Good Head Start March 13, 2013 – Grand Rapids, Michigan - Mark Newman, Writer

When Petr Mrazek won his debut in a Red Wings uniform, his Detroit teammates could hardly contain their enthusiasm.

“He's awesome," said forward Cory Emmerton, who was one of five Red Wings to score in the 5-1 road victory over the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 7. "I didn't really know what to expect, but he was great. He had no problem playing the puck. He looked very confident. He made huge stops.”

"Mrazek did a great job in net, very stellar, calm back there,” said defenseman Niklas Kronwall. "He never really panicked whatsoever. I thought he was square to the puck all night, kept control of the rebounds. I thought he looked really good.”

"He played well,” said Red Wings coach Mike Babcock. “He really handles the puck well. That makes it easy for the D. The other thing I liked about him is he didn't generate second chances for them. The puck wasn't coming off him. It was soft; it was under control. Good for the kid. It's not an easy league to play in.”

Mrazek, who was a week away from his 21st birthday, became the youngest goalie to start for the Red Wings since Chris Osgood was 20 years, 10 months, 19 days old when he made his 1993-94 debut.

He is just the third goalie under the age of 21 to play for the Red Wings in the last 30 years and is among the 10 youngest ever to suit up for Detroit. Only Mrazek and Bill Beveridge (1929) won their NHL debuts.

Mrazek, who was perfect in his first Detroit start except for a second-period goal by Alex Pietrangelo, became only the second goalie in history to win his ECHL, AHL and NHL debuts in the same season. He joined Alex Auld, who accomplished the feat in 2001-02.

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Source: Mark Newman, Writer