Detroit Red Wings call up defenseman Simon Edvinsson for second stint of season
Simon Edvinsson is back for his second stint of the season with the Detroit Red Wings.
The Wings have lost seven of their last eight games going into Tuesday's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Edvinsson, 21, is a rangy defender who likes to make plays with the puck and appeared in two games back in December, recording one assist.
Last season he appeared in nine games, producing two assists, and a minus-7 rating. He was sent to the Grand Rapids Griffins out of training camp this fall with the mission of working on the defensive side of his game.
He has 29 points and a plus-5 rating in 52 games with the Griffins.
General manager Steve Yzerman spoke on the progress made both by Edvinsson (No. 6, 2021) and forward Jonatan Berggren (No. 33, 2018) on March 8, describing them as two of the reasons Yzerman did not make any additions at the trade deadline, which had just passed.
"Edvinsson's season has gone very well," Yzerman said. "At the beginning of the year we decided both with Jonatan and with Simon that, and we discussed it with them, things we wanted them to improve upon and get more ice time down there to improve in those areas. Both of them have been excellent. Their attitude, their work ethic and their performance on their ice, they have continued to get better and better. Part of that is, their willingness and desire to improve and their willingness to buy in for what we are trying to do and the reasons we have them in the AHL as opposed to being in the NHL.
"Both of them are key players, playing big minutes and an important role. It is only a matter of time before they are in the NHL and playing regularly."
Contact Helene St. James athstjames@freepress.com. Follow her@helenestjames.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings call up Simon Edvinsson for second time this season
