Notes: Wings excited to see Black Hockey History mobile museum

DETROIT -- Hockey fans in Detroit have a very special opportunity this weekend to see something unique.
The NHL is bringing its NHL Black Hockey History Tour presented by American Legacy that celebrates black achievement in hockey to the Motor City and admission is free.

After first stopping in Washington, D.C., the mobile museum will be at the Charles Wright Museum Saturday from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Then it will move to Little Caesars Arena from 4:30.-7:30 p.m. before the Red Wings game against the Florida Panthers. It will also be at Little Caesars from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday.

Don't be surprised if you see a few of the Wings there if you visit.
"I think it's really special," Wings defenseman Madison Bowey said Thursday. "Obviously, we're trying to grow the game as much as we can and to have these little museums that are coming around does a lot for the community and I'm definitely going to check it out with Dales (Trevor Daley) and it'll be really cool to see all the fans and all the people there who are there to support it and cherish it because it's a really special moment for sure."
You might also find something from Wings rookie Givani Smith at the museum.
"I got some articles in the museum," Smith said. "It's pretty cool. They asked me to do it last year, too. I'm happy they are showing appreciation for what I've done here."
Daley, Bowey and Smith all have appreciation for the players that have come before them.
"I think being African-American, you look at guys like Anson Carter, Kevin Weekes, Tony McKegney, some of the guys that look like you out there," Daley said. "I think seeing those guys really helped me to make me want to keep going and try to get to the level they were at."

Bowey looked up to another player as he was growing up in Winnipeg.
"Mine was Jarome Iginla," Bowey said. "He was my favorite player, all aspects of the game and off the ice, too, he was a great leader and had a lot of great characteristics that I kind of model myself after. I liked watching clips of Bobby Orr while growing up, too. He was a guy that my dad always showed me, too. But Jarome Iginla was the guy I idolized and looked up to."
Like Bowey, Smith is a member of the younger generation.
"(Pittsburgh's Sidney) Crosby was one of my favorite players to watch, the way he handled and controlled the puck," Smith said. "I really liked to watch P.K. Subban, too, and Wayne Simmonds is the kind of guy I try to follow because he plays with so much energy, he's strong and fast and can score goals. Those three guys I really look up to."
It's a different and valuable situation for Daley, Bowey and Smith to get to play on the same team.
"It is very neat," Bowey said. "The game is growing and we all have each other's back here and it's cool to see. Dales has done a great job of teaching us young guys and showing us the way and it's just got to keep growing and continuing."
Daley invited Bowey to live with him and his family when Bowey was traded to Detroit from Washington.
Both are always available to help Smith if he needs anything.
"It's really nice," Smith said. "Me and Dales are from the same area, so we can relate. We're both Jamaican, too, so we can relate back to our food and culture. It's nice to have him around and talk about that stuff."
The museum features both current players and the pioneers and trailblazers that paved the way for the current group.
"It's definitely growing," Bowey said. "I know a lot has to do with some alumni and current players. I'm big in my community back home to promote the game as best we can with every kind of event in the city. For us, it's just continue to grow it. If we can focus on bringing a bright future for these young kids and making sure we're leaders and it can be done by anyone, it goes a long way in their lives."
All three players are happy to see hockey becoming more diverse, even though there is still a ways to go.
"It's really nice. It's starting to get really diverse now," Smith said. "Especially playing with my age group of kids, there's kids from a lot of ethnicities coming up, seeing more black kids, Asian kids, just more diverse people coming into the league."
At 36, Daley knows that there are young players growing up now who have looked to him as a source of inspiration.
"When you become a parent, you kind of realize what it's all about," Daley said. "I watch my son every day look at different players, guys that he idolizes. Sometimes it's not always Daddy. It's special. You really understand when you have your own kids how much kids really do look at the direction that we're going and what we're doing. I obviously now understand it a lot more than I did."

SID THE KID: There aren't many players who could miss two months with hernia surgery and then jump right back into an NHL season and have success.
But not everyone is Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.
Crosby returned Tuesday night against the Minnesota Wild and had a goal and three assists in their 7-3 win.
In Thursday night's 4-1 loss in Boston, Crosby scored Pittsburgh's only goal.
"It's kind of normal for him," said Daley, who played with Crosby. "That's why he's so great. He can do stuff like that."
Adam Erne agreed with Daley.
"That's just kind of him," Erne said Thursday. "I grew up watching him and (Alex) Ovechkin and those are my guys to watch. No, it doesn't really surprise me, to be honest with you."
In 19 games this season, Crosby has seven goals and 15 assists.
"Obviously, when Sidney is back, it's maybe the best player in the world back in their lineup," Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "They got two guys that can make an argument for that, maybe him and (Evgeni) Malkin. So when they're both in the lineup, obviously it poses big threats. They've been able to win without him, which is a credit to their team. They're a team that generally plays pretty hard, wins a lot of puck races and puck battles, so you got to make sure you're winning more puck races and puck battles than them.
"I watched the game last night and listened to their comments and I think they thought Boston won the majority of theirs and that's why Boston carried the play and I'm sure we're going to get a fired up Pitt team. And that's fine. We got to go out and make sure we're checking great, that we're winning all those puck races and puck battles and we got to try to make them defend as much as possible. When they have the puck on their stick, they're a really good team. We got to make sure we make them defend as much as we can."

While Crosby and Malkin (15-32-47) will certainly create their own chances, the Wings will have to do their best to limit them.
"We just gotta play in their zone," Erne said. "It's easier said than done but I think you can't give them anything easy. They're an elite line, they're not going to be held off all night but you gotta eliminate the self-inflicted errors. You gotta put pucks behind them and make them defend. If they're defending, then they're obviously not playing in our zone. They're going to get their chances, but we can't give them easy ones."
In 24 career games against the Wings, Crosby has 25 points (10-15-25). In 19 career games against the Wings, Malkin has 29 points (11-18-29).
DALEY BACK: Daley has been limited to just 22 games this season due to various injuries but will make his return to the lineup after missing the last four.
"It's not just the losing," Daley said. "I've been dealing with injuries the last two years. It's not ideal but obviously those are opportunities so you gotta run with it now."
In Thusday's practice, Daley was paired with Filip Hronek and was quarterbacking the second power-play unit.
"Trevor has been a real good defenseman in this league, has been a real good piece of the Pittsburgh teams that won the Cups recently," Blashill said. "He's a good skating D-man who can get the puck out of your end and plays with moxie and confidence. I think he's had a tough go the last couple years with injuries. He needs to get back to that highly competitive guy who, like when he first came in here before the injuries, sacrifices everything to win. If he can do that, he can really help our team."