Red Wings ‘are in good hands’ with Jeff Blashill

 

By @StefanKubus –

With the 2015-16 NHL season on the horizon, the Red Wings will be moving forward with a new head coach for the first time since 2005.

But Jeff Blashill’s certainly no stranger by any stretch of the imagination.

He coached the Grand Rapids Griffins from 2012-15, winning a Calder Cup and Coach of the Year nod along the way with numerous current Red Wings at his disposal. And in 2011-12, he served as an assistant to Mike Babcock.

“A lot of guys in the room have already played with him in Grand Rapids,” defenseman Danny DeKeyser said. “He’s a really good coach, and he demands a lot from his players. I think he pushes everyone to be the best that they can be, so I think it’s really good. He’s really open-minded about things, too, so easy to talk to. He’s a good coach. He knows his stuff.”

And let’s not forget that the Sault Ste. Marie native will officially be the first Michigan native to coach the Red Wings when the puck drops on the 2015-16 NHL season.

“It’s a neat thing to ultimately be a head coach of an organization that was a big part of your life growing up,” Blashill said during his introductory press conference June 9.

“I was born in Detroit, my dad was a Detroit cop for 10 years, I grew up in Sault Ste. Marie, I was an avid Red Wing fan growing up. It’s a great city that I believe in, it’s a great organization, Original Six.”

Despite the familiarity with most of the locker room already, he may be best acquainted with the 25-year-old DeKeyser. Blashill coached DeKeyser during his freshman season at Western Michigan in 2010-11, when he took the Broncos to the CCHA Championship game and earned a berth in the NCAA tournament to boot.

 

Entering just his second full NHL season in 2015-16, DeKeyser knows what to expect from his new bench boss.

“When he coached me in college, I saw a lot of things, some good qualities in him. When he’s on the ice, he makes sure everyone knows what they’re doing. There was no, ‘What’s going on? What are we doing in this situation?’ or anything like that, so he made sure we were prepared for the game and every situation, special teams, 6-on-5 and that kind of stuff.”

Even before Blashill was coaching DeKeyser, he was busy winning a USHL Clark Cup in 2008-09 with Livonia native and current Boston Bruins blue liner Torey Krug on the Indiana Ice. With firsthand experience, Krug affirmed that the Red Wings will be just fine.

“The Red Wings are in good hands,” Krug said. “Blash is a very well-prepared guy and he’s very confident in his ability and he’s always learning the game. I think one thing with him is he has a great dialogue with his players and he’s willing to adjust to game styles. He’s a student of the game, he doesn’t think he’s bigger and I think that’s an important thing for a coach and I know the Wings are in good hands for sure.”

When he was first introduced as head coach, Blashill said, outside of the aforementioned personal reasons, the most important factor in wanting the job was simple.

“Outside of the personal reasons, the most important reason was the great people involved in this organization,” Blashill said. “But probably most importantly is the players. You can only win at the highest level with great character and great talent. You can’t have one or the other, you have to have both. When you take a job, you’re hoping the group has great character. I don’t have to hope at all. This group that we have here oozes character.”

Grand Rapids native and University of Michigan alum Luke Glendening, one of said ‘character’ guys and a staple in the Detroit lineup as defensive forward, played under Blashill with the Griffins in 2012-13 and bits of 2013-14.

“A lot of us have played for him in Grand Rapids and know what he expects and know the way he handles things, so we’re excited for change,” Glendening said. “It’s a breath of fresh air. It’s just the way it is after a coach has been around for ten years. Babs will do great in Toronto, but I think it’s a good change for this team right now.”

 

As for the veterans, they’re still familiarizing themselves with Blashill, but the early impressions and rave reviews from teammates have left them impressed.

“I’ve spoken to him briefly,” defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “What strikes me with him is, he seems to be a very good person, excited about the opportunity. Obviously, he earned it. He’s done a great job in the minor system. He went down there, and he won with Grand Rapids. He’s had most of the younger guys in here, played for him in GR when they won it, and they’ve got nothing bad to say about him. They’ve all got positive things to say about him, which is encouraging. It’ll be exciting with a new voice. We’re looking forward to the opportunity.”

Muskegon native Justin Abdelkader also had a chance to briefly meet with Blashill and echoed Kronwall’s sentiments.

“He’s done a terrific job in Grand Rapids there and knows a lot of personnel. I know he’s excited, we’re excited to have him and look forward to the start of the season.”

It’s not hard to draw comparisons to Blashill from Babcock, either, when the two not only sound similar in the way they speak, but also – most importantly – have successful track records wherever they have been.

“They both expect a lot, pay close attention to detail and they’re both intense, but it’ll be good,” Glendening said of the change in comparison to Babcock. “It’s exciting for sure.”