Octopus Thrower
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Detroit Red Wings’ Core players shine bright in Buffalo

By Bob Heyrman

BUFFALO, NY - MARCH 28: Dylan Larkin #71 of the Detroit Red Wings celebrates his second goal of the game against the Buffalo Sabres during an NHL game on March 28, 2019 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. Detroit won 5-4 in overtime. (Photo by Joe Hrycych/NHLI via Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY - MARCH 28: Dylan Larkin #71 of the Detroit Red Wings celebrates his second goal of the game against the Buffalo Sabres during an NHL game on March 28, 2019 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. Detroit won 5-4 in overtime. (Photo by Joe Hrycych/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Hirose goes 5 for 5; no this isn’t a hot hitter for the Detroit Tigers having a day at the plate. It’s not a Pistons guard dropping 5 in a row from beyond the arch. Taro Hirose is blistering hot for the Detroit Red Wings to start his NHL career.

The Detroit Red Wings signed Hirose after his collegiate career ended with the Michigan State Spartans where he was able to edge out Quinn Hughes for Big Ten player of the year. Hirose recorded 15 goals and added 35 assists totaling 50 points. His playmaking abilities have carried over to the NHL level.

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Through his first five games played he’s starting to become unstoppable having recorded a point a game to begin his NHL career all being assists. Sometimes players struggle to make the transition from junior hockey or the minors to the show and the same goes for college yet Hirose is making it look effortless.

I wouldn’t say he’s a “core” player but his strong play and playmaking ability is starting to open eyes, and he’s played his way into the lineup for next season. His emergence along with an established Dylan Larkin, Andreas Athanasiou, and Anthony Mantha bodes well for the future of this franchise. Hirose will seemingly join Tyler Bertuzzi, Filip Zadina, and Michael Rasmussen (if all goes to plan) as top complimentary players. Detroit will also add a top draft choice to this group this summer along with potentially Evgeny Svechnikov and Joe Veleno.

I understand tanking would help the teams’ odds of landing either Hughes or Kakko, but the resilience and will to win knowing they are playing for pride is quite impressive. It goes to show it’s hard to have athletes just go through the motions and hope to lose. Professional athletes are not wired that way.

Potential 30 Goal achievers for the Detroit Red Wings. dark. Next

With Dylan Larkin having scored his 30th goal of the season, Athanasiou sitting at 29, Tyler Bertuzzi two away from 20 and Mantha sitting at 19 things are turning around in Detroit. It confirms the sun is starting to poke its way through the dense clouds, giving the Detroit Red Wings’ fans hope for a bright future.

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