One Bad From the Past Week 7:34 Jonatan Berggren & Albert Johansson's Future With the Red Wings 16:37 Will Berggren be on the opening night roster? 21:00 Prospects Pushing For Spots in 2024-25 28:40 Other Prospects To Be Excited About Subscribe to THW's Red Wings Substack - https://thehockeywriters.substack.com/subscribe Our Grind Line crew are great writers, too: Devin Little - https://thehockeywriters.com/author/dlittle/ Evan Sabourin - https://thehockeywriters.com/author/esabourin/ And, make sure to check out all of our great Red Wings content - https://thehockeywriters.com/detroit-red-wings/ Graphics by Vince Richard - https://www.behance.net/vincergraphics #redwings #hockeytown #lgrw
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0:00
It's time for the Hockey Writers Grind Line
0:05
A weekly show covering everything Detroit Red Wings. Brought to you by our own iconic top line of Wings writers
0:15
Sit back and enjoy The Grind. Hello everybody and welcome back to another episode of The Grind Line here at the Hockey Writers
0:24
I'm your host Matthew Zator and as always joined in by my line mates Evan Savarin and Devin Little
0:29
Also got Andrew Rinaldi as a guest on the show. He covers the Grand Rapids Griffins for the Calder Times
0:36
Welcome Andrew, how's it going? It's going pretty good. Thanks again for having me on this show
0:43
I always love coming on and talking Griffins whenever I can so I appreciate the invite
0:49
For sure. Our show is going to be pretty much centered around prospects and the Griffins
0:55
We always have fun talking about the prospects. You know some names are probably going to come up
1:01
Let's just get right into it and start with our one good one bad as we always do on the show
1:06
I'll start with you Andrew on this. A good and a bad from this past week
1:10
It doesn't have to be Red Wings related because obviously Red Wings haven't been playing
1:14
Take it away. This past week? Let's see. I guess everything has been so Griffins focused for me lately
1:26
As I've been recapping the season, I guess the good for me was kind of how much this team leaned on those young prospects
1:39
I mean there certainly was a big veteran presence there in Grand Rapids
1:44
Carrying the load especially in playoffs was the types of Marco Kasper, Jantan Bergeren, Carter Mazur, Sebastian Cosa was massive
1:58
So seeing kind of the leaning more on those types of players especially in such crucial minutes there in the postseason was probably the story of the season for the Griffins for me
2:13
And the bad I guess is kind of connected to that is in that postseason stretch I think you kind of wanted those veteran pieces to step up and contribute a little bit more
2:27
Just didn't, I mean not saying that, you know, there wasn't kind of Austin Czarnek was incredible there as well
2:34
But some guys like Matt Blough, Tim Gattinger, guys that were in there to produce at that critical point in the season just wasn't a whole lot of it
2:47
Carl Orosi was another one that really you wanted kind of just a little bit more especially you know he's unrestricted free agent and everything this year
2:58
It just wasn't there unfortunately and the Griffins season was cut short by a better team in Milwaukee
3:10
Yeah, I mean there was progression because the Griffins hadn't made the playoffs in a while and it's great to see them there
3:16
But you want those veteran pieces to contribute too and you know obviously they didn't
3:21
And I was surprised Orosi didn't contribute more because I've been a fan of his for the last few seasons and you know his brother's here in Vancouver
3:31
So I mean it's pretty, that's why I followed both of them
3:35
So there, yeah, I was surprised he didn't do more. All right Evan, I'll go to you
3:40
What's good and bad from this past week for you? Well my good is something that I'm pretty sure the majority of us here can all agree on
3:48
We've finally seen Simon Evanson, well we think we've seen Simon Evanson play his final game in Grand Rapids
3:54
And Andrew, I know we skipped your rookie lap but I'll get past that
4:00
One of the stories of the show this year, basically the whole year, was us complaining about Evanson not being up
4:08
And I think what we saw in those last few games he played in the regular season that he'll no longer have any residency in Grand Rapids
4:16
And we really like that. My bad is the summer's just getting long waiting for this Kane ordeal
4:25
Is this going to happen? Is it not going to happen? There was talk this week that the agents are meeting with Steve Eiserman this week
4:33
So that's a big thing, man. I really hope this gets wrapped up for the draft because the draft's coming up here in about three weeks
4:39
And I'd really like to have that Kane thing locked down. But I'm just praying to the hip gods
4:46
It's another thing we do here, Andrew. We pray that Kane stays healthy and his hip stays healthy
4:52
And we also pray that he resigns and comes back to HockeyTown because it was quite the show this year with Showtime
4:58
So with that, I toss it to you, Devin. What do you got for us
5:03
My one good from the week is going to be Amadeus Lombardi celebrating his 21st birthday
5:10
Which of course means that he can now legally drink champagne or beer or whatever he wants to drink out of the Calder Cup if they win it next season
5:20
Always love seeing the kids grow up, right? I'm sure he's excited to pass the ID check at the clubs too
5:29
My one bad is going to be some of the names that are kind of under consideration over in Utah
5:37
We'll talk about some non-Michigan-based stuff real quickly. I don't know how you guys feel about this list of names
5:45
But the Utah Blizzard, Utah Hockey Club, Utah Mammoth, Utah Outlaws, Utah Venom, and Utah Yeti seem to be the top six
5:55
And it seems like everyone's kind of in disagreement on what's the best one
5:59
No one's like, yeah, this is it. Personally, I like Blizzard, but I can see why people wouldn't like that
6:06
And I also like Utah Hockey Club. And I also understand that it's probably the most boring one out of the bunch
6:12
All in all, I don't know that there's a real option there that screams, this is it
6:16
This is it. I personally, I would have loved for them to have gone with the Utah Phoenix just as a little nod to where they came from
6:25
But hopefully, whatever choice they do make is a good one. And it's going to lead to some really awesome branding because Lord knows the Coyotes have some really great branding
6:36
I'm all in for the Yeti, man. Give me the Yeti. That's just funky
6:41
And I'm not going to lie to you. I went on Twitter a couple of times to see if I could make one of those names
6:46
And that way, they'd have to pay me to buy the account back
6:50
And none of the names really existed on Twitter. But for some reason, they were blocked and I couldn't take them
6:54
And I was like, shit, that could have been some fun summer money
6:59
I was trying to make Yeti, Blizzard. Yeah, it didn't work out for me
7:03
A for effort. Yeah, we'll see what name they actually decide. And I saw those logos leaked around
7:10
It's like Utah Hockey Club seems to be the, I don't know if those are going to be the true ones
7:15
They're very boring logos and very boring branding. But we'll see. We'll see what happens with that because it happened really quickly with all that Utah stuff, too. Absolutely
7:27
Yeah, we'll see how it all goes. All right, back to Red Wings and Grand Rapids
7:33
And we're going to start talking about a couple guys. We've talked about a lot about on this show in the past and had a hype train for one of them
7:42
Jonathan Bergeron and Johansen, no longer waiver exempt next season. So they either are on the team or they're gone
7:51
I mean, because if they get put on waivers, guess what? There's going to be a team that's going to grab them
7:56
That's almost a guarantee. So, you know, they're going to have to make the team or something's going to have to happen
8:02
I'll start with you, Andrew. Do you think they have what it takes to hold down a roster spot next season in Detroit
8:09
I mean, or, you know, somewhere else in the NHL? Do you think they got it
8:15
Yeah, I think this postseason was definitely kind of a showcase for what Bergeron can do offensively
8:22
He was just incredible. And coming up big and big moments consistently time after time
8:32
I mean, in that first Rockford series, he had three goals and they were all game winners
8:37
So I don't know how it gets more clutch than that. He had a hat trick in game four
8:43
And just kind of I think he was just really motivated to prove that like, yeah, this was his last game in the NHL, at least, you know, at in this organization
8:55
So I, you know, I've kind of always had my concerns with, you know, I've seen him kind of take some some big hits
9:03
I know he's not the biggest body. And so, you know, it's kind of like, you know, had a couple of those over the course of the season
9:11
But, you know, he he lives for those big moments. And I think he's he's ready now to really kind of take that that full time job
9:22
And I can say the same for Johansen as well. This guy was as steady as it comes on the blue line
9:29
And, you know, that's really kind of just it's it's a bit in the AHL
9:36
It's you can see flashes of skill often, but putting it together consistently night in night out is is a big test for a lot of these young kids
9:46
And Albert brought it every single night. And I think, yeah, he's he's ready to make a jump into that top six
9:55
Whether there's room for him. I know the contract situation is a little messy up there in Detroit
10:00
But I yeah, they're they're they're done wearing their Griffin sweaters, which, you know, I I was one of the few that was not complaining about Simon Edmondson down in Grand Rapids
10:12
I'm a little biased. Those are those are a couple of guys that though that I've kind of made my peace that I'm not I'm not seeing them down there anymore
10:22
And I think they're ready for the big time. And, you know, I'm excited to kind of see what they'll do with those opportunities
10:31
Well, Bergeron had already kind of proven himself in the NHL last season, and we thought, well, he's going to end up having a full time spot this season
10:40
But then Eisenman went and signed a bunch of free agents and kind of pushed him out
10:45
And yeah, he's shown that he he doesn't he know he's done all he can in the NHL
10:49
He's got to be in the NHL at some somewhere, someplace. And we'll see if it's in Detroit or, you know, elsewhere
10:58
Right, Devin, what do you think? I know you've mentioned a couple. You know, we've talked about him on the show before
11:04
Do you think they're in Detroit next season? Just a few times
11:09
Yeah, like like you mentioned, we were running where we were conducting hype trains for Bergeron a couple of years ago
11:15
I've been very vocal about how much I like Albert Johansson. Yeah, I'm I'm pretty confident these guys are NHL ready
11:23
And it does, at least for me, it really just comes down to whether that's in Detroit or not
11:29
I think that expectations are going to be kind of a key thing for both of them
11:34
You saw Bergeron really like he leaps and bounds above of everybody on the Griffins in terms of production, just sheer production that he had just like just under a point per game in the NHL this season
11:47
And no one else was even close. So he's, you know, you might be tempted to look at that and go, oh, so he's going to come into the NHL next season and now be like a 60, 70 point guy
12:00
I don't think that's what Bergeron is. I don't know if he's ever going to be that kind of guy
12:05
But if you're if you're expecting him to come in and be a steady middle six winger that can kind of move up and down depending on the situation and whatnot and can chip in and maybe maybe even look like your best player on a random night
12:19
I think he's capable of doing that he did that a couple of seasons or a season ago, depending on how you're looking at it
12:26
And then he just really proved this really just kind of put an exclamation point on it this year. And then Johansson I think, same idea, you have to not expect him to come up and immediately be, you know, this big time difference maker on the blue
12:40
line I think he's going to be really good. I think he's going to be kind of a lot of what people maybe thought and hoped Gustav Lindstrom would be on the blue line where he's just kind of a quiet guy who takes care of business isn't going to light up the
12:54
by any means but you need to have those guys that just take care of business and complement their defensive partner and just get the puck out of the zone
13:02
I think that's what Johansson can be. And he really kind of showed that throughout the season this year, especially when he had the opportunity to play alongside Edvinson and Grand Rapids top pairing so yeah to reiterate I think they're both ready I think that they'll both make an impact
13:20
To some degree. It's really just a matter of where they're making said impact, and how much of an impact they can make because I don't think either of them are, you know, going to be elite talents but I think that they can both help a team win
13:35
Yeah, they're both guys that are going to be, I mean and Bergeron I think is a middle six guy I think he can definitely be that top line, maybe, you know, sub in at times and be able to thrive there for a bit but not a consistent guy
13:49
And Johansson, yeah I say see him as a very good utility defenseman so yeah both of them definitely would have a role it just depends on if the reference have room for them
13:59
I mean, I think after these playoffs versions, trade Valley has never been higher. I mean he was a stud, he was a stud in these playoffs
14:07
I just, it's, I just don't know what's going on behind the scenes something just feels weird about how he wasn't up all this season I mean the guys played 79 games already in the NHL
14:17
So, technically, he's not a rookie, you know, and we're, you know, Johansson's, he's going to turn 24 this year. So these guys are seasoned men, they're over seasoned, kind of like the steaks I made a Memorial Day
14:27
They played, they played their, you know, Johansson, I think, should have got some time this year I would have loved to see him and listening to a podcast recently a couple maybe a month ago or so
14:38
I think it was either Carter Mazer or Kosa on that podcast whose name we shall not repeat said, you know, Johansson was arguably the Griffins best player night in and night out with his steady presence
14:57
I'm really excited to see what he can do. Again, like I said, I would love to see him get some time this year but I think he's going to step in and fill a role and I don't have any problems saying I think he'll probably be
15:07
He could even play his eyes the second pair I just don't. I think he's, I think he's good
15:13
But again Bergeron it's going to be interesting to see especially coming up here with the draft I mean is there a move to be made for him
15:21
You know he's probably the biggest Red Wings trade ship right now that's, you know, could be on the block so if you can bring back something of substance I'm looking at you Martin Netschus draft pick or two, I'm all for that
15:35
I, you know, we see these things that we don't know how much is true that he's, you know, not happy with the organization refused to sign an extension, blah blah blah
15:44
But there's no denying the kid has talent. I agree with you guys when you say he is a middle six, sixer
15:50
He has shown that he, you know, he has playmaking abilities a little bit on the smaller side
15:55
But, you know, I think there's going to be a lot of things like that have to happen for him to, you know, flourish here in Detroit, one of them is going to be about who Stevie resigns and who he brings back and
16:08
Yeah, I don't know it's going to be interesting to see what the with those two but I definitely think that they can make the make their mark with the Red Wings if they if they are not traded or if Virgin's not traded and those two are with the team for the full season
16:20
For sure, I got I want to see them both in Detroit I think they both can definitely help the Red Wings it like I said it just depends on these veterans are moved out I mean that's the biggest thing that's it's blocking them still
16:32
And that runs me into my off the rush question. And I'll start with you, Evan, I do you think burgers getting traded. I before the season does he start opening night, let's get a prediction here
16:45
Yeah, man, that's. If I had to predict right now I can see him being traded
16:55
I think he could be moved. Be interesting. In the draft to move up if there's someone that he really really wants, you know, if there's a, if you could get up and get a Berkeley cat and if you could move up and get a tig again, we could would virgin version be worth trading up for, I don't know, that's, it's iffy but again you know it's, I don't know the situation
17:18
I mean maybe you Grand Rapids guy Grand Rapids guys know better than I do about how you know how he feels about you know what the organization and what he's gone through
17:26
I mean you've got a you've got a side with him with the frustration of not not playing here in Detroit I mean at 79 games in the past two seasons kids 23 and still, you know, down in the HL I mean, I think the development was great for him
17:40
I think he really really showed what he can do. But if I had to guess right now I would predict he is our, you know, biggest trade ship if Eisenman wants to make a move for somebody this summer
17:51
All right, Andrew, what do you think about Bergen is he is he traded before the beginning of next season
17:59
Yeah, it's, if you don't know what's out there with the market looks like who who wants what where he's gonna be
18:12
I've been following this kid since you know his first press conference here in Grand Rapids which is also my first press conference with the group, so I feel like I'm tied together with him just based on
18:24
I say he's in the lineup opening night, why not. I hope so I don't want to see him traded I think he has a, he's got a real good role here and move someone else out to make room for him is what I say
18:38
Devon, what do you think, you know, I'm kind of caught between the middle because I do agree with Evan sentiment that he might be the rubbings best trade ship or at least most realistic trade ship
18:50
But I also think that there's value not only in him, him as a player, but also how much he's going to make next season he's he's a pending restricted free agent but he's not going to make a ton on his new deal
19:05
And when you start to play around with the Red Wings roster they resign Raymond the resigned cider, they're talking to Peron or talking to Patrick Kane cap space goes away really fast
19:15
And they're going to need guys that are on cheap deals to fill out the rest of the roster. So even just having burger or burger in there, because he's on a cheaper deal, there's value in that
19:28
So, I don't know I do think that his name is going to be out there I wouldn't be surprised if he's dealt. But I also think that if, if he's dealt it's got to make sense
19:39
You know just they got to get a player back that's going to be around for a while for a while and also that is signed to a deal, they can they can carry for a while just because the cap situation isn't as clean as it has been in previous years so my official answer is I guess we'll see
19:57
Politicians answer right there. Yeah, no, we'll see, we'll see what happens with him I hope he is I hope he's in opening night because I think he definitely can be a be someone that can help the Red Wings next season
20:15
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20:27
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20:44
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20:50
All right, let's talk about Simon Ed well not just Simon Evanson but Evanson is going probably going to be in the NHL next season, but there are other prospects could be knocking on the door as well
21:02
Not just from Grand Rapids but potentially from the Canadian Hockey League I'm saying Nate Danielson, maybe I, I'll start with you Andrew, are there any other prospects, you expect to push for spots on this roster I mean, not a lot of spots are probably going to be available, but they're still gonna be pushing, who do you see doing that
21:24
Yeah, I know a big name last year at training camp was Carter Mazer and how much he was impressing the staff until then, you know, unfortunately he ran into that injury
21:33
And, you know, he was a big cog in that line with him and Bear Gryan and Casper, just as the as his role as the junkyard dog, as the way I like to call them you know that he would just battle in the corners and along the boards free those pucks up and then, you know, hit, you know, hit Bear Gryan czarnek whoever it was that that was you know the recipient of his hard work and
22:04
That's the kind of stuff that this coaching staff, I know in Grand Rapids and I'm sure in Detroit as well just loves about this kid just his tenacity
22:13
And the word thrown around often is compete level and he's, you know, he's got tons of it. And I mean, it's, he's gonna push for sure I don't know if he's going to be if he's going to be
22:26
I'm certainly not going to call him a lock but it's just an interesting name to keep an eye out and I gotta throw Marco Casper in there as well. He looked really good and that's in that post season sometimes he was the best player on the ice there for Grand Rapids
22:42
You know, I know you gotta you know take kind of youth in new account but this kid's game is very mature for his age. And I mean he's, he's very responsible on both sides of the park, and that's again, the kind of stuff that gives you confidence from the coaching staff and, you know, I know, Valeno is also looking for a new deal there but if the the wings are kind of looking elsewhere
23:06
That you know you could potentially fill in a gap at center there with with Casper so I know Danielson's there as well. Can't I mean I saw a couple games with him in Grand Rapids, and just didn't look kind of comfortable so I'm gonna I'm gonna reserve
23:22
But, you know, he did just kind of come off a long run in the, in the who playoffs so I'm not gonna you know take a knock on them or anything I'm just, I, there's not a lot of my opinion that I can provide based on what I saw in Grand Rapids so those are those would be the top two kind of, you know, knocking on the door, probably going to see games with them next year I don't know if they're going to be regulars but, you know, fans should be pretty familiar with them by this time next year
23:53
Two names we love on this show so we talked about Mazer potentially being the missing piece on that top line too so yeah he's definitely been talked about
24:05
Evan, what do you think about this, guys that could potentially push for spots
24:11
Well Andrew just said everything I was thinking so now I know I, I think one of those three is going to make the team out of training camp between Mazer Danielson and Casper, I think one of them does, if I had to guess right now
24:29
It's, I mean, this is a hard choice here to make. It's somewhere between Casper and Danielson for me I think Mazer is going to get one more year or get well I think we'll see him next year but I think he's going to start the season off in Grand Rapids
24:44
But I think you mentioned Joe Valeno, I think he's someone who might be on his way out. I think we've seen the ceiling. I think he's played enough NHL games to know what we're getting, maybe thrives in a better system or a different team
25:00
But, you know, Danielson, Danielson really showed up in camp last year, and you know he grew leaps and bounds this year, and especially once he was traded to the Winterhawks we saw, you know, basically an offensive explosion for him once he you know he's playing around with much better players
25:16
But I think it comes down to one of those two I like Casper because he's not afraid to muck it up and get there into the boards
25:24
But if I had to say right now, out of training camp, my pick will be Casper
25:32
Yeah, I mean Casper does seem like he's, he really turned it around after the first half of the season he started looking more comfortable and the NHL and we'll see when he was good in his first game in the NHL, even though he was injured
25:46
So I mean I would love to see him when he can be healthy in the NHL
25:51
So you can't go wrong. You can't go wrong with any three of them, it all depends who should who you know who impresses a camp. I mean, I think that's good. That's what's going to be, you know, who shows what they're made of in camp
26:02
So, yeah, it's a great camp battle it'll be it'll be exciting for us to, you know, to watch and to talk about I'm pumped for it. Yeah
26:11
Right, Devin anything we haven't said here that you got nothing man
26:16
I'm, I'm glad that we're in agreement on the three forwards that are going to push. I, my politician answer is that all three of them will play games with the Red Wings
26:29
At some point in the season, Danielson might come later just depending on how you know where he plays in the first place
26:37
I, I think me I, I think if we're just talking about opening night I think Casper is the one who makes the opening night roster, and it's not just because he plays that mature game and he engaged physically and all that but he was drafted at the center
26:54
but I also think you can slide them over the wing. If there isn't a spot for him down the center immediately
27:01
Mazers a winger. I think you can play either wing to be honest with you, but I think that Casper being center, there's some value in that centers just tend to be more valuable than wingers, and obviously they have a bit more investment in Casper to him being
27:15
a first round draft pick right. Again, I want to reiterate I think all of them are going to play games next season
27:23
Some more than others but I do think we're gonna get a healthy dose of kids next year it's gonna be exciting time
27:29
One other guy I'll throw out just to kind of throw the grenade in the room and then run away
27:35
I think that Sebastian Kosa could push for some games as well
27:43
I don't think he's pushing for like an opening night roster spot I just don't think that that's the right plan for him so to speak, but I would not be surprised if really quickly into the season
27:54
People are already talking about bringing him up, just because he finished the season really strong and Grand Rapids. If he continues on that trajectory
28:02
He's gonna be playing games in Detroit eventually. I think he could get a look kind of like Jasper Walstad did Minnesota this season
28:09
Yeah, yeah, let him see some games, let him see how he looks and feels and, you know, a few games
28:16
Depending on where the Red Wings are at this point and who knows how this goalie situation is going to play out but I'd like to see him get a few games just to, you know, get his, you know, get his feet in the water
28:27
Yeah, I think he does play some games next season I don't know about being backup or anything but I definitely will be playing so we get his first NHL start, and a few more
28:37
All right, to finish off the show I know Andrew any any other prospects you want to mention that we haven't talked about yet that you're excited about either coming into Grand Rapids soon or already there
28:51
Yeah, I know Devin kind of mentioned Amadeus Lombardi earlier, you know that he is had his flashes of really kind of, you know, impressive play not just, you know, with his speed and what he can create offensively but he kind of like I don't, I don't want to use this term to kind of hype him up too much but like some of the times when he can sneak in and the neutral zone behind guys like that
29:19
Yeah, I know Devin kind of mentioned Amadeus Lombardi earlier, you know, he's had his flashes of really kind of impressive play not just, you know, with his speed and what he can create offensively but like some of the times when he can sneak in and the neutral zone behind guys like that
29:29
Yeah, I know Devin kind of mentioned Amadeus Lombardi earlier, you know, he's had his flashes of really kind of impressive play not just, you know, with his speed and what he can create offensively but like some of the times when he can sneak in and the neutral zone behind guys like that
29:49
Yeah, I know Devin kind of mentioned Amadeus Lombardi earlier, you know, he's had his flashes of really kind of impressive play not just, you know, with his speed and what he can create offensively but like some of the times when he can sneak in and the neutral zone behind guys like that
30:17
Yeah, I know Devin kind of mentioned Amadeus Lombardi earlier, you know, he's had his flashes of really kind of impressive play not just, you know, with his speed and what he can create offensively but like some of the times when he can sneak in and the neutral zone behind guys like that
30:45
Yeah, I know Devin kind of mentioned Amadeus Lombardi earlier, you know, he's had his flashes of really kind of impressive play not just, you know, with his speed and what he can create offensively but like some of the times when he can sneak in and the neutral zone behind guys like that
31:14
I'm going through the Griffins roster here trying to see who Andrew left me with
31:22
Alright Devin, who do you got excited to. I just want to say I want to, I want to reiterate and kind of piggyback off the point I think well in there has a huge opportunity in front of them next season
31:36
I do think he's going to slide right into Edmondson spot, kind of as like the top LHD on the ground on the Griffin roster
31:47
a lot of penalty kill like I said I just think he's, he's going to get every minute he can handle next season and I'm very excited to see how he handles it
31:57
Another, another guy I think that's going to have a huge opportunity
32:04
Maybe going off a little off book because it's not not quite a Griffin, because I think he has to play in the WHL next year still is Emmett Finney actually
32:12
And the reason I bring him up is because he did play three games with the Griffins late in the season. After his season with the Kamloops Blazers finished
32:21
He got a taste of HL action, but I think that he has a really a really big opportunity to build on his success this season he signed an ELC with the Red Wings
32:32
Late in March, to build on the momentum that he has, and then kind of just vault him forward and either on to the HL roster at the beginning or and I'm not really sure where he has to be but I think like I said I think he has to be in the W at least
32:48
to start next season, but he's got a lot of momentum behind him and I'd like to see him build on it
32:54
And for what it's worth he was a seventh round pick and last year's draft so it's one of those things where if he can be literally anything you take that because you don't really expect anything from seventh round pick so yeah, exciting that he even earned
33:07
earned a contract this quickly right for sure. All right, Evan, you got a minute
33:15
You have any hijacked everything I wanted to say. You guys. Well I'm gonna go a different route here and then talk about players that I think it's like, you know, shit or get off the pot
33:28
You know, solder bomb. You know what this guy is yet it's just it's a very strange I'm not sure what the direction he goes in, it seems like he's kind of stuck where they're not they're not sure what kind of player he's going to develop into, you know, to make the roster
33:47
two seasons ago and then not play a game sense. It's kind of strange to me
33:54
Also, I want to see the you know to me so you know he's 23 now. Yeah. And, you know, he's a big boy six five
34:03
I don't think he has progressed to the point where the Red Wings are completely sure what kind of player he's going to be. So I think, you know, next season is going to be for those two is gonna be big seasons in the HL because that obviously I think they're going to start there unless
34:18
someone does something crazy in camp. But those are two guys I'm going to keep my eyes on next year for the Griffins, because I think it's big
34:25
Yeah, yeah, those two that are definitely going to be big ones
34:29
All right. Well, I thanks Andrew for coming on the show and talking Griffins lots of lots of fun discussion there I have to have you on again before the regular season starts and talk more about it but thanks, thanks Evan thanks Dan for another show
34:45
Make sure to check out all of our stuff at thehockeywear.com the sub stack. But, you know, until our next episode, we'll see you in another episode of the Grind Life
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