Before Thursday night’s win over the Islanders, the Detroit Red Wings honored Pavel Datsyuk, their beloved Magic Man, on the occasion of his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Over the weekend, Red Wings 2022 Red Wings fourth-round draft pick Amadeus Lombardi took it upon himself to deliver his own Datsyuk tribute against the Wild.
In Friday night’s game, Lombardi first replicated the stealing and stick-handling that were both staples of Datsytuk’s highlight reel, showing strength and skill to rip the puck off a Wild defenseman’s tape before pulling it through his legs and then covered him from a tight angle to give him the edge.
Later in the evening, Lombardi hesitantly and with his head fake along the wall, let a defender fall off his skates. Not a goal from the maneuver, but it was impossible not to be reminded of Datsyuk’s brutal undressing of Logan Couture in 2013.
Of course, the Datsyuk comparison sets an unreasonable expectation for the 21-year-old Lombardi. As Red Wing fans know better than anyone, there will never be another Datsyuk. However, Lombardi will undoubtedly find his game at the AHL level.
A year ago, in his first full season of professional hockey, Lombardi scored five goals and 21 assists for 26 points in 70 games for Grand Rapids. Through 16 games this season, he has already recorded seven goals (a team high) and five assists for 12 points (good for second on the Griffins). That means roughly a doubling of production, from 0.37 points per game a year ago to 0.75 this season.
Lombardi isn’t ready for an NHL role yet, but his blossoming production is obviously a good sign that his maturation, to borrow a phrase from a certain former Detroit general manager, is progressing nicely.
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