The puck may not have been going in early for Detroit Red Wings forward Alex DeBrincat, but once he scored his first goal of the season on Oct. 25 during the team’s historic comeback win over the St. Louis Blues, the floodgates opened.
DeBrincat now has 18 goals in 33 games and is on pace to set a new career high with 45 if he maintains his current trajectory. His previous best came during two 40-goal seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, and he nearly matched that mark last season with 39 goals.
The Farmington Hills, MI native scored five goals while adding four assists during Detroit's season-high six-game road swing, during which they earned nine of a possible 12 points up for grabs in the standings.
Alex DeBrincat is off to a hot start! 😼 pic.twitter.com/4nJ2uAlq7P
— NHL (@NHL) December 11, 2025
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While DeBrincat has been known throughout his career for his goal-scoring abilities, head coach Todd McLellan touts the competitiveness he shows as one of his top attributes.
"The competitiveness, he plays in some tough situations, and he plays against 6'4", 6'5" defensemen, and the top pairs some nights over and over again, and he remains competitive even when the gas tank runs empty, which it does sometimes," McLellan explained. "He brings it."
"Not just this trip, but our - (assistant coach) Trent (Yawney) and my time with the Red Wings, we had an idea of how good Cat was, but he's shown us more than I would have known being in L.A. or San Jose and Edmonton all those years, just how well he competes. His shot, his offense, his mind, all that stuff. But just his competitiveness."
"It's Special": John Leonard Excited For Upcoming Red Wings Debut The Detroit Red Wings called up forward John Leonard from the American Hockey League, where he was leading all scorers with 19 goals in 20 games. DeBrincat is skating in his third season with the Red Wings since being acquired from the Ottawa Senators in July 2023, and he's been one of the club's most reliable sources of offensive production for the majority of his time in Detroit.
They'll need him to continue providing timely offense in order to break through and bring Stanley Cup Playoff hockey to Little Caesars Arena for what would be the first time since the venue's opening in 2017.
So far, there's little reason to believe that he won't.
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