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Preview/Lines #46: What’s Warsofsky Want From Smith? Vanecek Update

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Credit: Dean Tait/Sport Shots

Jake Walman established himself as an everyday NHL player with the Detroit Red Wings.



Walman, 28, wasn’t able to establish himself with the St. Louis Blues, who drafted him in the third round of the 2014 Draft.

It took a Mar. 2022 trade to the Red Wings for his career to take off.

“I’ve always believed that I could be that type of player and kind of grow into that type of player and person, on and off the ice,” Walman said in Detroit today, before the San Jose Sharks take on the Red Wings. “I was given an opportunity in Detroit to play, more so than the year before in St. Louis.”

With the Winged Wheel, Walman started playing about 20 minutes a night and receiving regular power play time.

In particular, Walman thanked ex-teammates David Perron and Moritz Seider for their roles in his development. Detroit signed Walman to a three-year, $10.2 million contract in 2023.

But more than anything, Walman leaned on his roots.

“Goes back to all the adversity early on in the career, just kind of building my way up, and learning to do things the right way. And that’s kind of what I can attest that to,” Walman said. “The people around me the closest, my family and best friends back home know what we’ve gone through. We’re just waiting to put it all together. Given that opportunity, I think that’s the biggest thing.”

So while it didn’t work out in Motown — Jake Walman was traded, along with a 2024 second-round pick, to the San Jose Sharks for future considerations over the summer — he’s full of gratitude for his time there.

San Jose Sharks (13-26-6)

Alexandar Georgiev will start.

Warsofsky says that Alex Wennberg (illness) is in, as is Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

Projected lines:

Graf-Granlund-Zetterlund
Eklund-Celebrini-Toffoli
Kunin-Wennberg-Smith
Goodrow-Sturm-Dellandrea

Walman-Ceci
Liljegren-Ferraro
Vlasic-Rutta

What’s Warsofsky looking for from Will Smith, benched during Saturday’s 3-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild?

“Just trying to find a swagger and simplify his game,” Warsofsky said. “If he’s skating, his legs are into it, I think his skill will come out.”

On Monday, Vitek Vanecek practiced in full gear by himself, not taking any shots.

“The positive is he’s on the ice, I still say he’s a little ways away right now,” Warsofsky said, noting he’d want Vanecek to participate in a few full practices with the team before getting him back into games.

Detroit Red Wings (20-18-4)

Get all your Detroit Red Wings lines and updates at Detroit Hockey Now!

Where To Watch

Puck drop between the San Jose Sharks and Detroit Red Wings is 4 PM PT at Little Caesars Arena. Watch it live on NBC Sports California. Listen to it on the Sharks Audio Network.

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