Landon Ferraro made it to Grand Rapids just in time to be in the Griffins team picture Tuesday morning.
Which isn’t all that notable -- except that Ferraro had yet to even practice with the Griffins this season.
The Griffins signed the 18-year-old center to an amateur tryout Tuesday, and he skated in his first practice at Van Andel Arena after the team photo.
“Just in time. I didn’t even have time to play with my laces or anything,” Ferraro said with a smile. “Me and Willie (Coetzee) just got here, threw on whatever we could to make it look like we had all our gear on and jumped out there.”
Coetzee, 19, also skated in his first practice with the Griffins after the parent club Detroit Red Wings reassigned the right wing from the Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League.
The duo was supposed to be at the rink by 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, but due to flight delays Ferraro and Coetzee didn’t land in Grand Rapids until 9:20 a.m. They hustled to the rink, and stayed on the ice and worked for 30 minutes after practice ended.
“It was a little much today,” Ferraro said. “Once I kind of settled in, it was good. I’m happy to be here, with all the better players. Everything is faster, and it’s going to be a fun couple weeks.”
Ferraro and Coetzee have been teammates with Red Deer since 2007.
Coetzee finished tied for 16th in the WHL with 81 points (29 goals, 52 assists) in 72 games. He signed a three-year entry-level contract with Detroit in September after a strong showing at the Red Wings’ prospect tournament and training camp in Traverse City.
The Red Wings selected Ferraro with the 32nd overall pick in the 2009 NHL draft. He suffered a knee injury in the second game of Red Deer’s season, but came back strong in the second half and finished with 46 points (16 goals, 30 assists) in 53 games.
“Personally, it was a bit of a mess for me. I was out for most of the first half of the year, and came back and was still kind of struggling a little bit,” Ferraro said. “I thought I played good through the second half, but for next year I just need to make sure I get my strength back.”
Ferraro, the son of longtime NHL veteran Ray Ferraro, said he doesn’t feel a lot of outside pressure to perform up to high expectations.
Instead, it’s more of an internal drive.
“It’s always been the same for me. I’ve always put pressure on myself, in a good way. I don’t think I overload myself,” he said. “I just want to be as good as I can be and go as far as I can. To be able to do that, you have to put pressure on yourself to get better.”
Ferraro and Coetzee will be available to make their Griffins debuts Wednesday night against Rochester, but there’s a chance neither will see any ice time during the final seven games, Grand Rapids coach Curt Fraser said.
As long as the Griffins continue to play well -- the team has points in nine of its past 10 games (6-1-1-2) -- Fraser will be loathe to tinker with the lineup.
“Both of these guys have real high level skill. Good speed and really good kids,” Fraser said. “They’re here to spend some time with group, learn a few things, learn about the system of play and get in the gym and work hard."