Copp Skating On Red Wings Second Line For First Time

There was a moment at Tuesday’s practice that certainly would’ve warmed the hearts of any Detroit Red Wings fans who are fully invested in the YzerPlan.

During the working, for the first time since he signed a contract with the team in the summer, center Andrew Copp was slotting into the middle of what’s projecting to be Detroit’s second forward unit between holdover Jakub Vrana and fellow UFA pickup David Perrron.

To say that Copp, battling his way back to fitness from offseason abdominal surgery, was bubbling with anticipaton of this moment wouldn’t be an understatement.

For Detroit, Andrew Copp checked a lot of boxes. @JohnKeatingBSD spoke with Copp and his former Wolverine teammate, Dylan Larkin, to find out how they're adjusting to the new coaching staff.#LGRW | @ThinkFordFirst pic.twitter.com/4noWDxLrIu

— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) September 29, 2022

“Really excited,” Copp said. “I think Perron’s super smart, always knows where to be and can shoot the puck hard. And then Vrana’s a little bit more of the wild card with speed and the ability to kind of create space at all times.

“Nice to get into a rhythm with some guys you might be playing with. Just get their tendencies and get their chemistry going. I think the line hopefully complements each other really well. I think each brings a little something different to the table. It’ll be really good.”

Red Wings Copp On Target For Oct. 14 Return

When they’ll be together in a game remains a work in progress. Copp won’t be playing Wednesday as the Red Wings are traveling to Washington to be facing the Capitals in preseason action. His target date for a return to game action from his mid-August surgery remains the Oct. 14 NHL regular-season opener against the Montreal Canadiens.

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“Yeah I feel really good,” Copp said. “I feel like we’re definitely on pace for that. We’ll see how the next few days go, if a preseason game is the right thing to do or if it’s wait until then.

“Progressing daily, just kind of seeing how it progresses over the next week.”