'Going down memory lane, that's something very special'

DETROIT-- Kris Draper and Darren McCarty couldn't believe what they had just heard.

The former Detroit Red Wings forwards were waiting to speak to the media for a special
25th Anniversary Celebration
press conference on Thursday night when their former head coach Scotty Bowman started praising the iconic Grind Line.
"Role players were so important on all of the good teams I had," Bowman said, while sitting alongside former Red Wings forward Igor Larionov ahead of the 25th Anniversary Celebration at Little Caesars Arena. "Our team here had all those Hall of Fame players, but I've always said that Draper, (Joe) Kocur and McCarty meant so much to this team."
After hearing Bowman's compliment, Draper and McCarty's eyes widened. And when Bowman briefly paused his train of thought, Draper comically interjected.
"Sorry," Draper said with a smile. "Can you get back to the Grind Line?"
The question elicited a burst of laughter from the Hall of Fame coach, who quickly responded.
"But you had four guys on the line," the 89-year-old Bowman said. "They had four guys. It wasn't fair."

Exchanges like that, according to Draper, are what make this nostalgic weekend-long celebration so special.
"Just to see all of our teammates and going down memory lane, that's something that's very special to be able to do that for this group," said Draper, who played 17 of his 20 NHL seasons and won four Stanley Cups with Detroit. "Especially, obviously, with the 1997 (championship team) and then going back-to-back."
Draper, who currently serves as the Red Wings' director of amateur scouting, said it's great to reconnect with former teammates, coaches and their families.
"It's an opportunity where we just get to hang out," Draper said. "For me, with the job, it gets pretty busy. There are not too many weekends that I get to hang out at Little Caesars Arena and be part of this."
For McCarty, a four-time Stanley Cup champion who spent all but two of his 15 NHL seasons with Detroit, it's fun to rekindle old friendships.
"For the guys who live here and who are involved with the team, we communicate a lot," McCarty said. "But it's the guys who we don't get to see who we appreciate."

The players who won those back-to-back Stanley Cup championships will always remember the best of times.
"When you celebrate special back-to-back (Stanley Cup) wins with a special team, coach and group of players who are in town - even though I am missing the game Saturday back home - I told the boys in the locker room that I have to go (to Detroit)," said Larionov, who is currently the head coach for the Kontinental Hockey League's Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod. "Play without me the next game. This is nice to see the guys here."
Former Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said the 1997 and 1998 championship teams embraced the work that it took to reach that elite level, which made all the success that much sweeter.
"I think all of those experiences, adversity, the growth of the team and making additions along the way were the reasons why we were able to win the Cup," Holland said on Friday. "And then by the time we won in 1997, we knew what to expect in 1998. It was a real learning process."
Under Holland's leadership, Detroit captured four Presidents' Trophies, 10 Central Division championships, five Eastern Conference titles and finished with at least 100 regular-season points 14 separate times.
Holland, who is currently the president of hockey operations and general manager of the Edmonton Oilers, said he's not surprised to see so many former Red Wings players find success after their professional hockey careers.
"The success that we had as a group and a team allows you to stay in the game," Holland said. "When I was general manager here, I hired Steve Yzerman, Pat Verbeek, Chris Osgood, Kirk Maltby, Kris Draper and Jiri Fischer. We added so much success I felt I couldn't find jobs for everybody, but I wanted to find jobs for a lot of those ex-players because I knew them as people, and I knew their passion."

Nicklas Lidstrom said he taps into his NHL playing experience a lot in his current role as Red Wings vice president of hockey operations.
"We can learn a lot from what we went through as players," said Lidstrom, who spent his entire 20-year Hall of Fame career as a defenseman with Detroit. "Now when you are part of management, you know what it takes to win and what it takes to put a team together."
And while Lidstrom said he's excited to celebrate past accomplishments this weekend, his focus remains on the future.
"I love being part of the team again," Lidstrom said. "I love being part of the organization and trying to help out in any way I can to be successful again."