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Svechnikov returned to Grand Rapids |
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Evgeni Svechnikov didn’t set out to do anything special during his first stint as a Detroit Red Wing. His sole goal was to be himself.
He accomplished the latter, and without intending to do so, also achieved the former. Svechnikov, who was reassigned Wednesday by Detroit to AHL Grand Rapids, scored a spectacular shootout winner against Ottawa in his NHL debut Monday and in Tuesday’s return match against the Senators in Ottawa, he also turned in a solid performance.
“I just want to show my game, what I can do,” Svechnikov said of his initial taste of the NHL. “That’s why I’m here. They call me up because of what I do.
“I didn’t think I wanted to do something special. I just wanted to go and do my job. What can I do, and I think I did it.”
His game winner not only got the Wings two points, it fortified Svechnikov’s self belief.
“Obviously I got some confidence from the first game,” Svechnikov said. “It didn’t make me because of shootout but my game, everything I did make me confident so I was just thinking about what could I do better? Details and stuff, where should I be?
“I think I did a good job.”
He’ll get no argument on that point from his teammates.
“He’s strong, he’s really strong on his skates, and he’s strong on his stick,” Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg said of Svechnikov. “We saw him a little bit here in the preseason. He’s going to be a good player for us.
“It’s great to see that he gets his chance to play a few games here now and get a little taste of it for next year.”
Detroit coach Jeff Blashill felt Svechnikov, the club’s top pick in the 2015 NHL entry draft, was better in his debut than in the sequel but still liked what he saw both nights.
“I thought Svech over two games played well,” Blashill said. “I thought early in the game (Tuesday) he didn’t move his feet as much as (Monday) night but once he got his feet going, he played well.
“If he plays at that pace he’s going to be a good player. He’s a big, strong kid with offensive ability.”
Svechnikov. 20, will go back to the AHL well aware of what he needs to work on to make it in NHL on a full-time basis.
“I can say at first it’s a little bit faster for myself,” Svechnikov said. “I think for some guys it’s different.
“I think it’s a lot faster and for sure it’s stronger and the guys are in the right spots everywhere and the guys know what they’re doing and they know the little details. It’s huge.”
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