At least for his second game, Simon Edvinsson will have his parents and brother in the stands.
Edvinsson, the No. 6 pick in 2021, made the cut for a second Detroit Red Wings game, coach Derek Lalonde said Monday. The Wings still have him as an “emergency call-up,” so as soon as Gustav Lindstrom is available, Edvinsson is earmarked to go back to the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Edvinsson’s family missed his debut, because they couldn’t get from their native Sweden to Detroit in time. He picked them up Sunday from the airport, and has convinced them it’s better to see his second game live, anyway.
“I am not going to be as nervous as I was last game,” Edvinsson said. “But it is going to be fun to have them here, to watch the game. But last game was special, I am always going to remember that, and I think my parents will always remember this one.”
The Florida Panthers were on tap for Monday evening at Little Caesars Arena. The Wings play at the St. Louis Blues Tuesday, and host the Blues Thursday.
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Lalonde said he and general manager Steve Yzerman have not discussed making Edvinsson a regular call-up. Teams get four regular call-ups between the trade deadline (March 3) and the end of the regular season (April 13), but can designate a call-up as emergency if a team is below the minimum players needed; in this case, the Wings were down to five defensemen.
“We have too many games left and are fighting for bodies,” Lalonde said. “We have to be cognizant of that and think about the big picture.”
The Wings are also considering that if a player plays more than nine games, he burns the first year of his entry-level contract, even if it’s late in the season.
“There’s big-picture stuff like that, whether he gets past nine games,” Lalonde said. “That’s for management.
“We are playing him tonight and we’re excited about it. He did some good things the other day and there’s going to be some growth every minute he gets in this league.”
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.