Detroit City Wire

DETROIT -- Todd McLellan, recently appointed as the head coach of the Detroit Red Wings, expressed his high regard for defenseman Moritz Seider. The 23-year-old player gained attention during the 2021-22 NHL season by winning the Calder Memorial Trophy. Despite only having observed Seider from a distance before joining the team, McLellan is well aware of his capabilities.

“He’s a horse,” McLellan commented on December 29 regarding Seider's performance. “He can handle those minutes. He can block shots, he recovers well, and all those things are great, but there’s a lot more there. There’s a lot more learning to do. We’ll keep working with him. He seems to be a sponge. He wants to absorb stuff and try it, so I wouldn’t put any type of ceiling on him yet. There’s a lot left in him, and we’re going to push him for it.”

Seider has shown continuous growth as one of the top young defensemen in the NHL since signing a seven-year contract extension with Detroit in September.

“I think there’s been a lot of positives, but also a bunch of negatives,” Seider said about this season, marking his fourth year in the NHL. “Obviously, you want to do a better job on the [penalty] kill and you can score more goals on the power play. But overall, I think I’m in a good spot.”

Seider leads all Red Wings defensemen in several categories: assists (16), points (20), power-play points (six), shots (69), hits (92), blocks (85), and average time on ice (24:58) over 37 games this season.

“I just try to go out there, read the game pretty well and make my decisions based on what’s in front of me,” Seider stated about his approach to playing. “More or less, I think I’m doing a pretty good job with that.”

Seider emphasizes leadership by example while maintaining camaraderie with teammates.

“It’s not fun, obviously, going out there after a hard game or whatever then you have to practice,” Seider mentioned regarding team dynamics and training intensity. “But those are kind of important things I think everybody should take seriously."

An essential lesson learned from veteran players involves managing oneself throughout an extensive season schedule.

“They know how to treat their body with an 82-game season,” noted Seider who has played 283 consecutive games since his debut on October 14th back in 2021 – making it into franchise history for ironman streaks at third place within such category among Detroit's ranks thus far.