Red Savage would dearly love to follow in his father's footsteps and play in the National Hockey League.

The way that he sees it, however, the recent 4th round pick of the Detroit Red Wings would slot into a much different role than the one that Brian Savage fulfilled while netting 192 goals in 674 career NHL games.

Even as scouts assembled for one last look at Savage and his class, this past March at the IIHF U18 World Championships in Texas, the 18 year-old 5'11" centreman recognized the key to his game differed notably from that of the long-time member of the Montreal Canadiens (1993-2002).

"The role that I had was to go against the top line and play those big minutes, take a lot of the defensive zone draws, just try and use my abilities as much as possible," said Red, currently prepping for the start of his freshman season with the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks.

"I think that I played that role pretty much as I wanted to. I obviously wished that I could have been a little bit more offensive and maybe put up a couple more points, but given the role that I played, I think I played it pretty well."

The good news, for Savage, is that it's also a role that is valued at the NHL level, even if casual fans of hockey might not truly appreciate the importance. "Sometimes people don't always understand that not everyone is going to be the top scorer on the team, not everyone is going to be the guy who is relied on to put up points," said the graduate of the U.S. National Development Team program.

The captain of Team USA at the U18's and benefitting from dual citizenship, Savage would have loved to face the gold medal winning Canadian crew (Team USA lost to Sweden in the quarter-finals) - though the Group B pool entries in the ten team tournament definitely made his life interesting.

"The Russian team had a couple of studs in their lineup and I really enjoyed the challenge of playing against their top line," said Savage. "They have some guys that can really create offensively. I was happy with shutting them down, even strength."

When the dust settled, the Red Wings had seen what they needed to see. There were plenty of other NHL teams who reached out to Savage, though few could provide quite the same opportunity as Detroit.

"I didn't really think about the situation in Detroit before I was drafted - but after I was drafted, I kind of sat back and realized that I could not have been put in a better situation," said Savage. "They are a rebuilding team and are looking really good in a couple of years."

"If I keep working on my game, hopefully I would have a chance to be part of something special."

While recent Detroit first round selections like Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond and Simon Edvinsson are likely to have the NHL door opened for them sooner rather than later, Savage will enjoy the chance to develop his game a little more at the NCAA level, now sharing a dressing room with older brother Ryan.

As for sharing time on the ice together in a game, Red cannot help but to be excited at the possibilities.

"He's a winger, so I am sure that we are going to test out playing on the same line and see how it works," he stated. "We've never played together. We're three years apart, but hopefully we'll have some good brotherly chemistry."

As for a role that he will play with the Redhawks, Savage is thankful that his NHL team is more than happy simply to let him round out his all-around game at this point.

"Detroit has given me full rein to just work on everything," he said. "I think I have a really good foundation with my attention to detail in the defensive zone - that's not going anywhere."

"I'm going to try and broaden my skill set these next few years, working on my shot, being a little more creative."

The truth is that NHL forwards who excel defensively and can chip in, from time to time, with goals at the other end of the rink are still rewarded quite handsomely these days - and that's a role that Red Savage would be more than happy to fill, even if it's not identical to his father.