Detroit Red Wings on coach’s criticism: ‘We’re focused on room’
Detroit Red Wings Patrick Kane, Andrew Copp, Carter Mazur & Todd McLellan, March 30, 2026 in Detroit.
That was 10 minutes of exhileration and relief for Carter Mazur.
The Detroit Red Wings draftee is slated to appear in his second straight NHL game when the Wings play at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, March 31 (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit), the start of a three-game trip and the first of nine games left on the schedule. Goaltender John Gibson is slated to make his 12th consecutive start.
Mazur made his 2025-26 debut Saturday, a little more than a year after his NHL debut lasted just 1:10 minutes, ending during his second shift when he suffered an elbow injury.
“The first period I was a little bit timid for sure, especially with how last time went,” Mazur said after Monday’s practice. “That’s kind of in the back of my mind. But now that I got the first one out of the way, I’m feeling really confident in my game.”
It’s a heady time to be joining the Wings (39-26-8, two points out of playoff cutoff) as they try to climb the standings, but Mazur fit the bill when the coaching staff was looking for someone in the minors to aid in the effort.
Mazur has 11 goals among 15 points in 14 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins this season.
“I didn’t know a lot about Carter,” coach Todd McLellan said. “Even through training camp, there’s so many players this year. We were together for six, seven days, and then an exhibition season, and there’s so many to manage that it’s hard to really get to know an individual, so you rely a lot on individuals in the organization. Anything that we saw this year, he really wasn’t involved in because of another injury, which has been unfortunate to him.
“Since he’s been back, though, he’s been quite an effective player down there, and we’ve always tried to tap into those players that are playing well and maybe productive there and bring them up and see if they can give us a spark. I think he provided that, but it wasn’t an easy game to come and play when the rest of the group was pretty flat.”
Mazur practiced on a line with J.T. Compher and David Perron in Monday’s practice, after playing with Marco Kasper and Emmitt Finnie for around 10 minutes Saturday. Mazur, who turned 24 on Saturday (the day he was called up) – missed most of this season dealing with the latest in a slew of injuries that has waylaid his progress since the Wings selected him in the third round (No. 70 overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft out of Denver University. In 2024-25, he was limited to 20 games.
“I’m just happy to be back here and get back to my game,” Mazur said. “It’s a really good feeling. Again, I’m here for a reason. I want to bring energy and spark to this team, and I feel like I can do that. And then I just look forward to showing what I can really do. I’ve only played 14 games this year, so to get back in this and just ramp up my intensity is really all I need to do.
“”It’s been a tough road, but I feel like I got better from it.”
Contact Helene St. James at [email protected].
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