Tonight very well could be Fabian Brunnstrom’s last shot to make a name for himself in not just Detroit but the NHL as well. Brunnstrom gets the call to start tonight against Tampa Bay and after alternating between being a healthy scratch and riding the bus to the AHL and back, his future is in his hands.
As Helene St. James reports, Brunnstrom will be on the Wings’ third line with Darren Helm and Dan Cleary but it’s Wings coach Mike Babcock that makes it plain as day that this is his big opportunity to show he can cut it in the big leagues. Babcock says that the opportunity for him is there now and that if he doesn’t seize the day, it might not come around again.
With his career ups and downs in Dallas, Toronto, and now Detroit if Brunnstrom can’t show he’s got the skills tonight it’s tough to imagine he’ll get another chance elsewhere aside from the AHL.
Carpe diem, Fabian.