Training camp notebook: Why Lucas Raymond has a chance to make Red Wings

Lucas Raymond is coming into this with a chance.
To be clear, it is just that - a chance - and it may be weighted against him because Raymond doesn't just need to prove he belongs, he needs to definitively be one of the better players during the Detroit Red Wings' preseason. But a chance, well, that's not nothing. And Raymond might just be the kind of player who can run with a chance.

"He makes some really good plays," Pius Suter said. "Finds a spot to pass. Good body, can shoot the puck."
"I thought he's looked great," Sam Gagner said. "He's got a lot of pop in his skating, he shoots the puck really well."
As the Red Wings get set to play their first preseason game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night, it doesn't seem that there are many questions about who will play together, or on what pairing on defense. As for the forwards, though? That could go any number of ways, depending on who looks good, alongside who, at what position, and who's healthy in time for the Oct. 14 opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
It's the sort of situation in which Raymond, the fourth overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, could find himself vaulting up the depth chart. Not that it will be easy for him to do so. The default is still starting the season in Grand Rapids.
"I think you can try to search, 'Ooh, that was a - he did a pretty nice thing there,' " Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "You should walk out of the game and feel like he's one of the better players on the ice. It should be clear to my wife that he should be on the hockey team.
"And it's just the reality of it. It shouldn't be a hard decision (if he makes the team). Here's the thing, if guys are equal, then you keep your depth by starting a guy like Lucas Raymond in the minors and letting him earn his way back on the team."

Whether it be two weeks from now or further down the line, Raymond's potential is enticing. Blashill thinks Raymond can be "elite" on the power play, which would be a welcome addition for a unit that converted just 11.41 percent of its chances on the man advantage last year.
"He's not a one-man show, but he can help with that," Blashill said. "Have the puck on his stick a good amount. If he never has the puck on his stick, it's hard to make a whole bunch of offensive plays. ... Find a way to have the puck more either by going to get it yourself or making sure you're facilitating, getting yourself open."
A few years ago, Dylan Larkin came into training camp in a similar situation. He did enough to make the team in the preseason and ended up playing 80 games, scoring 45 points and establishing himself as a central part of the Red Wings' future.
Blashill brought up that comparison on Tuesday.
"Dylan's different because he's a little flashier because of how well he skates," Blashill said. "Lucas won't be quite as flashy but I think everybody sitting in the stands, to be able to walk out, see he's one of the top couple forwards, then you're making a case to make the team."

DeKeyser, fully healthy, earns "human eraser" label

There was a point last season where Danny DeKeyser didn't know if he'd get better.
After undergoing major back surgery, DeKeyser struggled upon his return. He didn't feel 100 percent, having lost strength in his left leg due to nerve damage that made it hard for the leg to fire properly.
"There was days where my hamstring would fire and my calf wouldn't fire or vice versa," DeKeyser said. "Kinda had to work to get everything working consistently together, so that whole chain produces a lot more strength."

Late in the year, though, something clicked. He began to feel close to 100 percent, started playing better and looking like himself. Now, during training camp, Blashill has been talking of him as a "human eraser."
"We give up a 2 on 1, a guy tries to go to the backdoor, he knocks it out of the air, or he gets stick on puck" Blashill said Saturday. "Or there's breakdown in front of net and he's able to get stick on puck. These are all kinds of things where people have made mistakes and you need a defensive play."
"... He makes a lot of big-time defensive plays that becomes a human eraser for other people's mistakes."

A few roster notes headed into preseason

In that context, it's worth noting that Blashill, in an answer to a different question, said that he expects Danny DeKeyser to play a "major leadership role."
"Danny's been around a long time in this organization," Blashill said. "He's earned the right to be a leader in this room, so we'll look for him for some of that as well."
"At the forward position, I thought about going to more of a Detroit team and a Grand Rapids team over the last two days, but I don't know who's on that Detroit team yet," Blashill said. "So I stayed with two split groups and we kept going. We'll use the exhibition season to determine who's on the team."