'A' games, 'B' games, and a second job eating: an introduction to 2021 Detroit Red Wings third rounder Carter Mazur

"My lifelong dream was to be a Detroit Red Wing," says Carter Mazur, the 2021 Detroit Red Wings third rounder out of the University of Denver.  

He sits at a podium in Little Caesars Arena, wearing a camouflage baseball cap, quarter zip, shorts (all three emblazoned with the Winged Wheel), and slides.  Unlike most people who make that sort of claim, Mazur—born in Jackson, MI–has receipts: a boyhood declaration of his intention to play for the Wings and donate money to the poor and to hospitals.

"I know I'm close to it, but it's still far away," Mazur continues. "I want to be a really good player in the NHL. I don't want to be someone that just sticks around for a couple of games and gets sent down. I want to be a player that has a reason and competes and just does everything. That's just my main focus right now and then just to learn from older guys."

Having been drafted two years ago, this isn't his first development camp, but he's no graybeard yet.  When asked whether he considers himself the "old man" around camp, Mazur laughs.

"I would not like to think of it that way," he says.  "But it's nice to feel comfortable in these situations and be the leader here and just understanding what's going on, so I do enjoy that part of it, but I don't really see myself as an old guy yet."

Mazur's season began with Denver, where he scored 22 goals and gave 15 assists in 40 games.  His Pioneers won the NCHC's regular season title, but suffered an upset loss at the hands of Cornell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, dashing the Pios' hopes of repeating as national champions.

Then came six points in six games with the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL, his first foray into the professional ranks.  After that, 10 games with Team USA at Men's Worlds in May, where he became acquainted with Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde, who ran the Americans' power play.

The long season meant a late start to the summer, but for now Mazur's focus lies on adding some weight to his 6-foot, 177-pound frame.  "It's mostly just taking my time with it," Mazur says. "It's getting the calories in; it's like a second job to me. My first job's hockey, my second job's eating food. That's something that I need to do.

"We've had a lot of meetings in there about nutrition and all that, but I'm going to be here this summer, so to have [a] chef in there cooking up those meals—pretty good meals too—just to have that resource is huge. And then also I'll be staying in my own house at home with my mom, who's also an unbelievable chef."  When pressed for details, he pauses before declaring his mother's beef burritos to be his favorite of her offerings, with the caveat that there are numerous strong candidates for that distinction.

At Worlds, Mazur had the chance to look NHL All-Stars in the eye and then count himself amongst their ranks. "I feel like [the tournament] helped me a lot, especially playing first game Mikko Rantanen was out there, players of that caliber," he says.
"It was kinda special to be on the same ice as them and share with them, but I felt that I was out there and doing what I did best, and I feel like I was ready and was put in a situation to where I succeeded. I just look forward to the future and playing against men here on out."

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Since getting back home to Michigan, Mazur has "been weight training five days a week, so that's another part of it and then right after that you eat, you go on the ice. So it's been a good setup and look forward to continuing over the summer."

It's an arrangement that suits the natural rink rat perfectly. Asked to describe himself as a player, Mazur says "I'm more of a hard worker I would say, and when I stick to that, then my skill comes out. I feel like if I can have an 'A' game, but my 'B' game is good. I wanna have a good 'B' game as well. But I feel like when I'm on my 'A' game, that's when most of the skill is happening, but as long as I'm a hard worker, I think everything takes care of itself."

"I would say I like pissing people off," he says, offering further explanation. He notes that he picked up the idea of "A" and "B" games from Dan Cleary, Detroit's Assistant Director of Player Development who also played ten seasons for the Wings. "That's a big part of my game, so I feel like when that's going on, and I'm getting under people's skin that's what I consider a 'B' game and then 'A' I would consider I'm doing all that as well as skill plays, good passing, scoring goals."

"I love chirping," Mazur continues, with an unrepentant grin. "I like getting under people's skin. Don't care who you are. It's something I enjoy doing and it makes hockey fun."

Is it daunting to take on seasoned veterans in his first full year as a pro? "I'm coming to take their jobs, and it doesn't matter. I wanna do whatever I can do put myself in the best position and do whatever I can to succeed in that position, so that's kind of how I look at it." Evidently, it isn't daunting.

Mazur takes his unapologetic cues from his favorite player in the league today: Matthew Tkachuk. 

"I love watching him, especially in the playoffs," Mazur says. "He is really fun to watch because he does it all and gets under people's skin. He fights...I'm probably not gonna be a fighter, but I'm probably gonna have to back myself up a couple of times, for sure. He was really fun to watch, and he's also got the skill, so he's someone I do want to model my game after."

For now, he's taking pleasure in his first offseason as a professional hockey player. "It's been pretty awesome actually, because no more school in the way," Mazur says, smiling again. "That's kinda been the best part. It's nice to just focus on hockey, because that's now my job, and it's something that I wanted to do my whole life, so now that I can have 100% focus on that and get to where I want to be in my hockey career is kinda massive."

As for where that will leave him come October, "If I'm in Grand Rapids...I'm in a good spot, but I want to be with the big club," Mazur says. "That's my main goal here."