Local Mazur Set for NHL Debut with Ample Hometown Support

If you wake up from a nap the week of the NHL Trade Deadline with three missed calls from your general manager, chances are what's coming won't be good news, but 22-year-old Carter Mazur (a 2021 Detroit Red Wings third round draft pick) proved the exception to this rule of thumb.

He awoke from a nap with word from GM Steve Yzerman that he would be joining Detroit, the team he grew up cheering for, for Thursday night's game against the Utah Hockey Club.  Mazur—born in raised in Jackson, MI, an hour and change west of Detroit on I-94—soon relayed the news to his parents, whom he reports both had tears in their eyes upon receiving it.  Per Mazur, his father has been growing out his beard for over two years in anticipation of Mazur's eventual debut.

Coach Todd McLellan hasn't had much time to get acquainted with the 22-year-old, but said after morning skate, "I understand he's extremely competitive, really competes for open ice and has a little bit of pace and intensity to his game, and we could use that right now," before adding, "He has a tenacity to his game...That ingredient is something we could use right now and hopefully can provide a little spark, but if we're relying on Carter to drive our team and to spark us, it might happen a little bit, but there's some other players that have to find their own internal spark too."  McLellan said Mazur would begin his NHL career skating on Detroit's fourth line.

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For a local kid like Mazur, the chance to be part of the Red Wings' push to return to the postseason only adds to the sense of occasion already built into an NHL debut.  "Growing up a Red Wings fan and seeing how much they've won and how much the fans really love the playoffs, it's something I'd love to be a part of, hope to help them move in the right direction," he said after morning skate, a grin revealing his missing front teeth across his face.  "I know that they are moving in the right direction, and it's pretty awesome to join the team in the push that they're in right now."

Mazur will wear number 43 on his back, which he views as an homage to former Red Wing Darren Helm, with whom he fell in love as a young Red Wings fan as his classmates were enamored with Pavel Datsyuk. 

"I love the battle," Mazur noted.  "Detroit's a gritty city too, so I think that's something I can add to this team.  I just feel like I can add my game and hopefully contribute the way I can, and hopefully the wins will come."  In other words, from a young age, Mazur showed signs of the tenacious streak McLellan alluded to.

Meanwhile, Mazur said he expects to have between 200 and 300 friends and family members supporting him Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena.  When alerted of this fact after morning skate, McLellan quipped, "I think I have a lot of friends but nowhere near that number, so this guy's pretty popular."  Mazur will be looking to give his team, his coach, and that throng of friends and family cause to smile Thursday night as Detroit takes on the Utah Hockey Club. 

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