Brendan Smith Wears the Winged Wheel

A few days after other Badgers played their first NHL preseason games, Brendan Smith made his unofficial debut as a Red Wing last night, which resulted in a 3-2 preseason victory for Detroit over the Chicago Blackhawks. By most accounts, Smith had a solid if unspectacular game, with only one turnover and four hits in 19:47 of ice time, almost as much as perennial ice-time leader Nicklas Lidstrom and good for third-most in the game for Detroit. Smith was paired with veteran AHL defenseman Doug Janik. Wings coach Mike Babcock, in an interview seen here, said that he thought Smith was "a little bit nervous, but that's life." Photos from the game are here, and skip ahead to picture 17 to see Smith. Also worth mentioning, he's wearing number 2 in Detroit, as the #7 he wore in Madison has been retired for Hall of Famer Ted Lindsay.

Other former Badgers Jack Skille and Jake Dowell did not play for Chicago.

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