Mitch-Callahan.JPG

Mitch Callahan's 26 goals last season ranked second among the Grand Rapids Griffins.

(Andrew Kuhn | MLive.com)

DETROIT – Mitch Callahan's stock rose last season when he started scrapping less and scoring more.

But the abrasive forward still is fighting an uphill battle to earn a roster spot with the Detroit Red Wings.

Callahan is coming off his best season with the Grand Rapids Griffins. His production spiked (26 goals, 44 points) and his penalty minutes declined (51, down from 103 and 93 in his first two AHL seasons).

But if the club's sixth-round pick in 2009 (180th overall) has a future in the NHL it won't be as a top-six forward. Callahan (6-0, 195) needs to be a physical, agitating, high-energy fourth-line player who's hard to play against and responsible defensively.

Those are the qualities he'll try to show at training camp and in the preseason.

"I'm kind of known to be an agitating, physical player," Callahan, 23, said. "It's kind of hard to do (that) in camp. I don't want to be hitting the superstars or hurting anybody in camp. Hopefully I can get some preseason games and show that side, just show that I worked on my skill-set all summer and I'm reliable in the defensive end."

He doesn't believe his willingness to fight gives him an edge, however, on a team that consistently ranks at or near the bottom of the NHL in fighting majors.

"I don't think I'm a full fighter anymore," Callahan said. "I fought quite a bit my first year pro but what (Griffins coach) Jeff Blashill told me is you're either going to be a fighter or a player that's not afraid. So hopefully I can be a player who can still play hockey, and if I need to stick up for somebody or set the tone then I'm willing to do it."

Callahan appeared in one game for the Red Wings last season.

The Red Wings have 14 NHL forwards and might re-sign Daniel Alfredsson.

Callahan will be competing for a job with the likes of experienced fourth-line forwards Joakim Andersson and Luke Glendening and prospect Landon Ferraro.

Callahan and Ferraro are out of options, needing to clear waivers to be assigned to Grand Rapids.

Wherever he winds up, Callahan will be much more confident in his abilities after making a big leap in consistency.

"I think Coach Blashill rewarded me because of that (consistency) and I had the opportunity to play some bigger roles and got a chance to play on the power play," Callahan said. "But coming into camp this year I can't be counted on for what I did last year. I have to compete for a spot."

Callahan said Blashill rewards hard work.

"It doesn't matter what your name is or who you are, if you're not working hard and not getting the job done, he's not afraid to play the player that is," Callahan said. "He rewards hard work and just doing the little things. I like to call him a perfectionist. Attention to detail is a huge thing for him."

Callahan said he needs more surgery on his mouth after suffering a broken jaw and losing 10 teeth when hit by a slap shot from teammate Ryan Sproul on April 2. He was hoping to have it done this week and said it won't cause him to miss any time.

He tweeted a selfie of his disfigured face that night which went viral. He estimated it got 7,600 retweets.

"I had no idea it was going to explode that much," Callahan said. "I tweeted the picture to let all my family and friends know I was OK because I was getting texts like crazy after the game. If I were to do it again, I would have kept it more private just because of the way it blew up."

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