Detroit’s Call-Up Hierarchy Driven By Timelines and Needs
Detroit Red Wings forward Austin Watson, playing in his first game since being called up to fill in for an injured Christian Fischer, played just 4:54 in Monday night’s loss to the New York Rangers. And if Fischer, as well as defenseman Jeff Petry, are back to full health, then he might not play a whole lot in the future. But that’s exactly where having an 11-year NHLer in the system is useful.
To many observers, this appeared to be an opportunity to call up one of the prospects that Detroit liked so much in preseason but did not find roster room to fit. Marco Kasper, Carter Mazur, Nate Danielson — all of them proved they could hang with NHLers at different points of the preseason. It won’t be long until they get their NHL games in, but for short call-ups like Watson’s, the Red Wings aren’t so interested in choosing prospects because of roles and ice time.
“I think it’s probably a fit, what we need,” Lalonde said Sunday, before Watson was called up, of the profile of who the Red Wings would most likely call up. “… Being a short term call up, it might be a more veteran guy than some of those young guys that probably need a more significant role in Grand Rapids.”
Mandatory Credit: Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images
The Red Wings’ call-up considerations are this: They want to fill their needs at the NHL level with adequate players, but they also don’t want to disrupt their prospects in Grand Rapids for a minor role. They realize that Kasper, Mazur and probably Danielson too are — right now — better all-around hockey players than the likes of Watson, as well as depth forwards Sheldon Dries and Joe Snively for that matter. But the situation has to make sense to give the kids appropriate ice time. Playing 4:54 in the NHL doesn’t give them so much of a learning opportunity as…
