Outside of Andreas Athanasiou, no player was more overdue for their first goal of the NHL prospect tournament than Evgeny Svechnikov. The 6-foot-2, 199 pound forward has been one of the more noticeable forwards outside of the top line for the Red Wings picking up two assists in the first two games and finally scoring Monday night against the Dallas Stars.

“He’s had chances the whole tournament,” Head Coach Todd Nelson said. “He’s been robbed a few times and missed the net a few time, but the goal he scored tonight was one where he paid the price. He went to the net and battled and got the puck on the end and put it in – It was a great effort.”

With three strong performances from Svechnikov, it is clear that with that package of size and skill also comes a strong level of competitiveness. The tournament has shown some areas he needs to address, but his defensive game hasn’t been as questionable as was reported leading up to the 2015 NHL draft.

“I want to really push myself because that’s how you get better,” Svechnikov said. “You have to push to the limits but playing here has made me notice things I have to improve. Obviously I want to get quicker and physically better so I can compete at the next level.”

The Red Wings will likely send the 18 year-old forward back to Cape Breton of the QMJHL at the conclusion of training camp for another year of development. In his rookie season he picked up 32 goals and 78 points in 55 games while learning the North American game.

“It was a really nice year for first year,” he said. “I have a good team and nice people around me. I liked playing there and the playoffs were an amazing time.”

His strong numbers and seamless transition to North America turned a lot of heads among scouts. The Red Wings were thrilled when Svechnikov fell to them with the 19th overall selection at the June draft.

“I knew it was coming when they went to the stage,” he said. “I thought ‘it’s probably me’ but when [the Wings] called my name, I was still surprised. It’s a great organization and I am so happy to be part of it.”

Like most rookies, the Russian born winger is soaking up the atmosphere and learning from his teammates and coaches this week. He’s also looking forward to participating in his first ever NHL training camp later this week.

“I can’t wait to play with the pros,” he said. “Obviously I want to meet Pavel Datsyuk. I talked to him on the phone but meeting him in person will be huge. I just want to learn…learn…learn from them.”

For now though, Svechnikov is focused on closing out the 2015 NHL prospect tournament and hopefully winning the first ever Matthew Wuest Memorial Cup. He’s been a critical piece of the Red Wings success thus far, providing offensive depth outside of the top line.

“I am very excited because it’s a final and every team wants to be there,” he said. “We are going to try and do our best to win the tournament and the trophy.”