The opening day of Detroit Red Wings training camp seemed like the first day of school and coach Derek Lalonde already had to give Ben Chiarot an excused absence.
“Unavailable. Personal reasons,” Lalonde said. “Family matter he’s dealing with. Don’t know when he’ll be back.”
Red Wings Mazur Out With Injury
Carter Mazur is the only other player on the absent list. He was injured in the opening game of the NHL Prospects Tournament. GM Steve Yzerman said Tuesday he doesn’t know how long Mazur will be out.
Just like on the first day of school, the talk Thursday was about the newcomers and those who look different. Lucas Raymond looked sharp in the opening practice sessions
“The one thing with Raymond, he has done some work in the offseason,” Lalonde said. “Looks like he’s put on some good weight. I don’t know if we need him bulking up and putting on a ton of weight, but it’s good weight, which I think is naturally going to come. Sometimes you forget that these guys are so young and their body is still developing.”
Moritz Seider also seemed to be trying to earn extra credit with how hard he was playing.
“Obviously Mo was extremely physical today, which I thought to me was him taking a step forward in his leadership,” Lalonde said. “…I thought he set a standard and a tempo for practice.”
Rasmussen and Fabbri Return
Michael Rasmussen and Robby Fabbri are recovered from their injuries. “It’s obviously been a hard journey for both Robby and Michael. I think they’ve done a lot of work to be where they are right now. It’s looking great. They’re looking sharp and speedy, they’re looking explosive.”
Nothing has been settled, but the Red Wings seem to be planning to use Rasmussen on the wing. He looked more dangerous offensively when they tried him there.
“We still trust him at center,” Lalonde said. “Obviously with the addition of (JT) Compher, and hopefully Joe Veleno takes another step, we might see Ras on the wing. Completely different player on the wing last year. In the underlying numbers, he drove some offense. When he’s on the wing, he seems a lot more productive and can drive some lines a little bit. Versatile player… I think being on the wing frees him up a little more to maybe establish a forecheck, to play a little more north-south game, which I thought suited him.”
All eyes are on Simon Edvinsson, coming off shoulder surgery. Last season, he played nine games with the Red Wings. He didn’t look out of place.
“He was good, maybe a little rusty there,” Lalonde said. “It’s tough not being able to get those reps. It does look like he did some work staying in shape. Sometimes some of his skill just shows up, to be that big and have hands like that. He scored a nice goal in practice today and did some nice things in tight areas. It’s going to take him a little bit of time to get some of that rust off.”
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