Mazur Could Be Red Wings October Surprise

There will be plenty of eyes on the future of the Detroit Red Wings during training camp and the NHL preseason.

From Nate Danielson to Marco Kasper to Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, there are a number of first-round draft picks to eyeball and assess their NHL readiness.

However, it could be that the Red Wings prospect who’s the closest to being NHL ready isn’t any of them.

It just might be Carter Mazur.

Certainly, Mazur’s work is leaving an impression on Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman. He’s truly excited about the determination Mazur is displaying to do the things he needs to do in order to get better.

Extended highlights of Carter Mazur's pro debut with the Grand Rapids Griffins #GoGRG #LGRW pic.twitter.com/MVJ4aNt6E7

— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) March 30, 2023

“You’ll see if you get a chance to see Carter in training camp,” Yzerman said. “He’s worked very hard physically getting stronger, and that was really an important thing for him.”

Detroit forward Patrick Kane is another whose head has been turned by Mazur’s performance on the ice.

“I was actually on the same team as Mazur in our little three on three tournament, and he was pretty impressive,” Kane said. “Just the way he shoots the puck in, the way he’s able to get his release off so quickly. I think he surprised some goaltenders with his shot.”

Injury Deprived Mazur Of Rookie Red Wings Camp

Last season, his first full one in the pro ranks, got off to an inauspicious beginning for Mazur. A leg injury right off the bat during the club’s rookie tournament put him on the shelf for quite some time.

“Maze gets hurt right away,” Red Wings player development director Dan Cleary recalled. “He looked good. Disappointing. It took a little while to come back.”

When he did come back, Mazur did so with a vengeance. He’d score 17 goals in 60 regular-season games with the Griffins. During the Calder Cup playoffs, he was good for 3-5-8 totals over nine games.

Carter Mazur CTR ALT DELETE #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/iNaQgl1LLy

— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) December 27, 2021

In the six-foot, 170-pound Mazur, hockey people draw parallels with Boston Bruins star Brad Marchand. Like Marchand, Mazur is an agitating type with a knack for scoring big goals.

“Mazur is a phenomenal player,” said Red Wings defense prospect Shai Buium, who won an NCAA title alongside Mazur at the Univeraty of Denver. “He does everything right.”

Draper Knows Mazur Well

Perhaps no one in the Red Wings organization is as fluent in Mazur’s charge to the top of the hockey world as Kris Draper. Detroit’s assistant GM and director of amateur scouting was Mazur’s youth hockey coach.

“Carter is an incredible kid,” Draper said. “The one thing I knew about Maze was that this kid was always low maintenance. It was just go out and play. You could see at 15, 16 years old he had a good feel for the game. He had the smarts, he had the competitiveness.

“He’s a wiry, strong player. You look at him and everyone says he’s gotta get stronger. But the thing you realize when he goes out and plays the game is No. 1, he has the puck. No. 2, he’s always hard to knock off the puck and that’s something that you don’t teach. It’s just something that’s there.

“He’s got that inner drive. He’s got that competitiveness. Carter was a kid that always wanted to get better. He was always asking the right questions. At practice time, a lot of the little things. The puck protection, the wall play. Understanding PK stick placement.”

That overall package might not get Mazur to the Red Wings out of this camp, but it will get him to the Red Wings. And it will be sooner rather than later.