Can Ville Husso Make a Push to Reclaim the Starting Role in Detroit?
After a difficult season, just how realistic is it for Ville Husso to reclaim the starter's net for the Red Wings in 2024-25?
Last night, Ville Husso saw his first game action since his season ended with a groin injury in Edmonton last February. The 29-year-old Finn played the first two periods of the Red Wings' 4-2 win last night in Chicago. Husso started perfect, turning aside all 11 Blackhawk shots he faced in the first, before conceding twice in the second on just six shots.
"He needs reps," said coach Derek Lalonde this afternoon, assessing the performance. He needs game reps. "He was really sharp in the first. It's a good sign when they've got a few good looks...and he made it look easy with tracking into his hands. Obviously the second period probably showed a little bit of that rust. I think [those] are goals he'll start to eliminate going forward with some repetition."
Lalonde added that as much as Detroit tries to get its goalies extra work before and after practice, there are certain levels of preparation that can only come from game action. "You can replicate some things but you still need that game action—real game angles, situations, reads—just to come up with something a little bit different," Lalonde pointed out. "I think there's some mental toughness to it. Like two periods was a good look for him last night, but obviously his first period looked a lot sharper than his second."
On the most recent episode of The Silky Mitten State, my co-host Connor Earegood and I discussed the possibility that Husso might wind up taking on the lion's share of the work in the crease this season. It certainly doesn't seem likely at this juncture, but of course, you never would have expected Alex Lyon to wind up Detroit's number one option in net at this time last year.
You can check out a sample of our conversation in the featured video above, then find the full episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts:
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