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Grand Rapids' Luke Glendening, left, battles Syracuse's Ondrej Palat in Game 3 of the Calder Cup Finals at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids Wednesday.

(Cory Morse | Mlive.com)

GRAND RAPIDS – Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock was watching closely when Luke Glendening blasted home a second-period goal for the Grand Rapids Griffins during Wednesday night’s Calder Cup Finals at Van Andel Arena.

Babcock later had high praise, as well as a prediction for the East Grand Rapids native and former University of Michigan captain, who joined the Griffins back on Dec. 17.

“Oh, he will play at the next level, for sure,” Babcock said. “He just knows how to play. He does things right, and he is an everydayer. When you are a coach in the NHL, that is what you are looking for.

“Glendening jumps right at me for sure. He does everything right, he competes real hard and he will challenge for a job in the National Hockey League in not too long.”

Babcock, along with Red Wings general manager Ken Holland, made the trip to Grand Rapids for Game 3 and saw the Griffins defeat the Syracuse Crunch 4-2 before 10,102 fans. Grand Rapids, which is up 3-0 in the series, can lock up its first American Hockey League championship with a victory in Game 4 Friday at 7 p.m.

Glendening wasn’t the only Grand Rapids player who impressed Babcock, either.

“Obviously, (Gustav) Nyquist and (Tomas) Tatar are NHL ready,” Babcock said. “Riley Sheahan is impressive. (Tomas) Jurco may be the most improved player on the team. (Danny) DeKeyser is playing in this game, and he isn’t like he was before he was injured with a broken thumb, but he is skating better tonight.”

Babcock also attended the Griffins’ first two games in Syracuse, and he watched them play in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals against Oklahoma City in Grand Rapids. Babock attended a number of Griffins games during the season’s early weeks when the NHL was in the midst of 119 day lockout, too.

“I saw them play nine games at the start of the year, and they got off to a tough start,” Babcock said. “But they have really impressive veterans, and not just as players, but as people. The veteran leadership down here has been fantastic.

“I look at (Jeff) Hoggan and (Brennan) Evans and (Nathan) Paetsch, and they have been great. That great leadership has allowed our young guys to settle in because of the great support around them. We have some prospects for the future, which is absolutely critical in today’s NHL.”

Babock guided the Red Wings to the Western Conference Finals this spring, where Detroit lost to Chicago 4 games to 3. He said he will not be back for Friday’s game.

“I’m going home,” Babcock said. “But we do have a large group that will be following them the rest of the way.”