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Babcock On Tatar, Who Leads Team With 21 Goals: 'He Can Get A Lot Better'

By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak

CBS DETROIT - Left wing Tomas Tatar, 24, leads the Detroit Red Wings with 21 goals, and head coach Mike Babcock has been impressed.

"What I like about him is his tenacity to get the puck back, his ability to play hard, his ability, he loves to score," Babcock said. "Tats is in a journey, and he's doing a real good job. We'd like him to turn into a top six forward who you can play all night every night against the best people, and if he keeps working and keeps getting better defensively and keeps being committed to taking care of the puck, less stick handling and more shooting, all those things - he's in a journey. He's doing a good job."

At the All-Star Break, Tatar is one of 10 players in the league who have reached the 20-goal mark. Seven of the nine players ahead of Tatar on the list were selected for the All-Star Game. Tatar had scored five goals in a four-game span going into Tuesday's game against the Minnesota Wild.

Listed at less than six feet tall, Tatar does not appear particularly imposing, but the coach pointed to Tatar as an example that stature does not determine how well someone can play.

"He wants the puck," Babcock said. "It's amazing. It's not about how big you are; it's whether you want it or not, whether you compete. He leverages his body real well, spins real well, he's got good tenacity and he's a good player, but ... he's early in his development, and he can get a lot better."

Tatar feels more confident and comfortable in the locker room and on the ice now that he has established himself with the NHL club, but he agrees he can still improve. Watching players like Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg reminds him daily of how far he has to go.

"Those guys, if you look at Pav stick handle or Hank, how strong he is on the puck ..." Tatar said. "I look at those guys with lots of respect and trying to [pick up the game from them] and hopefully one day become as good as they are.

"I feel like just to watch Pav every day is a surprise for you," Tatar added. "Just the stuff that he does, you can learn every day something new."

Last season the Red Wings called on many young players to keep the team's Stanley Cup hopes alive as veterans went down with injuries, and Tatar was one who responded particularly well, recording 39 points - including 19 goals - in 73 games for the Red Wings.

Going into that season, having performed well for the Grand Rapids Griffins for several years, Tatar was anxious to make the jump to the NHL.

"Around that time the Red Wings had a really stacked team, and they had a little problem with the roster and cap around that time, so I understood at the same time, but obviously it was a little frustrating," Tatar said, "but I guess every young guy who's hungry feels that way. He's just waiting for the time he can get the shot and stay here with the big team."

Since Tatar played well last season and has done even better so far this season, he can hardly argue with the team's strategy of giving players more time at the lower level than the players might think they need.

"That's how the Red Wings work; they let their players develop down in Grand Rapids," Tatar said. "It seems it's paying off."

 

 

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