Detroit — It feels like forward Carter Mazur has been inching closer to a Red Wings’ roster spot for a while now.
Mazur finally was recalled March 6 from Grand Rapids, but his first NHL game lasted only two shifts before suffering an upper-body injury sidelined Mazur for the rest of the season.
It was a brutal way to remember your first NHL game. But Mazur has, unfortunately, become acclimated to the disappointment. Mazur, 23, has had three significant, longer-term injuries in his two pro seasons with the Griffins, possibly in some part due to his slender frame (6-foot, 170 pounds) and abrasive style of play.
“He’s had some tough-luck injuries over the course of his professional life, which has been unfortunate,” said Dan Cleary, the Wings’ assistant director of player development. “But I tell him, ‘I know this sucks, but you got to start over, you got to dig in, got to rehab, and you got to keep going’.
“He was in such a good place last year (and) put in tremendous work.”
Mazur, a Jackson native and the Wings’ 2021 third-round draft pick (70th overall) has continued to put in the work this summer. He’s put on approximately 25 pounds of weight this summer to better handle the bigger, stronger bodies at the pro level.
The plan now is to keep that added mass during the long, difficult regular season and possibly reach the NHL to stay, this time.
“He’s put on good weight to his frame,” Cleary said. “He’s been able to keep it and he’s going to need it. But for him it’s just some bad luck and I’m hoping he can get past that bad luck.
“I believe he will.”
Kris Draper, the Wings’ assistant general manager/director of amateur scouting, singled out Mazur during the Wings’ development camp in July. Draper felt Mazur, and the young player’s development and perseverance, was a good example for the young draftees in that camp.
“All these kids that we talk to, they talk about putting weight on,” Draper said. “But in the end, it’s going to happen over time, and we just have to be patient.
“I’ll give you a perfect example in Carter Mazur. He was at 165 (pounds) when we drafted him and he’s weighing in at almost 195 pounds right now. Twenty-three years old and he’s finally been able to put all that weight on — and he’s putting on the right weight. It’s something that he knows he needed to do.
“With some kids, it (the physical development) takes a little bit longer.”
There is a path for Mazur to make the opening night Wings’ roster, but it likely would mean someone among the projected 12 forwards would be injured. There appears to be an opening for the 13th forward, but it’s extremely doubtful the Wings would keep Mazur to sit and not play at the NHL level when he could gain further experience and confidence in Grand Rapids playing regularly.
Mazur had 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) in 20 games with Grand Rapids last season, after missing the first three months with an upper-body injury.
Red Wings training camp
▶ When: Sept. 18-20 at Traverse City’s Centre Ice Arena, with players, prospects and tryouts divided into three teams that practice and scrimmage daily.
▶ Red and White Game: The camp concludes Sunday, Sept. 21 with the Red and White intra-squad scrimmage at Grand Rapids’ Van Andel Arena at 3 p.m.
▶ Exhibition opener: The Red Wings begin an eight-game exhibition season Sept. 23 at Little Caesars Arena, hosting Chicago.
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