The club Lucas Raymond grew up playing for was a lot like the one he grew up watching: Frolunda always made the playoffs in Sweden. In Detroit, so did Nicklas Lidstrom, Henrik Zetterberg and the Red Wings. But as one machine kept purring, the other broke down. Raymond joined the Wings this season as they missed the playoffs for the sixth year in a row.
Which was an altogether new feeling for a rookie who turned 20 in March. Asked if he can even remember the last time he was on a team that missed the playoffs -- the horror! -- Raymond thought for a moment and had to laugh at his own answer: "No." But this is no laughing matter, for a proud player and a fabled franchise.
"The last part (of the season) when we were out of playoff contention, it was tough to (go through) that," Raymond said Wednesday. "I felt like we were in a great spot at the beginning of the season and then lost it in the second half, which was tough. We have such a competitive group and everyone wants to be there. I would've loved to be in the playoffs right now, but the mindset is to regroup, have a really good summer and then go at it next year determined to make the playoffs."
This resolve is why Raymond resolved to sit out the World Championships for Team Sweden later this month. It would have been an honor to represent his country on a stage of such magnitude. It also would have compromised his offseason training program. Raymond was drained after playing all 82 games in his first NHL season. He wants -- needs -- a couple weeks to recuperate before he attacks this summer, with an eye on next season. So when his country came calling ...
"It was a very tough decision," Raymond said. "You always want to play for your national team, especially in a tournament that big. But the decision came down to, I didn't have much left in the tank and had to think about having a good summer here. I want to have a really good summer to be prepared for next year, and now I get more time and can prepare the way I want to."
Specifically, the 5'11, 180-pound forward said he wants to get "bigger and stronger." That shouldn't be a problem: "I think that comes pretty naturally since I'm still very young and still developing physically," he said. And on the ice, Raymond wants to work on his skating.
"That's probably my main focus," he said, "to be able to come out of tight corners with speed, to be able to handle that and stay strong."
Raymond stayed pretty darn strong through his first NHL season, one of only three rookies in the league to play the full slate of games. (Moritz Seider was one of the two others.) He finished with as many goals (23) as any Red Wings rookie since Sergei Fedorov and more points (57) than any Red Wings rookie since Lidstrom. Those two arrived at the start of a legendary playoff streak. Raymond arrived in its wake.
He'd like to start a new one next season, so he can forget the feeling of falling short.
