On June 30th, 2013, an 18-year old Tyler Bertuzzi got a call from the team his uncle Todd was spending the twilight of his career with.
“It hasn’t sunk in fully. It was a dream of mine growing up to be drafted. It’s amazing it became a reality. Now I have to train harder and keep pushing myself to my limits.”
Many pundits were surprised, including the young product of the Guelph Storm, at how high the Detroit Red Wings selected the Sudbury, Ontario native, risking their 2nd round pick (58th overall), on a guy who many believed was just an agitator. 104 OHL games passed him by and the fighting spirit was evident with 185 penalty minutes already under his belt and quite modest offensive totals following: 18 goals, 39 points.
As if the pick did not seem risky enough, the next season was derailed by concussion-like symptoms and injuries to the neck, limiting Bertuzzi to 29 contests. The offensive numbers however before the injury, were very encouraging as he scored ten goals and 35 points, a sign of what the Red Wings saw in his potential. His season was not done, however. Pushing himself as he did to get selected getting back into game shape, all he did was return for the 2014 OHL Playoffs and continued to play some of the best hockey he’s ever displayed on a sheet of ice, netting ten goals and 17 points in 18 games leading the Storm to the OHL Championship, only the second in their history. General Manager Mike Kelly said it best a year before the championship run:
“He has the heart of a lion and is fearless. When the hockey gets tough, he rises to the occasion and plays his best. He makes good decisions, has a good feel for the game and good hands. He’s not one-dimensional.”
Fully healthy and raring to go in what would be his final OHL season, there was no doubt about the Wings’ selection any longer. Bertuzzi, like his uncle did once for the Storm and once in the NHL for the Canucks, scored 40 goals for the first time in his career at any level tallying 43 markers and 98 points while still keeping some of that agitation adding up 91 penalty minutes. He earned OHL Second All-Star Team honors and scored six goals in the playoffs before the Storm were eliminated in nine games.
After the OHL Playoffs, a matured Bertuzzi turned pro at 20 years old and suited up for the Grand Rapids Griffins under head coach Jeff Blashill in what would be his final season behind the Grand Rapids bench. Making a quick impression notching his first AHL point in the two regular season games he played, Bertuzzi again saved his best hockey for the postseason. Seven goals and 12 in 14 playoff games got the Griffins to the Western Conference Final against the Utica Comets. His goal and point total placed him second and third on the team respectively behind Teemu Pulkkinen, who was on another planet then (14 goals in 16 games). Blashill then offered praise for how Bertuzzi could complement skilled players, something he will be doing tonight when he suits up on the top line for Detroit.
“When we lost Mitch Callahan at that point we were worried if we had enough guys who played like him. Tyler happened to be a perfect fit in that he plays very much like Mitch. He does a lot of the same things; he really complements skilled players.”
Last season, Bertuzzi impressively adapted to his first full year of professional hockey, scoring 12 goals and 30 points in the greatest amount of games he ever played in one campaign in his career at 71. His 133 penalty minutes ranked 13th in the league and, while some of those came at untimely and unwise times, it was a sign that even though the goal scoring and point scoring arrived, the willingness to agitate and stand up for teammates did not leave. His flair for getting hot at opportune times came yet again in the 2016 Calder Cup Playoffs, where he scored seven more goals in nine games before the Griffins were eliminated.
Three years later, nephew Tyler will take the next step and make his NHL debut tonight against the Flyers with the Red Wings trying to break two streaks–an overall five-game skid and nearly 20-year skid in Philadelphia. The team was encouraged from his strong camp that included a goal and four points in five preseason games which resulted in him being one of the final cuts. Bertuzzi has taken his traditional approach and has had a solid start to this season scoring two goals and four points in his first nine contests in Grand Rapids. Let’s not forget what he pulled off at the development camp scrimmage:
It’s clear Coach Blashill wants to get another opportune stretch from Bertuzzi as seen in the previous playoff runs and has fueled his confidence putting him in a favorable spot in tonight’s starting lineup:
#RedWings lines at skate:
Bertuzzi-Nielsen-Larkin
Tatar-Zetterberg-Abdelkader
Nyquist-Helm-Athanasiou
Sheahan-Glendening-Ott
Miller (extra)— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) November 8, 2016
Frans Nielsen and Dylan Larkin this season have gotten off to modest starts combining for six goals and 12 points, but the fit seems right having two wingers that have tenacity, skill, and speed complementing a smart and skilled two-way center. Nielsen has covered up some mistakes for Detroit’s young forwards and provides a safety net for the 21-year old making his debut tonight should he run into any trouble. The Red Wings need all the energy and scoring help they can get, as they are down to last in the league in terms of team Corsi-for percentage at 46.21% through this streak scoring ten goals combined in their last six games. The agitation aspect of Bertuzzi should fit in with a team already at six fighting majors for the season (ninth in NHL).
“I just want to bring energy. Play my game, keep doing what I do and just bring energy. Block shots, play good defensively and just take my chances when I get them.”
Bertuzzi will have plenty of opportunity to play his energetic role tonight and agitate against the likes of Radko Gudas and Dale Weise while being cautious defensively of one of the more well-rounded forward groups in the league that includes Jakub Voracek, Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds, and Brayden Schenn, with the former three each placing in the top 20 of NHL scoring early on combining for 15 goals and 39 points.
For the record, Uncle Todd scored in his first NHL game over 21 years ago for the New York Islanders.
Quotes courtesy of Sudbury.com, mLive, and CBS Sports
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