Detroit Red Wings: Andreas Athanasiou finally living up to expectations

It’s taken a while, but the Detroit Red Wings are finally seeing what Andreas Athanasiou is capable of.

The Detroit Red Wings are a rebuilding team. However, they’ve been surprisingly competitive this season. And it’s been for all the right reasons – their young players. Four of their top five leaders in points (as of Nov. 26) are under 30 years old. However, arguably the biggest reason for their improvement has been young forward Andreas Athanasiou.

Athanasiou has always had a ton of potential. But for various reasons, he never lived up to it before this season. Largely because Athanasiou was rarely put in situations to succeed with teammates he could be successful with. This season, however, has been different.

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He’s someone who flourishes on offense. Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill is wise for giving him more offensive zone starts, as his 63.9 percent offensive zone start percentage in the second-highest of his career and his highest in a full season.

Athanasiou has been giving the Red Wings the results they’ve been hoping to see from him. Through 19 games, he already has 15 points, including 10 goals. Athanasiou is on pace to crush his previous career highs in goals (18) and points (33).

What’s encouraging is there’s nothing odd about how he’s doing it. Athanasiou’s 14.9 percent shooting percentage is right in line with his previous shooting percentages. In fact, it’s the second-lowest of his career.

Even more encouraging is Athanasiou’s willingness to take shots. His shots per game average has gone from 2.39 in 2017-18 to an eye-popping 3.53 despite not seeing a huge increase in playing time (15:19 per game to 16:20 per game).

Athanasiou is seeing more power-play time as well. He already has as many power play points (three) as he had all of last season. For the first time in his career, Athanasiou has gained the confidence of his coach. Yes, he probably should have had it all along. But, as they say, results are what coaches care about. And Athanasiou is finally getting the results he warrants for his excellent play.

He’s still a flawed player, as his defense isn’t as good as it should be. Athanasiou also tends to turn the puck over a bit too much, though at least he’s more than making up for those lapses with his play. But he’s proving he’s a darn good flawed player. And potentially a guy the Red Wings can build around.