For the up-and-coming talent in particular, McLellan noted that taking a big-picture approach is important to keep in mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to develop long-term, Red Wing careers for some of these young players, and we have to think that way a little bit,\u201d McLellan said. \u201cThe natural thing out there is just, \u2018Let the kids play, let the kids play.\u2019 It would be so easy if it was, but if the kids play and they\u2019re not developing… Just giving [ice time] isn\u2019t always good either. They have to develop and earn a little bit, and ours will.\u201d<\/p>\n
There’s so much to dissect, analyze and consider when finalizing a 23-man roster. But when it comes to what separates players at this time of year, McLellan said he zeroes in on one area first.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe watch their impact on the game,\u201d McLellan said. \u201cJust flat-out impact. Are they involved in scoring chances for or against? First thing that I go watch the next day, because that\u2019s really the crux of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Several lines have already started taking shape and developing chemistry since last Thursday, and one built with youthful energy is expected to take the ice in Columbus on Monday night. McLellan recently\u00a0dubbed it the “kid line,” with Nate Danielson centering Michael Brandsegg-Nyg\u00e5rd and Mazur.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a fun line to play with, for sure,\u201d Mazur said. \u201cI\u2019ve been around them for two years now, played with Taxi in GR in the playoffs so we got a little bit of chemistry already from that. I think we can bring just a lot with our skating and physicality.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having re-signed a two-year contract extension with the Red Wings this summer, Mazur sees a big opportunity in front of him.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery year, I wanted to be part of this team and make the team,\u201d Mazur said. \u201cSo I feel like I have that urgency no matter what. Being in this organization for four years now, I think it\u2019s my time to really show what I can do, take over and claim a spot, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For the up-and-coming talent in particular, McLellan noted that taking a big-picture approach is important to keep in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":856108,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[385,99],"class_list":["post-856107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=856107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/856108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=856107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=856107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=856107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}