Red Wings: What Is our Horizon for Breakthrough Candidates?

Still, in the murk of a completely massive and lengthy rebuild, the patience of Red Wing Fandom gets tested big-time these days. (Please, never say “ Red Wings Nation,” incidentally, to avoid the taint of the remotest association with the Boston Bruins.) Followers of the Winged Wheel strain to see the barest flickers of hope as overpaid and mostly hapless fading veterans ply their trade.

Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin was a first bright spot, shining at the center of the constellation as our stars realign. We perceive exactly what competitive and exuberant Tyler Bertuzzi radiates, a steal of a second-round pick, we remind experts who chided Ken Holland for picking him so high. Anthony Mantha has brought this year the luster with which he ended last year, on a scoring track toward 40 goals.

Filip Hronek shows us new light since his callow beginning early last year, breaking through in a way Dennis Cholowski still has not. In Hronek, we glimpse a mobile two-way defenseman with a fearless (though not yet flawless) snarl in his own end and a master-blaster shot from the circle.

Robby Fabbri is a sudden meteor of a breakthrough, slyly plucked from the deep St. Louis Blues roster, in his forgotten orbit. Hunger to excel shines in his eyes and flashes from his wrists, with hockey smarts to launch a mature offensive capability.

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Once a speedster, we must learn how well he still skates and if his legs can stand NHL strain. Isn’t it impressive to watch a forgotten player do all within his power to make his first-round star shine anew? We all root for him and for that.

Let Brandan Perlini and Adam Erne closely observe how prepared we are to revel in their rising. Similarly, let Dennis Cholowski notice vis a vis Filip Hronek’s rise that his defense must come first.

If Filip Zadina’s star will rise with the Red Wings, his rising should not be rushed. Z’s brashness on draft day needs the patient seasoning of reality. He remains a teenager seeking entry in a man’s NHL, playing husbands and fathers who compete to house families and feed children. We are cheered by Zadina’s steady, all-around improvement, and the burnishing of his obvious flaws in the AHL.

Patience will nowhere be more rewarded than with Z. When his star does finally rise, he will not have lost that brash confidence, which is his nature. But he will be able to back up that attitude, which is key to not getting crushed, both literally on the ice and metaphorically in the long run.

Following Zadina’s path from Quebec Major Junior phenom into stifling pro-defense, Joe Veleno also needs time and patience to develop, for reasons different than Zadina. The many sides of his well-rounded game all must creep upward for the multi-faceted Veleno to grow into who he truly is. This year neither Zadina nor Veleno will get much more than an NHL taste of a handful of games.

Somehow the cookies on the top shelf always seem more delicious than those we hold in hand, whether deserved or not. Rugged Givani Smith learns how to rise above being a cement-head, taking stupid, counterproductive penalties, while groping to find a scoring touch that can chip in. Otherwise, how is Givani Smith a superior force to what we already have in Justin Abdelkader?

Albin Grewe won’t see the big club this year, but figures as a critical piece in this rebuild for reasons similar to Smith. Grewe matters if we would avoid Maple Leafesque meek playoff exits courtesy of smash-mouth teams like the Bruins and Flyers. No need to repeat what befell the Wings in 1995. Does anyone else recall Scott Stevens going unanswered reducing Slava Kozlov to a lifeless pulp?

But our most tantalizing top-shelf cookies are on defense. Moritz Seider is a visible, recent first-round pick. Beyond having some genuinely great hair in hockey, Moritz now seamlessly adjusts to the smaller non-European rink, grasps that defense comes first, and his scoring touch will follow. How hungry are you for a hefty, smooth-skating, precise-passing defenseman with some rasp?

Learn Antti Tuomisto’s name, only 18 years old, playing in an obscure Finnish junior league. He is 6’4” and skates well, besides ruling Chara-like over his crease. Next year he will take the college route and won’t wear the Winged Wheel soon. Will Seider taste the NHL this year? We hope so.

Next. How Fleeting Is our Exultation?. dark

As we wonder how long this reversal will take, gaze upon a clear winter sky and wish upon a star.

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