{"id":2090,"date":"2016-10-04T13:51:10","date_gmt":"2016-10-04T17:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/?p=2090"},"modified":"2016-10-04T13:51:10","modified_gmt":"2016-10-04T17:51:10","slug":"justin-abdelkader-alternate-captain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2016\/10\/04\/justin-abdelkader-alternate-captain\/","title":{"rendered":"Detroit Red Wings Justin Abdelkader Named Alternate Captain"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>With <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/d\/datsypa01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pavel Datsyuk<\/a> leaving for the KHL, one of the alternate captain &#8220;A&#8221; patches opened up for this year&#8217;s Detroit Red Wings. Naturally, Detroit went with one of the four players (<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/e\/ericsjo01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jonathan Ericsson<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/h\/helmda01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Darren Helm<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/milledr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Drew Miller<\/a><\/strong>) remaining on the roster from the 2009-10 season, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/a\/abdelju01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Justin Abdelkader<\/a><\/strong>. He joins\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/k\/kronwni01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Niklas Kronwall<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0as an alternate, and <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/z\/zettehe01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Henrik Zetterberg<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0continues as captain.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Abdelkader named assistant captain for <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/RedWings?src=hash\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#RedWings<\/a>, Blashill announces.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AnsarKhanMLive\/status\/783323387317878784\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 4, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Red Wings Justin Abdelkader Named Alternate Captain<\/h3>\n<p>Known as a homegrown talent from Muskegon, the 29-year old winger is also coming off signing an seven-year, $30 million contract. It is clear that general manager <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/h\/hollake01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ken Holland<\/a><\/strong> wants him around as a model of how to pass along the &#8220;Red Wing way.&#8221; He\u00a0has been taught from a group that is slowly eroding with Zetterberg and Kronwall possibly the next two to go in the coming years. As one of the only physical presences on the team, Holland believes he brings all the intangibles of a leader. Abdelkader often shows the\u00a0ability to throw the body and agitate. Head coach Jeff Blashill also had high praise for him.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cIt was a natural choice for me, it was a natural choice for Ken Holland. From the coaching staff\u2019s perspective, from the management perspective, from the organization\u2019s perspective, it was an easy choice.&#8221;<br \/>\n-Jeff Blashill<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3>A Grinding Style of Game<\/h3>\n<p>Personally, though there is disagreement with the contract that was given to him and other bottom six forwards this off-season, this choice was expected. Holland has long valued veterans and players who have carried term with the team as seen with the amount of time <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/c\/clearda01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dan Cleary<\/a><\/strong> has spent in the organization. He\u00a0is still spending with the franchise in the AHL mentoring the likes of <strong>Tyler Bertuzzi<\/strong>. Going down the list of past acquisitions, one will find <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/a\/alfreda01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Daniel Alfredsson<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/b\/bertuto01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Todd Bertuzzi<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/modanmi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mike Modano<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/z\/zidlima01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marek Zidlicky<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/c\/coleer01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Erik Cole<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0and\u00a0many more who\u00a0came during the twilight of their careers. A younger leadership group in the bottom six seems to be building, alongside a younger core. Forwards <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/g\/glendlu01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luke Glendening<\/a><\/strong> and Helm also received four and five-year deals respectively, in addition to Abdelkader.<\/p>\n<p>Abdelkader is excited for the opportunity, as well as the recognition a letter brings.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cIt\u2019s a huge honor. It\u2019s crazy, kind of, thinking back, talking with Blash this morning; my first few days here in Detroit, and now being here eight years with the organization, getting this honor. It\u2019s a huge honor. I\u2019m really thrilled and excited.\u201d<br \/>\n-Justin Abdelkader<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>He is entering his eighth full season with Detroit. Abdelkader originally\u00a0made\u00a0a splash with two goals in the 2009 <strong>Stanley Cup<\/strong> Final. Abdelkader has grown with the franchise. He&#8217;s grown from bottom six grinder into a power forward who is also able to put up offensive numbers. He scored 23 goals in 2014-15 and 40 points in each of the last two seasons. Abdelkader\u00a0averaged 22 points from &#8217;09-14, not including the lockout-shortened 2013 campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Quotes courtesy of Detroit Free Press<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/471137374\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 73.400673% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/471137374?et=RPczlMc-RVVjVSSP9P3ClQ&amp;viewMoreLink=off&amp;sig=sA59WncIj9ZHhVM52ULlpXP4-uzF7iXrHSlLTpzLzCc=&amp;caption=true\" width=\"594\" height=\"436\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin: 0;\">\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With Pavel Datsyuk leaving for the KHL, one of the alternate captain &#8220;A&#8221; patches opened up for this year&#8217;s Detroit Red Wings. Naturally, Detroit went with one of the four players (Jonathan Ericsson, Darren Helm, Drew Miller) remaining on the roster from the 2009-10 season, Justin Abdelkader. He joins\u00a0Niklas Kronwall\u00a0as an alternate, and Henrik Zetterberg\u00a0continues [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":546,"featured_media":2092,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,34],"tags":[342,95,292,37,343,291,571,38,447],"class_list":["post-2090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-redwings","category-news","tag-darren-helm","tag-detroit-red-wings","tag-henrik-zetterberg","tag-hockey","tag-jeff-blashill","tag-justin-abdelkader","tag-ken-holland","tag-nhl","tag-niklas-kronwall"],"modified_by":"Ben Kerr","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/546"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2090\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}