From The Silky Mitten State: How Simon Edvinsson's poise and defense has earned him immediate trust in latest NHL call-up
In his latest call-up to the NHL, Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson has earned immediate trust from Detroit's coaching staff. In his first call-up this season, the 21-year-old didn't crack 16:00 minutes of ice time in either of his two appearances. In his most recent call-up, Edvinsson has played over 18:00 minutes in all three games he's played.
When asked by The Hockey News Friday how Edvinsson has pulled this off, coach Derek Lalonde—at times a harsh critic of young players—needed a lengthy answer to rattle off the young defenseman's various virtues.
"Defending well," Lalonde replied. "He's managed the game very well. He's not found himself in much trouble, but he's also brought some physicality to his game, which is good. His size too—the long stick. Obviously, he made some plays defensively with the long stick, but he kept a couple plays offensively alive with his long stick that end up in the back of their net 20, 30 seconds later. Hopefully he can keep building his game, but a really good start two games into it."
"There's a reason why he's playing here right now and a reason why he's playing so much," defenseman Olli Maatta told The Hockey News. "He's obviously doing a great job logging those minutes, and I think we all know how good of a player he is. He's a great skater. He's really hard to play against. He uses his body well. And he has a lot of skill too, a lot of upside offensively. He's been great for us the last two games, and I know he's gonna be great for us on the way in."
"I feel good," said Edvinsson himself. "I feel some small things [I] can get a little bit more comfortable in, but I feel like it's coming. I know what I have to work on. I know what I have to do to play a good hockey game. Of course everything isn't going to come right away. It's hard to do, but it's just get those reps in."
On the most recent episode of The Silky Mitten State, my co-host Connor Earegood and I discussed Edvinsson's strong form. For a sample of that conversation, check out the video below:
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