Detroit Red Wings prospects warned after 0-3 tourney: 'It doesn't get any easier'
Shortly after the Detroit Red Wings prospects ended their Traverse City tournament with their third straight loss, Amadeus Lombardi looked ahead to training camp.
"I'm pretty disappointed with the performances in these three games," he said after Sunday's 6-5 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. "I think I had a couple good moments, and I had a pretty long week, but it's no excuse and I can definitely be a lot better.
"Maybe it will light a fire under me and hopefully I'll have a better camp than I did these last three games."
The tournament at Centre Ice Arena pitted the likes of Lombardi, and recent first-round picks Sebastian Cossa (2021), Marco Kasper (2022) and Nate Danielson (2023) against prospects from the Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets and Dallas Stars. The Wings at least put in a respectable, competitive performance in the 4-2 loss to the Stars, but the second game was marred by giving up six straight goals in a 10-7 loss to the Blue Jackets. Sunday, the Wings again squandered a lead, going up 2-0 and 3-2.
The outcomes of the games don't matter as much as the performances, but the Wings flunked both weekend tests with back-to-back collapses.
"That was the message after the game," Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan Watson said. "It was a grind, but every team went through it. Main camp doesn’t get easier. The intensity ramps up, there’s guys trying to make the team. The details, the habits are better. The game is quicker. What we hope to happen is that they have a step ahead here, whether it’s through systems we ran that Detroit will also run, some of the drills that we did.
"But, it doesn’t get easier."
Lombardi scored Sunday to finish the tournament with one goal and two assists. Kasper, the No. 8 pick in 2022, had two assists against the Leafs, his only points in three games. Cross Hanas was a standout with four goals and two assists over the three games in four days.
"You want guys to get pucks to the net and Cross knows where to put them," Watson said. "I thought his game progressed as the tournament went on and he had a nice game today. He was making better decisions with the puck. That grows confident players. in the locker room. He should be feeling good heading into main camp."
Cossa's challenge
It was an especially tough weekend for Cossa, whose status as a first-round pick from 2021 renders him the designated goaltender of the future. He gave up six goals on 17 shots Sunday in 27:05 minutes. The challenge for Cossa is find the mental toughness needed to be a professional goaltender.
"That's the next step in his development right there," Watson said. "I think we saw it first-hand. Obviously, there's a lot of resources here with the Wings. There will be a plan in place. But just to help him through some of these tough spots, how to refocus or turn the page on some of these, but learn from them, too.
"This isn't just 'wipe the slate clean.' You still have to learn from these last two appearances."
Cossa, 20, surrendered six goals on 21 shots in 27:40 of ice time against the Blue Jackets.
"I’m sure he feels pressure and all that kind of stuff, but with that said, he’s matured in that area and now again, that next step is going to be the mental side of it," Watson said. "We’re going to help him as much as we can. We saw the physical growth, technique growth, maturity growth. The next step, the hardest part, is the mental side of the game.
Danielson sits
Danielson, the No. 9 pick this summer, sat out Sunday. "He took a shot at the end [Saturday]," Watson said. "Nothing serious. I think if we had the day off and played again, he'd be in the lineup. It was just management for him, obviously we want him ready for main camp."
Danielson wasone of the Wings' bright spots, with five assists in two games.
Carter Mazur has been undergoing evaluation after leaving the first game with a lower-body injury.
Red Wings veterans are scheduled to arrive in Traverse City in time for a golf outing Wednesday. Training camp begins Thursday, with daily scrimmages through Saturday, and the Red and White game scheduled for Sunday. The Wings will open their preseason slate on Sept. 26 against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, with the regular-season opener set for Oct. 12 against the Devils in New Jersey.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.
Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
type
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings prospects unimpressive in 0-3 tournament
