Ansar Khan of Mlive spoke with Jeff Blashill...

Q: This is a big year for Evgeny Svechnikov, who no longer is waiver-exempt. What does he need to show to prove he is NHL-ready?

A: “I just talked to him the other day and he seemed like he’s doing pretty well and excited to get going. He’s a very hard-working young guy. He’s continued to work hard through a lot of injuries. It hasn’t always been easy. Hopefully that perseverance pays off. He’s going to have to make a big impact on a night to night basis in some fashion to a degree greater than other guys. He can do it by putting points up. You can do it by bringing physicality and energy, where you change momentum of games. You can do it by becoming great at one particular area -- the net front. That’s going to be up to him. Another guy that is competing for a spot.”

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