John Gibson, Carter Bear, Todd McLellan Post Game Comments vs PIT | Sept. 29, 2025

John Gibson, Carter Bear, Todd McLellan Post Game Comments vs PIT | Sept. 29, 2025

get out of preseason games. Um, being on a new team obviously just kind of get the chemistry with the guys. Um, get my timing down and just kind of keep loading up, getting ready for the uh, opener and we got a lot of divisional games to start. So, I think uh, everybody getting prepared to start off on the right foot. How have you felt about your performances so far? Felt pretty good. Uh, tonight was a little tough just scrambling and everything like that, but it’s nice to get out there. obviously just kind of get used to the building and everything like that and just trying to get my reps in and doing everything I can to make sure I’m ready to go for the first game. So, what’s the most important like part of the preseason for you? Just tracking the puck. Uh, I think for me it’s just kind of getting my reads down and just kind of learning uh little things how the guys play like that. Um, but yeah, I think for me just kind of like you said, tracking the puck, getting my reads down, and just kind of seeing the game. I feel like when when I’m on my game, I’m just kind of reading the play and going out there playing. So, just trying to do everything I can to make sure I keep getting better each day. I think you mentioned one of the things you’re looking to get out is just communicating with the defense, getting accustomed to that. Where are you with that as far as uh getting used to your new defense? Yeah, I mean, I think since uh since we got back from Traverse City, kind of had uh one group together, so just kind of getting more reps with the with the guys rather than the split team. So, that definitely helps. And like I said, just kind of getting better each day. I mean, we’re we’re growing each day and putting in the work and making sure we’re ready for the opening week of the season. How how you felt about Sandy Pel’s performance as a defenseman trying to Yeah, tonight was actually my first time really playing with him. Trevor City, I was going against him the whole time and uh you could definitely tell him he’s an offensive defenseman. He’s the rush, shooting the puck. I he looked solid out there tonight. You looked a lot more comfortable out there tonight. Does it take a while to kind of when you come back from an injury like that to get your feet back under you? I don’t really want to take any excuses of it. It’s just, you know, learning my time here, you know, getting comfortable getting getting to know the guys and I think that’s how you build your confidence here. What’s it been like for you this opportunity to be around this guys in the room and just experiences and the practices of that? It’s unbelievable like being a being in a pro environment, you know, these um players you looked up to in your life and you know, I think you try to attract as professional as you can. So, I think it’s just trying to take it all in and, you know, learn from the best from them. What stood out to you the most about, you know, the speed, the timing of of the game here on this side and with these players? I think it’s just getting used to like, you know, playing out there. I think you get used to it pretty quick that speed and obviously it’s a fast pace game. You got to keep your head up and you know be aware of surroundings and all that. Saw you battling with Graves. Are you someone who when when you have a battle or two like that, it kind of helps dial you in. Yeah. It’s just play try and play my game. Don’t care who I’m against. I’m just going to try to play my game against them. Does it get I don’t know if easier is the right word, but as you grow more accustomed to this speed and this pace, does the game kind of slow down in a sense for you? No, it’s you know it’s not never it’s never easy for sure. So, I think like I said, just getting used to the pace, getting, you know, learning learning on my journey here and, you know, taking all in. Todd, what what were your thoughts about tonight’s game? Um, I wasn’t really impressed with our team to be quite honest with you. Um, I thought we looked slow um and sloppy. I don’t know which caused what. So sometimes the legs move you around the rink slow and sometimes the sloppiness cause you to to be disjointed. We were both and uh I thought they look quicker and and a little more determined on pucks and uh yeah at the end of the night we got what we deserved. Uh you know the two-1 loss. There were moments I thought early in the game we were okay. Then we faded end of the second, maybe four or five minutes left, we kind of went after him a little bit and then obviously the the end of the game after we scored, we got excited about playing again, but uh pretty indifferent night for us. Is that disappointing with, you know, maybe a couple jobs still out there available and this late in the preseason, you want to see a little bit more crispness and whatnot? Um I do. Yes. um you know and and if I say is it disappointing because there’s a few extra jobs out there that’s almost um identifying the youth as the problem. That wasn’t the case tonight. They they’re they’re working and sometimes they’re tired. It’s not always going to work. Some of the older players uh have to get their games going quickly. um you know almost a week from today or tomorrow we’re playing against really really good teams and some guys in my opinion after watching them tonight some have only played a couple of games aren’t ready to play yet so it’ll be our job to have a chat with them maybe as early as tomorrow and put them on notice just in both of his games what have you thought of John Gibson’s play um I thought Gibby’s been fine like uh some odd odd plays tonight. You think of the second goal where it’s kind of bouncing around and it ends up in the side of the net. Um, but he’s been pretty solid. He’s been he looks big. He looks confident. Um, you know, he looks excited. Uh, I’m not worried about him one bit. Ethan Bear is already showing that he’s not afraid to mix it up. Is that kind of what you’re looking for from him so far in his relatively short experience? Yeah, I guess it would be how you define mix it up. Like he’s he’s involved in the game consistently night after night. um you know, as as he grows and matures, he’s going to get stronger and stronger, and those battles for him are going to be uh um not that he didn’t win his battles tonight, but they’ll be even more winnable because he’s going to be stronger. Very smart player. Um so, you know what, he’s mother nature’s is going to help him and he’s going to work hard and he’s going to be a heck of a heck of a player. And then John Gibson said that Axel Sanding Pelica is clearly an offensive minded defenseman. Obviously saw time on the power play tonight. Um, how have you felt of his performance on special teams so far? Well, I I thought that Axe overall tonight was certainly one or two on our blue line. Um, as far as tonight’s game went, I thought he played a pretty solid outing. He uh, you know, in our end, he handled the the pressure and made plays. Um, from the red line in, he was dynamic and moved pucks around. Um, you know, so he was a factor. He was not uh uh you know he was he wasn’t somebody that I walked into the coaches room after the game and worried about or talked about other than the positive side. There were some others back there that that need to get better. Mitchell had another kind of pass to find a slot to set up the goal there. What have your kind of overall impressions of his preseason? Well, that’s that’s kind of Mitchie’s game. He plays with a little bit of risk, too, and and um he’s always been that way. He’s um you know, he’s a visionary guy. He’s got a pretty good shot that can read and react. Um, you know, the questions on him O will be, can he defend properly? Can he, uh, you know, can we play even with him when he’s not, uh, producing, um, offensively? Um, but he, you know, he created really nice play on the goal. We played him on the off side to start with a little bit tonight. I think that was awkward and hard for him. Um, certainly more comfortable on his on his own home side, uh, if you will. But um yeah, he’s he he has that vision as well. U earlier in preseason you had Finny on the wing. Tonight you got to look at him at center. Uh just I mean where do you eventually see him? Is it still a work in progress as far as where he’s eventually going to wind up? It’s still a work in progress. I can’t tell you if he’s going to play on our team this year or if he’s going to be in Grand Rapids. I can’t tell you if it’s be center or wing. We have to keep uh experimenting. We wanted to see how he would play in the middle and we had hoped we’d get a real good energy uh game out of those three and um you know it’s getting a little harder, a little heavier. Um they still contributed in in you know positively in in a number of different areas. Um but they are uh they’re pushing. Todd, uh, thinking back, I remember Steve talking about he just wanted to if if he had the opportunity to upgrade his goalending and ultimately you guys just wanted somebody who could stop more pucks, but was there something about Gibson, you know, you had seen him a lot in the West, like intangibles that you’ve sort of wanted to bring in as well as a guy that could just stop the puck? Well, for the, you know, for the amount of years that, uh, teams that I’ve been on have competed against him, that’s exactly what he is as a competitor. There’s a fiery nature to him as well. Um it it may not always be pretty, but you know, like one of the saves he made here tonight, just getting across and competing. Um you know, so that fiery nature is something that we’ve seen in the past and it can rub off on on teammates as well. Keep in mind, Trent Yanni’s coached him for I coached him in the Miners and then had him in Anaheim for three or four years. So, he knows his personality well and uh you know, every time you talk to him, like some guys will overanalyze his technique and stuff and that the word that comes out of his mouth, he’s going to compete. He’s going to give you everything he has every night. And um you know, I I like that. I like that because it starts in the net and moves out. So, all good. to name.

John Gibson, Carter Bear, and Todd McLellan speak with the media following the Red Wings preseason game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Little Caesars Arena.