A few years ago, in his first season of professional hockey in Germany, Moritz Seider said he "was just the seventh defenseman playing some minutes and getting experience." The next year, he starred for the Grand Rapids Griffins in the American Hockey League. The year after that, he was named Defenseman of the Year in the Swedish Hockey League.
And this year, his first in the National Hockey League, Seider has built a convincing case for Rookie of the Year.
"You mature," he said with a shrug of the shoulders Tuesday in Toronto before the Red Wings' penultimate game of the season. "You grow as a person and you put in the time in the summer to get better. It’s still a very long way (to go), but as the season has gone on, I think I’ve progressed and got better. I’m feeling very comfortable."
Seider, 21, has flourished in his first season in Detroit. He's poised to become the first Red Wing to win the Calder Trophy since goalie Roger Crozier in 1965 and the franchise's first defenseman to win it ... ever. Not that he wants to talk about it. Asked what it would mean to take home Rookie of the Year, Seider said, "Nothing, to be honest."
"Right now, for me, it’s more about finishing the season strong. It’s definitely an honor, but I don’t even think about that at all," he said.
Why not?
"Just because it’s a distraction, an unnecessary distraction from your game, and it's not what I need right now," Seider said. "I want to enjoy the moment. I want to come to the rink with a big smile and not thinking about what other people think of you on social media. That’s something I learned pretty early."
Social media, for what it's worth, loves Moritz Seider. So does the hockey world at large. The impossibly smooth 6'5 German has spent the last six months wowing the NHL with his ability to be everywhere, reverse-hitting unsuspecting forwards, staring down superstars like Auston Matthews and Sidney Crosby, scoring clutch overtime goals and basically re-creating a young Nicklas Lidstrom.
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Seider leads all rookies in assists (43) and ice time (23:04/game). Only one rookie in the last 10 years has logged more: Miro Heiskanen (23:07) in 2018-19. With one more point in the Red Wings' season finale Friday against the Devils, Seider will become just the third rookie defensemen to post a 50-point season this century. The others are Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar. He has exceeded even the Red Wings' most optimistic expectations in his first NHL season. As for his own?
"I had expectations of making the team and that was about it," Seider said. "Other than that, I’m just enjoying coming to the rink every day."
His opponents haven't enjoyed playing against him. Seider can make life difficult for even the best players in the league. He said he's grown in this area as the season has progressed, "playing better against the top line" on a nightly basis.
"That is definitely something you always want. Making them uncomfortable gives you a good feeling about your game," Seider said. "Maybe you’re not playing your best offensive game, but at least helping the team stay in the game gives you a good feeling."
But for Seider, there's no feeling better than winning. And that's where he's fallen short in his first season in Detroit, by no fault of his own. The Red Wings are young and improving, aided by fellow Rookie of the Year candidate Lucas Raymond, but they still lag behind the leaders in a crowded Atlantic Division where four teams -- Florida, Toronto, Tampa Bay and Boston -- are entrenched at the top.
"They’re at different stages," Seider said. "You gotta be realistic and honest. We’re far away from that. But we’re adding pieces every single year. I think we took big strides (this season). We were competing for a wild card spot almost half the season and then after the All-Star break we just couldn’t find a way to compete. But I think we surprised a lot of people. First and foremost, I think we can be proud of our season and take a lot of good things. And for sure the organization will make moves and we will get better every single year."
Ultimately, that's why Seider is here. Not to win the Calder Trophy or, one day, to win the Norris -- though both are good bets. He's here to help the Wings win like they used to, when their rock on the blueline was No. 5. Now it's No. 53, who's mildly pleased with his first season in Detroit but far more excited for those to come.
"That’s why you play hockey, right? You want to win a Stanley Cup. It doesn’t matter how your team is looking, you always have to find a way to get points at the end of the night. That’s what we’re looking for in the next couple years. Obviously it’s been frustrating for some of the guys missing the playoffs every single year and us young guys, we don’t even want to get into that situation," Seider said. "So we’re hungry and looking forward to the next years."