VANCOUVER, Canada — Carter Mazur has been waiting for this opportunity his whole life, and now he's in it.
Mazur, 24, made the Red Wings' roster out of training camp, and he's getting into the lineup. Not consistently, as he's played four of the first nine games, but he's playing, contributing, and getting used to the NHL game.
Now, it's just a matter of making the most of the opportunities and staying in the lineup.
"I'm feeling pretty good," Mazur said of how he's adapting to the NHL. "Again, it's a hard league to play in."
Mazur was a 2021 third-round draft pick of the Wings, who appeared on the cusp of making the NHL full-time several times but was always held back by a series of unfortunate injuries. Mazur always has been a high-energy, pesky winger who could play a physical, hard game but also had a good scoring touch in college and minor league hockey.
But, oh, those injuries.
In his NHL debut, in March 2025, Mazur suffered and elbow injury on his second shift of the game. He was unable to play the rest of the season with the Wings, or minor-league affiliate Grand Rapids.
Injuries marred Mazur's last season, also, but when he got healthy in Grand Rapids, Mazur (Jackson/Jackson Lumen Christi) was recalled by the Wings and played in eight games in the schedule's late portion.
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Mazur finally got his first NHL point this season, an assist, and is getting ice time in a bottom-six forward, checking role the Wings' envisioned him being in.
"It's a lot of getting used to things," Mazur said of being in the NHL. "Getting used to the travel, a lot of things. But I'm feeling pretty comfortable out there. It's just a matter of keep doing what I can to help the team win games and get points (for the standings)."
Like so many young players entering any professional sports league, being in and out the lineup and playing more of a non-offensive role is different for Mazur, who scored a high of 22 goals collegiately at Denver and topped out at 17 in a season in Grand Rapids.
But Mazur is adapting to the newer responsibilities
"It's a different thing but, again, you have to learn from it and grow from it," Mazur said. "It's a different league, a different beast for sure here. I've played in four games this season and I'm getting comfortable with every game. The more I play and the more I'm going out there, I'm feeling better."
Young players moving up to the NHL consistently talk about the need to make quicker decisions, as opponents are on you much quicker than in the AHL. Mazur agrees that making decisions with the puck faster is important.
"Time and space," Mazur said of what the biggest difference he's seen from the minor leagues. "There's not much time here. When you get the puck, you have to make a decision a whole lot faster."
Mazur played a season-high 13 minutes, 7 seconds on 20 shifts Tuesday, Oct. 20, against Seattle, in some ways, his best overall game thus far in the NHL.
"I'm seeing a little more out of him," said coach Todd McLellan, who singled out several younger players earlier in the season to make more of an impact. "He's more involved in the game, now. There's a little more physicality. He's actually getting some scoring chances now. He had a real good off the faceoff, (Andrew) Copp fed him net front, which is a sign of him finding his game at this level.
"The confidence is going up a little bit more."
Ice chips
The Wings were expected to recall goaltender Michal Postava from Grand Rapids, as one of their NHL goaltenders was dealing with an injury and illness. Daniil Tarasov looked uncomfortable in Tuesday's shootout, after overtime, doing more stretching and bending after extending with his lower-body to make a save.
...J.T. Compher (undisclosed injury) was expected to return Thursday, Oct. 22, in Vancouver. Compher has practiced fully the last several days and McClellan was optimistic Compher would be ready to rejoin the lineup. Compher has only played the first two games of the season.
...If Compher were to play, McLellan said the Wings would return to a 12-forward/six-defensemen lineup. The Wings have gone with 11/7 the last several games, with the abundance of defensemen and limited forwards currently available. Forwards Marco Kasper and Mason Appleton are both out with injuries.
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Carter Mazur's role grows as he adjusts to NHL life with Red Wings