When forward Andreas Athanasiou and the Red Wings were in a contract stalemate before the season, it opened the door for Martin Frk to make the team out of training camp.
Former Wings forward and current player development assistant Dan Cleary said that Frk has the hardest shot he's ever seen and it's a weapon that Frk used to his advantage, particularly on the power play.
Frk is at his best when he keeps his confidence high and delivers his powerful shot accurately on net.
1 - Frk did not take long to record his first NHL goal, scoring in the team's first game of the season on Oct. 5 against the Minnesota Wild, the first regular-season game at Little Caesars Arena. It was also Frk's 24th birthday. Frk also got his first career assist in that game, the primary helper on Anthony Mantha's power-play goal in the second period, the first goal scored at Little Caesars Arena.
8 - From Nov. 15-30, Frk missed eight games after suffering a groin injury. He returned to the lineup Dec. 2 in Montreal, which was not the ideal game to come back as the Wings lost, 10-1.
25 - Frk finished the season with 11 goals and 14 assists. His 25 points tied him for 23rd among rookies. Calgary's Mark Jankowski, New Jersey's Blake Coleman, Ottawa's Thomas Chabot and Los Angeles' Alex Iafallo also had 25 points.
5 - Five of Frk's 11 goals came on the power play, which tied him for seventh among rookies. Arizona's Christian Fischer, Philadelphia's Nolan Patrick, the New York Islanders' Ryan Pulock and Mathew Barzal and Colorado's Tyson Jost and Alexander Kerfoot all had five power-play goals. Only Anthony Mantha with nine and Tomas Tatar with eight had more man-advantage goals for Detroit.
3 - From Nov. 5-9, Frk scored in three straight games on the team's western Canada road swing. He had a goal in Edmonton, Vancouver and Calgary. That matches a Detroit season-best goal scoring streak. Frk also had three goals in his first four games from Oct. 5-12, against Minnesota, at Ottawa and at Arizona.
77 - Frk might not be the biggest guy at 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, but that doesn't mean he is afraid to take the body. He had 77 hits in 68 games, which placed him eighth on the team in that category behind Justin Abdelkader, Luke Glendening, Jonathan Ericsson, Darren Helm, Mantha, Niklas Kronwall and Mike Green.
