Detroit Red Wings as MCU characters: Simon Edvinsson

The Detroit Red Wings are getting set for regular season action (it’s not far away!), so I figured now is as good of a time as any to carry on with the series of Detroit Red Wings as Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) Characters.

Previously, I have talked about Jonatan Berggren, Lucas Raymond, and Moritz Seider.

It’s a fun way for me to spend time and hope you enjoy it too.

For this entry, I’m taking a look at an up-and-coming, smooth-skating defenseman with possibly the highest potential of any Detroit Red Wings player (either currently in the lineup or prospect pipeline, though Sebastian Cossa and Axel Sandin-Pellikka might have something to say about this idea).

This MCU character also has potential through the roof.

Who might Simon Edvinsson (of the Detroit Red Wings) be if he were a Marvel Cinematic Universe character?

**Spoiler Alert** For anyone who doesn’t like those, spoilers are contained in this post regarding MCU films. 

For this journey, we’re taking a trip through Norse mythology (or a very loose version): Asgard. 

In a lot of ways, Edvinsson reminds me of Thor, the God of Thunder. (Also known as Lord of Thunder or Sparkles by the Grandmaster who is played by Jeff Goldblum in Thor: Ragnarok).

It might be a bit cliche, but hear me out.

Edvinsson: flowing locks. Thor, played by Chris Hemsworth, also has flowing locks in most of the films (until Stan Lee cuts it off in a cameo appearance).

Both individuals seem to carry a lot of weight based on their backgrounds and what their people need from them. 

Thor is expected to be the King of Asgard someday and is held to a high standard. 

There is a certain way that Thor should carry himself, the decisions he should make, and he should have a desire to stay at home to tend to his people.

In reality, Thor faces challenges in fulfilling these roles. He yearns for freedom and independence.

As his mom says in Avengers: Endgame, though:

Everyone fails at who they’re supposed to be. The measure of a person, of a hero…is how well they succeed at being who they are.

While Thor compares himself to unattainable ideals of who or what he should be, he discovers the most success is by being himself—not who everyone thinks or wants him to be.

Edivinsson is in a similar situation.

The Detroit Red Wings coaching and management staff, fans, and teammates all have ideas of who Edvinsson is or should become. 

There are certain rules and guidelines that defensemen, especially, are expected to uphold and follow. These rules are acceptable for most defensemen, but I think if Edvinsson is measured by the same criteria people are going to be disappointed. Most definitely if Edvinsson holds himself to those same guidelines.

Instead of seeing how far he can push the envelope, Edvinsson could settle for his role in the team as a two-way, reliable defenseman. He would make a fine defenseman, just as Thor might make a decent King of Asgard, but nobody will ever see him soar.

It’s important that, like Thor who goes outside of the norms of his society, Edvinsson will need to spread his wings to see how far he can go. 

As Thor says in Thor: Ragnarok:

I make grave mistakes all the time. Everything seems to work out…

Edvinsson will make mistakes. He needs to.

In the long run, everything will work out fine, even if it’s bumpy in the short term.

With the right amount of freedom, Edvinsson can learn to nurture the parts of his game that make him special as he can do things others can’t.

His passing ability is the first thing that comes to mind.

Edvinsson has been known to make a touchdown pass, as I call them demonstrated below (my favorite of those types of clips), where the puck lands perfectly on his teammate’s stick for an easy shot on goal:

In the National Hockey League (NHL), very few players can make exceptional passes that change the game. Usually, it’s the safe outlet pass, and the puck gradually gets up the ice. Edvinsson’s incredible passes would not be necessary all the time, but I want Edvinsson to have confidence in himself to make those passes when he feels confident.

Especially in tight games like the playoffs, having a player on the team who can flip a game on its head (without needing to drop gloves or make hard hits) is hard to find.

In some ways, I liken Edvinsson to an American football quarterback. The game and plays should run through him whenever he's on the ice.

Much like Thor in Avengers: Infinity War,  Edvinsson has the power to stop just about anyone or take over a game (in the context of Edvinsson’s world). Sometimes, though, Edvinsson can go off fighting on side quests instead of focusing on the main task at hand.

After Thor’s grand entrance on the battlefield in Avengers: Infinity War, Thor goes off to find Thanos. Seemingly, Thor did everything but until the last moments of the film. 

Where was Thor? What was he doing? 

Not sure. But, as soon as he finds Thanos, he uses Stormbreaker (his axe that makes a normal person’s body crumble as his mind collapses into madness as he lacks the strength to wield such a weapon, according to Thor), which glides through Thanos’ attacks effortlessly. Stormbreaker lands right in Thanos’ chest.

Only the Scarlet Witch saw as much success against Thanos; the rest could do nothing to stop him at that time.

During a game, sometimes I feel the same way watching Edvinsson play. He’s so good and has all the weapons in his toolkit to defeat any enemy. Yet, sometimes he’s off somewhere doing something else, and it’s probably important to him at that moment, but I can’t quite understand what it is he’s doing. Out to lunch, off-screen, helping his friends somewhere else, any of those things might apply at times to Edvinsson on the ice.

It’s not necessarily bad for Edvinsson’s game, he will learn when and how best to apply himself in various situations (much like Thor who gets a second crack at Thanos and immediately goes for the head instead of the chest, just as Thanos had suggested).

It is an area of Edvinsson’s game that has improved significantly since he joined the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Maybe this part of the game, where he might seem disengaged with the task at hand, lends itself to others not properly assessing Edvinsson as a player.

I feel like Edvinsson is underestimated at times by himself, his fans, and his teammates. In my head, I’m kind of wondering if Seider, who Edvinsson is scheduled to play with tonight, might be kind of like Rocket in the clip below as the two get acquainted with each other.

Rocket, or Rabbit as Thor calls him, doesn’t understand Thor’s capabilities. Thinking Thor’s gone crazy as he wields the ship for momentum to restart Nevedelier (the star that is needed to forge Stormbreaker).

After a spin or two Rocket gets ready to throw the pod he’s piloting (not sure if that’s the correct term for flying a spacecraft) into drive and helps Thor break through the ice. 

In some ways, Rocket (whom I’ve referred to in my Seider portion of this exercise) might be a bit bogged down by his past. Especially when he sees the path in front of him with a frozen landscape that needs to be broken through. In the case of Seider, the frozen landscape is the Detroit Red Wings and the season ahead. Seider is a young lad but has seen a lot and been through a lot. I hope he’s not jaded, but it would be understandable if he is. Edvinsson might be the ticket out of the frozen wasteland to a world of possibilities.

I’m not sure how often Edvinsson and Seider may be paired together, but I reckon it’ll be like the Euro Twins where they’re put together at the most important times of a game, but split up regularly to balance the lineup. It would be kind of funny. 

I had expected us to get a new set of Euro Twins someday. For some reason, I anticipated them being forwards, but I guess not this time around.

There are many more reasons why I feel like Edvinsson and Thor are pretty similar, but I’ll stop here for now.