NOTEBOOK: Nedeljkovic looking forward to 'getting some games' in AHL

Alex Nedeljkovic doesn't see being assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins for conditioning in a negative light.

Instead, the 26-year-old goalie is bringing a positive attitude to his current stint with the Detroit Red Wings' American Hockey League affiliate.
"You never wanna go down a level," Nedeljkovic said after his 26-save effort in the Griffins' 3-1 win over the Cleveland Monsters on Wednesday night. "But I haven't played in a while. I'm just looking forward to getting some games now and finding my game again."

Wednesday's game with Grand Rapids was Nedeljkovic's first AHL or NHL start since Dec. 8.
"It felt great," Nedeljkovic said. "That was the idea in this whole situation was getting some game action, feeling the puck in game situations and it was great. It had been a while, so I was looking forward to it and we put together a good game."
Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde said he talked about Nedeljkovic's performance with Griffins head coach Ben Simon late Wednesday night.
"Benny said he was good and he was sharp," Lalonde said after Detroit's Thursday afternoon practice. "I'm sure he will play at least one or two more over the weekend. I mentioned it clearly the other day that we haven't given up on him. If he gets some rhythm, we'd be excited about getting him back in net here."

Nedeljkovic has played in nine games with the Red Wings this season, posting a 2-4-2 record with a 4.09 goals-against average and a .880 save percentage. He finished the 2021-22 season with a 20-24-9 record and 3.31 GAA while leading all rookie netminders with four shutouts.
"I've shown I can play at a high level here and in the NHL," Nedeljkovic said. "It's just about being myself, having a clear mind and just having fun."
For Nedeljkovic, the key to success is "knowing that you can do it."
"Hopefully I can build on this and build on some consistency going forward," he said.

Fabbri discusses season debut

The road to recovery from his third career ACL tear wasn't easy for Robby Fabbri.
But after logging 14:54 of ice time in his season debut for the Red Wings against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday, Fabbri said he's proud of the effort he put in to return to game action.
"It went better than I expected for being out for 10 months," Fabbri said. "The work I've put into it and the time we took to make sure that when I did come back, I'd feel as good as I can. A lot of the things will get better as I play games again and practice. Overall, pretty good but some areas to clean up."

The 26-year-old forward added that his unfortunate familiarity with the injury helped him navigate the end of the recovery process.
"Over the last couple of times, you learn and tweak your training as you get to the end to try to get as ready as possible," Fabbri said. "At the end of the day, it's gonna take games. We'll just keep taking it game by game."

Griffins' Lashoff to serve as playing captain for 2023 AHL All-Star Classic

On Wednesday, AHL President and Chief Executive Officer Scott Howson announced that Griffins veteran defenseman Brian Lashoff will serve as one of the two playing captains for the 2023 AHL All-Star Classic from Feb. 5-6 at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec.