DETROIT — With Andrew Copp sidelined for the remainder of the 2024-25 season after undergoing pectoral surgery and Michael Rasmussen (undisclosed) day-to-day, the Detroit Red Wings supplemented their forward depth by recalling Sheldon Dries from the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins on Monday morning.
It wasn’t the first time Dries, who has appeared in 122 career NHL games with the Colorado Avalanche and Vancouver Canucks since 2018-19, received that type of call. So now, for the latest addition to the Red Wings’ dressing room, it’s all about continuing to work hard and being as prepared as possible.
“This is a huge opportunity,” Dries said at Xcel Energy Center on Tuesday morning. “You want to take it day-by-day, don’t get ahead of yourself too much, enjoy the moment and the small things. And when your name is called, be ready.”
Dries, a native of Macomb, Mich., played four seasons (2013-17) at Western Michigan University, even serving as the Broncos’ captain during his sophomore, junior and senior campaigns. Originally signed by the AHL’s Texas Stars as a free agent in 2017, Dries, in addition to his NHL experience, has compiled 231 points in 322 AHL games with the Stars, Colorado Eagles, Abbotsford Canucks and Griffins.
“He knows what to feel and expect when he goes into a lineup and into arenas,” Detroit head coach Todd McLellan said about Dries. “We’re not flying his parents in for the first game and all that type of stuff that goes on. He’s well-established. We have a good idea what he’s been doing in in Grand Rapids and now, it’s a matter of how we want our lineup to look on any given night. [Rasmussen] could be back quickly. So, it is a full-time or a part-time thing for him? I don’t know, but we’ve called up guys before and they’ve taken advantage of somebody else’s misfortune, and they’re still here.”
