There were a number of Detroit Red Wings prospects who figured to be in the reckoning for a spot on the opening-night roster this season, but no one had forward Christoffer Ehn pegged to be among that group.

“Of course it was a possibility,” Ehn told Mlive.com about his chances of being where he is today, preparing to face the Columbus Blue Jackets Thursday in his first NHL game. “I didn’t think of it as much. I was just wanting to go out there and do my best and see how it goes.

“Of course it’s been a pleasant surprise so far and hopefully I can keep it going. “Of course, I’m going to be nervous at the start but hopefully it will let go after the first shift or so and start focusing more on the game.

“I had three days to process it and I feel really ready for this and I’m really excited.”

Five Alive
Ehn is among five Wings who will make their NHL debuts Thursday, defensemen Filip Hronek, Libor Sulak and Dennis Cholowski and forward Michael Rasmussen being the others.

“It’s different for each guy,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. “I think every time you move up the pyramid, those steps can be greater and greater. Certainly guys that had time in the American League, the step a lot of times from junior and college to the American League is a heck of a step, more than they realize, and the step from the American League to the NHL isn’t quite as bit.

“We have guys that will be coming directly, in Cholowski’s case (also Rasmussen’s) directly from junior. I think part of making it, being an elite athlete, is mental toughness and the reality in humans is there’s going to be nerves. There should be. But managing it is focusing on the task at hand, especially shift by shift, so hopefully our guys do a real good job of it.

“One thing that’s good is I don’t think there’s a guy who’s playing tonight who’s afraid to make a mistake. We realize there’s going to be mistakes, let’s just make sure our positives outweigh our negatives.”

It was part of the blueprint for some youth to be injected into the lineup this season, but circumstances - injuries to three veteran defensemen - created more opportunity.

“I said if young guys can beat out other guys then that’s great, that makes us better,” Blashill said. “If older guys got way better through the summer that’s great, too. It’s not necessarily about being younger, but certainly injuries have forced the number young D in the lineup.

“I think Rasmussen and Ehn earned a pot up front without injuries. The other guys did a real good job in training camp of being ready, but injuries have kind of thrust them into the situation we’re in today.”

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