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Former Red Wings Taking Divergent Paths
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- Former Red Wings Taking Divergent Paths
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Last season, for the first time in their lengthy NHL careers, former Detroit Red Wings Troy Stecher and Calle Jarnkrok crossed paths. They both suited up for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
This season, they will be taking divergent paths. Stecher is back with the Maple Leafs for another season. Jarnkrok is back where it all started for him. On Monday, he signed a contract with Brynäs in Sweden's SHL.
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That's the team he was playing for when the Red Wings chose Jarnkrok with the 51st overall selection of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.
"It's something I've been longing for," Jarnkrok, 34, told Swedish website Expressen .
Technically, Jarnkrok never played for the Red Wings. He did spend two seasons with the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins. At one time, he was considered the top prospect in the Detroit system. However, he was dealt to the Nashville Predators at the 2014 NHL trade deadline as part of the package that brought veteran center David Legwand to the Red Wings.
Former Red Wings Defenseman Overcame Odds
Some would argue that even though he played 774 NHL games, Jarnkrok didn't live up to expectations. He was rarely better than a solid bottom-six forward during the majority of his NHL career. He did score at least 15 goals in four seasons, including a career-high 20 goals for the Maple Leafs in 2022-23.
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Stecher, 32, on the other hand, exceeded expectations … and continues to do so. Undrafted, the 5-foot-10, 184-pound rearguard wasn't supposed to size up to NHL standards. A decade later, he's played 624 NHL games.
"I don't think a lot of people ever thought I'd play one," Stecher told the Grand Forks Herald . "Not to pump my own tires, but it's not by luck. I really believe I've earned this opportunity."
Sixty of Stecher's NHL games came with the Red Wings from 2020 to 2022.
"I think the biggest thing to this point in my career is that I've always believed in myself," Stecher said. "It didn't really matter what outside people thought.
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"When you have the belief and you have the work ethic to go along with it, I think you can achieve a lot of special things."
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