Red Wings, Blues soaking in Kraft Hockeyville experience in Calumet

By @StefanKubus – 

CALUMET – For players of the Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues, it’ll be a competitive atmosphere once the puck drops at 7 p.m.

But surrounding the game, the Michigan talent on both squads is embracing the opportunity to bring NHL hockey to people that might otherwise never see it.

“I grew up in the Soo and I know what it would’ve meant to me as young guy growing up a Red Wing fan and you don’t get everyday touches with NHL stars like Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha and guys like that so to be able to be up close and personal, I know for me it would’ve been a really, really neat experience both for the young people and not so young people,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve played here, but I did a long time ago, but had some good battles back in the day. I think the rink looks fantastic, the ice is great, the boards are great, the lighting is light, we’re looking forward to it. It’s gonna be a lot of fun.”

Both teams brought a healthy amount of NHL regulars with them, with the likes of Larkin, Mantha, Tyler Bertuzzi and Danny DeKeyser with Detroit, and Ryan O’Reilly, Jordan Binnington, David Perron a few of the names here with the defending Stanley Cup champions.

In addition to Larkin and DeKeyser, the Wings also brought Pinckney native and Northern Michigan alum Dominik Shine, along with his fellow Wildcats teammate Troy Loggins – both players skate with the Grand Rapids Griffins.

“It means a lot, obviously any time you get to play for the Red Wings is a big deal, especially being in the UP here playing four years here, it’s exciting,” Shine said.

The Blues’ group also features Michigan Tech alum Mitch Reinke and Troy native and MSU alum MacKenzie MacEachern, who said he actually played high school games here while with Birmingham Brother Rice.

“You could say it’s home for me since we’re in Michigan still,” MacEachern said. “it’s pretty cool to see the support the city has for hockey and how bad they want the city to grow hockey.”

“It’s exciting, I saw a couple signs out there for me and people I recognize, so it’s been cool to see how passionate the fans are here,” Reinke said. “That’s something I really liked at Michigan Tech.”