On Sunday afternoon, the newest two newest Detroit Red Wings—Petr Mrazek and Craig Smith—took part in their first practice since being traded to the team Friday. Both players were full participants in practice, with Smith slated to fold into the lineup for Monday's game in Ottawa against the Senators. As for Mrazek, coach Todd McLellan declined to name a starting goaltender for that match-up with the Sens, but that will be his first opportunity to re-start his career as a Red Wing.
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"It was a great day," said Smith after practice. "The urgency around this building and the things they talked about make sense. [I'm] grateful to be here and jump in and kinda get caught up."
As for what he heard from management and the coaching staff that they were looking for out of him, Smith said the message was "Be comfortable. Play loose. Be aggressive. Jump in, get a couple games in here, get my feet under me a little bit, and make some adjustments."
Meanwhile, for Mrazek, coming to Detroit is a return to the organization that drafted him and where he played his first 288 NHL games. "You never know in this league, but I'm happy to be back. It's where it all started," Mrazek said after practice.
McLellan explained that, in getting Smith and Mrazek up to speed, the conversation with the latter "needed to be laid out a lot more" because of the complexities of sharing ice time between three goaltenders (with both Alex Lyon and Cam Talbot still in the fold). The coach said that conversation was "short and to the point," adding "we have a high belief system in all three."
As for what Smith can bring, McLellan said, "He still looks like he's skating real well...He always was a really strong skater with some pace and a little pop in his stride. I think he's got some mass to him as well that he's willing to use. I remember him having a heck of a shot. So those are things that he can do, but he's also played almost a thousand games, so he's experienced a lot of highs, a lot of lows...So he's bringing some experience to our locker room."
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