from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,
A week out from their opener, the Detroit Red Wings are figuring out who their third defense pairing will be.
The top four is set, with newcomers Ben Chiarot and Olli Mäattä pairing with Moritz Seider and Filip Hronek, respectively. The big question on the last pairing is whether 2021 first-round pick Simon Edvinsson will make the team. The Wings wrap up their preseason with a pair of games against the Toronto Maple Leafs, at home Friday and on the road Saturday. Edvinsson is expected to play Friday, and could play both games.
"We're just getting him minutes and time," coach Derek Lalonde said Thursday. "He’s been in our top four, he’s been in that 5-6 role. Just want to get him minutes. He’s been on the penalty kill, he’s been on the power play.
"I think he’s progressed on both. Penalty kill, he’s shown a really long stick. He’s shown an ability to be a little harder than I may have anticipated. He’s shown good anticipation on it. Power play, same thing — I just think it’s typical growth for him. Some games, you can see him good in all areas, and then there’s other games, you can see the areas he needs to develop in. I’m excited about both of them for him."...
In the majority of his four appearances, Edvinsson has been paired with Gustav Lindstrom. The 23-year-old has 92 NHL games to his credit over parts of three seasons — including 63 with the Wings last season — and is hoping a summer of working on his strength and skating will pay off with greater consistency.
"I hope to take some more steps this year, be better over 82 games," he said.
added 9:38am, from Kristen Shilton of ESPN
Site looks great Paul
Thanks dd and we are still doing some major tweaks, plus increasing the server speed.
Robert Hagg now cleared to play but per Lalonde, he won't play this weekend but ready for regular season.
Testing 123
I wouldn't be upset with Ed starting the year in Grand Rapids. He'll get up to speed, but I don't think he's quite there yet.
Guess we'll find out soon enough.
P.s. - Paul, the new site doesn't seem to play well with Firefox on mobile. I'll try other browsers, but just wanted you to be aware.
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