Andersson looks forward to better season; HockeyFest comes to The Joe Sunday
DETROIT -- Red Wings forward Joakim Andersson crossed an item off his bucket list this past summer.
"(I) Went to London to see a soccer game, Arsenal's first game," Andersson said after the Wings' informal skate Thursday. "They played Crystal Palace. It's a fun experience and Crystal Palace is also from London so a little bit of a rivalry there so they came with a number of fans so it was fun."
Andersson, 25, played soccer through age 15 and said he picked Arsenal as his favorite team when he was young.
He wore his Arsenal shirt and sat above the Crystal Palace fans.
"They were pretty intense, I would say," Andersson said. "Nothing bad happened. It was fun."
Last season was anything but fun for Andersson, who dealt with a couple of injuries, including a broken foot.
"I think I was all right the first half of the season, played with energy and helped the team in different ways," Andersson said. "The second half was not very good. I know that, the coaches know that. All I can do is forget about the second half. That's something you have to do when you're not happy about it. I'm sure I've learned enough. I've forgotten about that now."
The first three months of the season Andersson played in 41 games and had six goals and six assists.
The last four months Andersson played in just 24 games and had two goals and three assists.
"I wasn't a good player," Andersson said. "Everyone has their ups and downs, but that was real low for me. I don't remember playing that bad ever in my career."
Determined to put last season behind him, Andersson worked diligently in the offseason as he knows there will be a lot of competition among the forwards.
"We have a lot of good players on the team. I know that," Andersson said. "I think I just have to get my confidence back and play with the energy that I usually do. I worked on some stuff in the summer and I feel like I'm better than before."
Andersson said he always focuses on skating in the summer.
"Everyone has been telling that since I was 10 that I need to work on my skating in the summers and during the season," Andersson said. "I know I'm not a pretty skater, or anything like that. If I get keep getting better and better at it I'll take another step."
Andersson knows that even if Darren Helm plays on Pavel Datsyuk's wing, there are plenty of centers that will be in camp.
"I played a couple games at wing last year," Andersson said. "I know I can do that if they want to try that. I prefer center, but if they want to try me on the wing, I can do that."
Playing center is a little different than playing on the wing.
"You're more on the walls when you're breaking out," Andersson said. "Forecheck, I don't mind that. There are a few other things you have to adjust to, it depends who you're playing with. If you see (Henrik) Zetterberg or Datsyuk, you don't know who's playing center because they both can play down low."
No matter which position he plays, Andersson is looking forward to the new season.
"I'm excited to be here and play hockey again," Andersson said. "It's going to be fun. I think we're going to have a good team. A lot of young guys are going to take another step and it looks like we're healthy again."
RETURN OF HOCKEYFEST
Wings fans will get a chance to welcome back the team before they head off to training camp in Traverse City next week.
On Sunday, fans can attend HockeyFest from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Joe Louis Arena.
There will be autograph sessions, interactive games, tours of the Wings' locker room, question and answer sessions with players, staff and alumni, contests and prizes.
Current players expected to attend are Datsyuk, Tomas Tatar, Johan Franzen, Niklas Kronwall, Riley Sheahan, Gustav Nyquist, Helm, Andersson, Jonas Gustavsson, Jimmy Howard, Drew Miller, Kyle Quincey, Brendan Smith, Stephen Weiss, Luke Glendening, Jakub Kindl and Brian Lashoff.
The alumni expected to attend are Alex Delvecchio, Ted Lindsay, Darren McCarty, Larry Murphy and Jason Woolley.
General admission adult tickets are $20 and kids tickets are $10.
