Detroit — Rookie defenseman Moritz Seider has the ability and skill set to play with any of the Red Wings’ veteran defenseman.
The minor issue has been finding the one who can mesh well with Seider.
Coach Jeff Blashill had Danny DeKeyser playing with Seider early in Wednesday’s game against Colorado. But DeKeyser’s problems dealing with the Avalanche’s size and speed forced Blashill to put Nick Leddy back with Seider, while DeKeyser was paired with Gustav Lindstrom.
“Seids is developing into a really good player and the really good players can play with a lot of different partners, and certainly don’t need a partner to carry them,” Blashill said. “It’s more about matchups, specific situations. Certainly, chemistry matters. We’ve had an opportunity for Seids to play with a number of guys now and I don’t think it’s the biggest deal, we can kind of flip those guys in and out a little bit.”
Seider has played with Leddy, Danny DeKeyser and Jordan Oesterle during the course of this season. Leddy has been a primary partner with Seider, but Blashill has tended go go away from the defensive pairing in recent weeks.
“There were moments of good, moments of not so good, so we just at that time felt it was the right move to try to mix it a little bit,” Blashill said. “There’s also times with different matchups with different teams, depending on what their lines are like on the road.”
Blashill mentioned the Toronto Maple Leafs, with the varied looks the offensively dangerous Leafs can present.
“Toronto is tough because you got the (John) Tavares line, but (Auston) Matthews can be such a beast that it’s kind of the way we feel we’ll stay going into the game,” said Blashill, noting the Seider and Leddy combination was likely to remain against the Leafs.
“We felt (the Avalanche) have a really strong top line and we’re going to see another one in Matthews’ (line),” Blashill said. “We just decided to try Leddy and Seider together against that group. Leddy is pretty strong on his skates and can battle a little bit against some of those bigger, heavier guys, like a ((Colorado’s Mikko) Rantanen and a (Gabriel) Landeskog, like a Matthews.”
Interestingly, Marc Staal is the lone veteran defenseman who has yet to see playing time with Seider.
The fact Staal sees plenty of ice time in different situations, and the Wings try to manage the veteran’s minutes, might be a factor in keeping the two big defenseman apart, along with the fact Staal can provide size on a separate pairing.
“We have areas we think Staal excels in, he’s really good on the penalty kill, really good on three-on-fives,” Blashill said. “He gets lots of minutes in those situations. If you play with Seids, your minutes can get high. I don’t know if that puts Staalsie in a position to have the best success.”
Homework assignment
Whether forward Joe Veleno has been in Grand Rapids for brief times while the Wings have a slow schedule,and when Veleno is with the Wings, the messages from the coaching staff are the same.
There are definite areas where Veleno needs to continue to work on if he wants a regular NHL spot.
“Being stronger on the puck, protecting the puck better with my body, getting to those dirty areas a bit more,” said Veleno, of the areas Blashill and his staff continue to concentrate on. “Being better defensively, being more aware of my own end.
“I know there are times when my plays aren’t strong enough. I have to make sure I make those plays and not give lines I play against easy chances.”
ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com
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