Connect with us

Detroit Red Wings

It’s Seider’s Time To Shine For Red Wings

Published

3 years ago

on

Moritz Seider, Detroit Red Wings
Moritz Seider is focused on one thing - making the Detroit Red Wings roster.

We get it. You’ve been crushing on Moritz Seider for a couple of years and now he’s really here.

You can see his face, you can hear his voice. You can almost touch him.

The cute nicknames. the cuddly memes. The endless GIFs. The Seider side show has been as much a part of Red Wing fandom these past two seasons as the fire Blashill chants and the Stevie Y is a genius hot takes.

Well, the time has arrived. Seider, Detroit’s top pick in the 2019 NHL entry draft, is in Traverse City skating with the Wings in training camp. This year, really for the first time, he should legitimately make the team.

“I’m super happy right now,” Seider said. “It was a big wait to get here. I’m really proud of myself, making my way up here and now I’m here and I’m really looking forward to it.”

As for all the social media buzz about Seider, touting him as the German Lidstrom, insisting that there will be nothing but blue skies in the Red Wings’ future from the moment he plays his first shift, well, hate to break it to you but your crush – yeah, he hasn’t really noticed you.

Social Media Savior

“It’s definitely not getting in my head,” Seider said of the social media frenzy surrounding him. “I just want to be around the guys. I want to come to the rink and work hard and so far I’m enjoying that.

“It’s obviously cool that the fans are really excited. All in all, I think I’m even more excited.”

There probably hasn’t been this much hype about the arrival of a Red Wings prospect since Henrik Zetterberg showed up for the NHL rookie tournament in 2002. And that one turned out okay.

That being the case, the Wings are of the belief that the best tack to take with the good ship is to dial back the intensity.

“I’m not going to put an expectation on him,” Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “I think he’ll get the opportunity to play and play big minutes as he earns them. If he earns more, he’ll get more. If he doesn’t earn more, he won’t get more. So, we’ll see how it goes.

“He’s definitely a guy who’s got a lot of potential that I think is going to become reality but now he has to go out on a game by game basis and do it.”

Prep School Grading Well

The prep work has been done and it must be said that Seider is earning passing grades with fying colors. He’s become an impact player during stops in the AHL and SHL. He was named top defenseman last season in both the SHL and the IIHF World Championship.

The NHL, though, is an entirely different beast to tame.

“There is no league like the NHL in terms of the forwards you face,” Blashill said. “There isn’t an Auston Matthews in the Swedish Hockey League, there isn’t a Patrick Kane in the Swedish Hockey League. That’s just the reality of it.

“He’ll have to learn on the fly a little bit and make adjustments as needed against that high level of player. Can he do that? He has at every level so far, so I think he can, but I’ll let him prove it.”

Seider is confident in the notion that he’llbe up for that challenge.

“It’s the best league in the world and you want to be part of it,” Seider said. “I want to compete against the best in the world and in the end, you want to win hockey games.”

As for the hype train, forgive Seider if he rather not get on board.

“It’s not really about myself,” Seider said. “I don’t want to put myself ahead of the team. I think that’s what everybody’s doing. We just want to get better as a team and get a better record.”

When it comes to objectives, Seider prefers to narrow his focus. He has just one goal in mind at the moment.

“Just being on that opening roster,” Seider said. “I think that will be a dream coming true.”

Related Topics: