Video by Helene St. James, DFP.
Ask Todd Nelson about Evgeny Svechnikov, and the first words that spring from Nelson are, “my goodness.”
The effervescent and engaging Detroit Red Wings prospect is finishing up his first year of pro hockey, capped by the possibility of a Calder Cup championship. So transformed did Svechnikov look that Nelson, head coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins, had to double-check he had the right player, and now Svechnikov is among the reasons the Griffins start the Calder Cup Final on Friday against the Syracuse Crunch.
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“He’s one of the prospects I’ve had, in all the years I’ve coached in the American Hockey League, that has matured into a player more quickly than other players,” Nelson told the Free Press in an interview earlier this week.