Danny DeKeyser still has to clean out his apartment at Western

Danny DeKeyser made the most of his limited opportunity with the Red Wings in 2013, and the Wings are raving about it. (Erik Roush/MiHockey)

By Stefan Kubus –

DETROIT – It’s not often that you hear of a National Hockey League player planning to spend a portion of his summer at a college apartment.

But before he tackles his off-season training, that’s just what Red Wings’ blue-liner Danny DeKeyser (Clay Township) said he has to head to, with a Western Michigan University apartment in dire need of clearing out.

The 23-year-old and CCHA’s Best Defensive Defenseman the last two seasons has experienced something of a roller coaster ride in his first professional stint. DeKeyser suited up for the last 11 regular season games and the first two games of the Anaheim Western Conference Quarterfinal series, providing a steady presence on the back-end before a thumb injury saw him sidelined for the remainder of Detroit’s hard-fought run.

“Any time you can get experience like this it’s going to help,” DeKeyser said. “It’s going to benefit me for sure, definitely long term… The couple games in the playoffs were some great experience for me, as well. Down the road, I’ll know what to expect; it won’t be a surprise for me.”

While it was undoubtedly a sad end for the Red Wings’ season, DeKeyser’s impending return made it even more frustrating. The former Compuware AAA standout said he would’ve returned to the Red Wings’ lineup had they made the Western Conference Finals, either in Game 3 or 4, most likely.

“It’s a bummer knowing I was that close to making a comeback, but that’s just how it goes sometimes,” DeKeyser said.

Watching the Chicago series, especially Game 7 inside the “Madhouse on Madison,” rather than being out on the ice was the most frustrating part for DeKeyser, as it would be for just about any injured player.

“I was up in the suite there and I don’t think I sat down for more than a few minutes,” DeKeyser said. “I had to stand up, I was pacing back-and-forth up there, especially at the start of overtime and end of the 3rd there… That was a tough game; it was a good series, though.”

Grand Rapids-bound

Red Wings’ head coach Mike Babcock announced that DeKeyser, once his thumb is completely healed, will be joining the Grand Rapids Griffins in the very-near future.

The Griffins, down 2-1 to Oklahoma City (affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers) in the 2013 Calder Cup Playoffs’ Western Conference Finals, are already receiving a huge boost with the return of rookie Joakim Andersson and Gustav Nyquist.

Now, they’ll get an NHL-ready defender who will get his first taste of AHL action, in the conference finals no less.

Summer ahead

But first thing’s first for the former Western Michigan Bronco before jumping head-first into a Griffins’ playoff game or his off-season training regimen.

“My thumb isn’t completely healed yet, so I’ll probably do a little more rehab on it to get some of the muscles and joints going,” DeKeyser said. “I might take a couple days off here and try to get at it as quick as I can because we’re almost into June here already.”

Although he’ll have an apartment to clean out in Kalamazoo, DeKeyser said that’s actually where he would spend a lot of his time in preparing for his first grueling, 82-season grind next season.

“Some guys at Western there, some pro guys like myself go back,” DeKeyser said. “We have a good group that trains there. I’ll also be working with Pete Renzetti, the strength guy here. He’ll be up in Toronto so I might pay a couple visits to him up there.”

And without a doubt, those visits could be crucial in his development, as the big challenge for DeKeyser will be to add more mass to that 6-foot-3, 198-pound frame of his.

“The biggest thing for me is I just need to keep getting stronger,” DeKeyser said. “I’ll be working out, trying to gain as much muscle as I can.”

Quotable

Babcock and the Wings had plenty to say about the play of the rookie defenseman, and what he means for Detroit going forward.

“He’ll get sent to Grand Rapids here right away and he’ll play down there, which is good. We’re excited to have him. We’re looking to upgrade all the time. That’s what we’re going to do this summer as a management team, we’ll look to upgrade. Can we? If we can’t we do it from within. Our upgrades this year were from within. Obviously signing Brunner and DeKeyser were big keys for us. They both became impactful guys for our team.” – Mike Babcock

“Danny DeKeyser’s going to play in this league until he wants to quit. …I was so impressed. Playing and coming into the NHL as a defenseman is not easy and he came in and he played so well, his attitude and his confidence and he’s such a great kid. He really gets it. He’s going to be a great pro, he’s going to be a great Red Wing. His ability to make plays and passes and his skating and his steadiness, he’s only going to get better.” – Dan Cleary

“I thought he did great coming in. Being a college guy, I know it’s hard coming in with the transition from college to the pros, especially the NHL. But he definitely exceeded everyone’s expectations, I think, and came in and was an impact player right away.” – Drew Miller

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