Prospect Watch; Brian Lashoff

So the Wings' prospects lost another game to the New York Rangers...so what? Here's something from the Traverse City Record-Eagle you can take away from that game:

Lashoff stopped a shot on the team's empty net, skated down to the other end, got the puck back from his teammates and buried it in the back of the Rangers net.

Maybe it was in a losing effort, but that's still pretty damn impressive.

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"I think that's something I try to bring to the game. I try to contribute on both ends of the ice. I think I've come a long way and developed a lot over the last year. Coming in as an undrafted free agent last year, I used the draft as motivation. That's helped me out."--Brian Lashoff

That draft he's talking about is last year, when everybody in the league passed on taking him. He earned an invite to Detroit's camp, signed a contract, played most of his time split between Barrie and Kingston of the OHL, before being called up to the Grand Rapids Griffins to play in the final six games of the season and the entire play-off run where he had 1 goal and 4 assists.

Jim Nill had this to offer in regards to Lashoff:

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"He's taken major steps. He's bigger and stronger and he's kind of got a presence on the ice. We think he's a big prospect for us. He takes charge on the ice and we're fortunate to have him signed."

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Lashoff expects to be playing in Juniors again this season, but is going to take advantage of being able to participate in the Wings' training camp once again:

"It's a learning experience, but at the same time I want to show that I can play, and that I can play with the big boys. You're out there with guys like (Nicklas) Lidstrom, (Brian) Rafalski. It will be fun, but at the same time I've got to work hard."

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Another young and promising defensemen to be produced by the big red machine...I'll try and keep an eye on him this season.