Notes: Blashill makes his point

TRAVERSE CITY -- If any Red Wings players didn't receive the message that the roster was wide open, they certainly did after the first five days of training camp at Centre Ice Arena.
In what can only be described as agony on ice, the Red Wings were put through a rigorous on and off-ice regimen, which left players exhausted, but aware this is a transitional year in Detroit.

Coach Jeff Blashill has repeatedly said the Red Wings need to be tougher to play against. They need to make the opponents feel miserable for a full 60 minutes.
Based on the physical nature of each practice, with a lot of one-on-one battles for the puck, the message is clear. If you plan on sauntering through the season, Detroit is not the hockey team for you.
"We wanted to make sure it was ultra-competitive. We wanted to make sure, rather than … in the past we've focused on systems and things like that and instead of that, we broke it down more into components," Blashill said after camp broke on Tuesday afternoon. "Day one was a lot of puck battles and instead of talking about O-zone, we figured we'd break it down into puck battles because if you don't win puck battles you don't have O-zone.
"So, we tried to break it down more into the components of it and make sure it ultra-competitive and make sure a little bit every day it was about winning battles and being heavy on the puck."
Blashill seemed pleased with the results of camp and is convinced the players know the competition for ice time is an ongoing battle.
"It's clear as day jobs are available based on where we've been the last two years and also based on the push we have coming from some young guys," Blashill said. "If you don't have that push you can talk all you want, it's not real. They know it's real this year because they can see there's guys that are pushing for jobs. I also say some guys that are coming back, they look like they want more ice time. Some guys looked very, very good. I noticed marked improvement in certain areas with certain guys coming back. I think that's great. We want to be as competitive as possible."
With the Wings beginning the preseason with back-to-back games against Pittsburgh on Wednesday and Chicago on Thursday at Little Caesars Arena, Blashill planned on using two set teams, but Thomas Vanek and Filip Zadina are both dealing with a "tweak," according to Blashill and are out Wednesday. He hopes the pair are ready for Thursday.
"It'll be a mixture (of the groups that skated today). We had to mix up the lineup a little bit because one guy had a little bit of a tweak, kind of had a plan set and that threw us for a loop," Blashill said. "So we had to mix it around a little bit, so we'll have a mix of veterans and young guys."
Michael Rasmussen and Joe Veleno will play on Wednesday and will be on a line with Justin Abdelkader.
Veleno has had a good camp, impressing the Red Wings hierarchy, and has earned the opportunity to play in the preseason.
"(Veleno's) been excellent for most of camp, let's keep watching him and see how he does, get the best feel we can," Blashill said.
Rasmussen has also been impressive, using his big body to protect the puck and as an imposing screen with his net-front presence. He's is ready to stake his claim that his time has come to be a Red Wing.
"I feel good. I'm always pretty even-keeled with my confidence and stuff like that," Rasmussen said. "I got to bring it to another level here for preseason and I'm just excited to get that going."
With Detroit playing eight preseason games in 11 days, Blashill feels the Red Wings will be able to handle the grind.
"It's not a huge challenge for our players because they don't play eight games. They play anywhere between two, three, maybe five," Blashill said. "Five's a lot but other than that, it's not a huge challenge for our players. I think it's lots on the coaches, the staff, everybody else and the media.
"We're doing it every night. It's the most hectic time of year, the training camp and the exhibition season but it also gets you ready to roll so it's great."
NIELSEN AIMS TO INCREASE PRODUCTION:The absence of Henrik Zetterberg from the Red Wings lineup creates a void on and off the ice.
Zetterberg had a strong locker room presence and ate up a lot of ice time.
Since Detroit has several veterans who can fill Zetterberg's leadership role, there's still his 19:29 of ice time he logged last season up for grabs.
After spending his first two seasons in Detroit in more of a supporting role, center Frans Nielsen intends to take as many of Zetterberg's minutes as possible.
"(Zetterberg's) going to be missed on and off the ice for the guy he is and the kind of player he is," Nielsen said. "It's going to create an opportunity for a lot of guys for sure. You want to be in those situations, you want to be on the ice when you're down one goal, you want to be on the ice when you're up one goal and for sure it's a good opportunity and something I want to prove to the coaching staff I should be there."
It has been a rocky couple of seasons for Nielsen after signing a six-year, $31.5 million deal with the Wings on July 1, 2016. His adjustment period to the Motor City after spending 10 years with the Islanders took some time, but he now feels comfortable with his surroundings.
"I am feeling more at home here, it's feeling like it was when I was in New York," Nielsen said. "Just the way you know all the guys now and you're not afraid to talk in the room and that kind of stuff, so it feels more and more at home here now. By missing Henrik, I am one of those guys who has to step up sometimes and talk."
With Nielsen determined to become a more vocal leader and a go-to player, one area he hopes to contribute to is Detroit's woeful power play.
As an Islander, he was on the power play unit and produced with 26 goals and 89 assists for 115 points. In Detroit, he has 22 total power play points with eight goals and 14 assists.
He was at a loss for words when asked about the Wings being ineffective with the extra man.
"That's a good question, we tried the last two years, but it's been hurting us a lot," Nielsen said. "We did have a good power play when I was in New York. One of the teams we always looked at when we were struggling, we always looked at Detroit, their power play and what they were doing.
"I think we have to find back to that a little bit. Even with Zetterberg, (Pavel) Datsyuk, (Nick) Lidstrom, there was a lot of skill on that power play, they were shooting a lot of pucks, getting a lot of pucks to the net.
"It just shows you need that mentality and I think at times we've been a little too cute with the puck maybe and haven't be able to or maybe didn't want to pay the price and get in there and get those goals we've talked about, 5-on-5 too. You've got to score those dirty goals in there."
Nielsen is playing on a line with Darren Helm and Gustav Nyquist and there seems to be an instant chemistry among the three. He especially enjoys playing with Helm, who he's played with quite a bit.
"I like playing with Helmer, I think you can trust Helmer every night, you're going to get an honest effort from him," Nielsen said. "He rarely has a bad game with his compete level and how hard he plays every night. I always enjoy playing with him.
"From playing against him I know how tough he is to play against. That skating and never-give-up mentality he has on pucks, so I enjoy playing with him.
"It's been an issue with us the last couple of years scoring goals, so I think with (Gustav) Nyquist here we're trying to spread the goal scoring a little more all over the lineup. I'm hoping it's going to be a good combination with Helmer, the way he works on the one side and have Gus's skill set on the other side, hopefully it can be a good combination."
From talking with him, you can tell Nielsen has a bit of a chip on his shoulder because the Wings haven't made the playoffs since he's been in Detroit.
"I can speak for myself, it's no fun, you know. My last couple of years in New York we finally got there (the playoffs), you get a little taste of how fun it is to be there, you just want to take that next level year after year," Nielsen said. "Suddenly, you find yourself a couple of steps back again and looking up, it's no fun. I really hope everyone went home all summer and had that same feeling and took that feeling to the gym or whatever they did to get better.
"I think you've seen it in camp so far. Management doesn't take it anymore either, it's been hard, harder than any camp I've ever been a part of, so it's new times and I think it's a good thing."
WINGS HAVE MANY LEADERS:When Zetterberg announced he had to curtail his hockey career, the Wings were adamant they would take their time to figure out if they play this season without a captain and have three alternate captains instead.
By the time the regular season kicks off on October 4 against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Little Caesars Arena, a decision will be made but speculation is the Wings will go without a captain this season.
Regardless of the what the Red Wings decide to do, Abdelkader, an alternate captain, says it's not a big issue for the players.
"I know teams have done similar type of things in the past, whether if they've gone three As or a captain," Abdelkader said. "That's obviously up to management, coaches, ownership. Whatever route they go, obviously myself and (Niklas Kronwall) having As, there's a lot of guys in that room that are leaders.
"Niels (Nielsen), Helm, (Luke Glendening), (Mike Green), (Jonathan Ericsson). We have a lot of guys that are veteran-type players that have been there, and I think we can all lead as a group.
"Whether they name a captain now or in the future, whatever they do, we'll go out and continue to make sure that we're holding ourselves and our team to the high standard we can.
"We know that a lot of people in the media aren't picking us, thinking we're going to miss the playoffs or finish towards the end but I think that's big motivation for us, we look forward to the challenge. We know we're not far off, but we got to continue to work hard each day and go out, starting day one, and get off to a good start."