Detroit Red Wings rookie Emmitt Finnnie, who has had multiple scoring opportunities in recent games, has been an important factor for the club in the eyes of head coach Todd McLellan.
Among the multiple rookies who made the Detroit Red Wings' roster out of Training Camp and the pre-season was forward Emmitt Finnie, a 2023 seventh-round (201st overall) Draft selection.
Finnie has spent considerable time playing on Detroit's top line alongside forwards Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond, and while he's rotated into various roles in the lineup, he's maintained a roster spot in his rookie campaign.
While Finnie hasn't lit the lamp since March 16, he's continued to bring the energy on the ice and has been denied multiple golden scoring chances by opposition goaltenders.
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Head coach Todd McLellan made sure to note that not only does Finnie play with the kind of trademark energy one expects from a first-year NHL player, but that he also makes an impact for the club.
"You used the word energy, and when he's bringing that, which is 99 percent of the time for a first-year player, he's a big factor, a big influence on our team," McLellan said of Finnie. "The pace he plays with, how he closes on players with and without the puck, and his ability to drive pucks to the net."
Through his first 78 career games, Finnie has tallied 12 goals while adding 16 assists. McLellan believes that as time goes by and his confidence naturally grows, Finnie will finish more of the scoring opportunities that he's enjoyed of late.
"The scoring part of it, for a first-year player to have put up the numbers that he's had at this point, is actually quite good," McLellan said. "Yet, you think of the opportunities and chances he's had - with a little more confidence and more time, I think more of those will go in."
"I think he's got a great career in front of him, and he's worked really hard to get to this point," he continued. "He plays a factor in most games, but he's just not out there roaming around. He has an impact."
At only 20 years of age, there is a long runway ahead of Finnie in a Red Wings uniform.
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