Hockeytown Homecoming: Merrill grateful to join Red Wings

DETROIT - Jon Merrill hasn't stopped beaming since officially signing with the Detroit Red Wings on October 9, the first official day of free agency. Considering his story, it's hard to blame him.

Simply put, Merrill is coming home. The 28-year-old veteran defenseman grew up in Grand Blanc and Brighton, Mich., and skated for the Little Caesars AAA Hockey Club, the youth program the late Mike Ilitch started in 1968, long before he owned the Red Wings or Detroit Tigers. Merrill also spent two seasons at the U.S. National Team Development Program in Plymouth, Mich., before playing three years of college hockey at the University of Michigan.
Appearing on The Word on Woodward on Nov. 3, Merrill referred to his joining the Red Wings as a lifelong dream. He was wearing a Red Wings jersey before he could even walk, and envisioned himself playing for the Wings while practicing in his driveway as a kid.
"I grew up playing for Little Caesars, and going down to Joe Louis Arena once a week, it felt like, to practice or to catch a Wings game," Merrill told Carley Johnston in the Catching up with Carley segment of The Word on Woodward, presented by Meijer. "And obviously as a kid growing up in the 90s in Michigan, there was a lot of success with the Detroit Red Wings organization. I was a huge fan, and I'm just so fortunate that my career has led me to this point now, and to have an opportunity to play for my childhood team. I'm so grateful."

During his three-year career with the Wolverines, Merrill skated alongside current Red Wings standout Luke Glendening for two seasons, including a trip to the NCAA Frozen Four title game in 2011. He's excited to reunite with Glendening, but perhaps even more eager - and a bit nervous - to meet his new teammates.
"It eases my mind a little bit, knowing that Luke's going to be there, somebody I'm familiar with," Merrill said. "But I still have some of those new-team jitters. I can't wait to get out there and meet all the players and staff, coaches, trainers, everybody that's involved with the day-to-day. I'm hoping to get out there soon to start working with the boys and getting familiar and getting things going."
Merrill's homecoming isn't just a unique storyline. The Red Wings are gaining a veteran with 356 games of experience with the New Jersey Devils and Vegas Golden Knights, including playoff runs in each of the past three seasons with Vegas. Merrill will bolster a Red Wings blue line that featured 14 different defensemen in the shortened 2019-20 campaign.

It's anyone's guess as to when Merrill and his new teammates will take the ice for the first time to open the 2020-21 season. But when he does don the Winged Wheel for the first time, it will undoubtedly bring back memories from his youth, and start to feel like home.
For some way-back nostalgia, he might even have time to catch a practice or game at the BELFOR Training Center, the home of Little Caesars AAA Hockey Club and the Red Wings' practice facility at Little Caesars Arena.
Until then, he's focused on enjoying the ride and helping his favorite childhood team accelerate its current rebuild.
"My goal is to come in and be somebody who's a positive influence every day, someone that comes in with a smile and to get better every single day in whatever way we can," Merrill said.