According to Regner, van Pottelberghe thought he was not ready to play in North America. So he chose to continue his development playing with HC Davos next season, where he is not only close to his family members including his girlfriend but also earns more than he would earn in the AHL.
Nevertheless, the 21-year-old netminder, who is a product of EV Zug, also made it very clear that he aims to play in North America and that he wants to be in the mix to eventually become the Red Wings' No. 1 goalie, the same source points out.
In order to receive another opportunity within the Wings' organization, however, van Pottelberghe needs to have an impressive season in Davos, since Detroit has time until mid-June next year to sign him or let him become an unrestricted free agent (UFA).
"I actually went and saw Joren firsthand play in a game live in Switzerland and he played well, but his game from Christmas on wasn't at the same level it was in the fall of 2017. From my standpoint, I met with Joren for a couple of days in Davos and expressed my interest in him and ways we could develop him further from the current ways he's being developed in Davos. In the long term, he's got one year left and hopefully he makes a bold statement with that organization and gets the majority of playing time over the New Jersey prospect, Gilles Senn, and by the spring of 2019, hopefully he puts us in a situation where we're forced to force our hand and sign him," Red Wings' goaltending development coach Brian Mahoney-Wilson is quoted.
Last Update: 27 July 2018, 04:28 PM | rlu
