Jeff Blashill didn’t pull any punches when assessing what Ryan Kuffner needs to do for the Detroit Red Wings if he wants to make a career of it in the NHL.

“He’s gonna be a guy who can score,” Blashill said of Kuffner, slated to make his NHL debut Saturday afternoon at Little Caesars Arena against the New York Islanders. “He scored lots of goals in college. He’s got 70-some goals in 100 games, or something like that.”

In reality, In four seasons at Princeton, left-winger Kuffner, 22, tallied 75 goals and 152 points in 132 games.

“That’s a lot of goals in college,” Blashill said. “I had a chance to watch some of his shifts. I had a chance to talk to him before he made his decision.”

Kuffner offered a personal scouting report on what he can bring to the Wings.

“I think I try to be the most competitive guy out there,” Kuffner said. “I think that’s the biggest thing, just working as hard as you can to get in the spots that you try to be in. And then after that, try to execute.

“I think I want to use my shot as much as possible, and just know where all the rest of the guys are out on the ice with me. I think that’s the biggest thing when you get into space.”

The Wings believe Kuffner, who will write a couple of exams this spring in order to complete his degree in economics and finance, is also someone who thinks hockey at a high IQ level.

“He is a very smart player playing in traffic,” Red Wings director of player evaluation Jiri Fischer said. “He’s got a quick release. He’s shown three consecutive seasons and even before that he can score.

“He likes to play down low in the offensive zone. He can play quick, he can make fast decisions. We believe his game is going to translate to pro.”

Lashoff Recalled
For the third time this season, defenseman Brian Lashoff was recalled from AHL Grand Rapids and told to take a seat in the press box.

Lashoff won’t be in the lineup Saturday.

“Not today,” Blashill said “We’ve got six D, so we needed an extra D.”

Twice previously this season, Lashoff was also recalled to be the seventh defenseman in case the team suffered another injury. In both cases, that never happened, so Lashoff was returned to Grand Rapids without seeing any game action.

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