Detroit Red Wings training camp: 5 best storylines to watch in Traverse City
Going away together for a few days to a beautiful place will speed up bonding for a team welcoming a slew of new faces.
That is one of the advantages of the Detroit Red Wings' annual foray to Traverse City, a tradition begun by Scotty Bowman in 1997, when the Wings were the defending Stanley Cup champions. Now they're in a position where they haven't made the playoffs since 2016, but general manager Steve Yzerman's busy offseason may end that drought.
At the very least, he has given head coach Derek Lalonde and his staff renewed depth up front and on the back end, adding experienced players expected to help create a more competitive atmosphere.
"I would say if you just look at the players all on one-way contracts, there’s competition at every position, not only to be on the roster but to play minutes," Yzerman said this week. "That is healthy. New players are going to want to come in and make a good impression on the coaching staff and earn a more increased role, and then we do have some of our younger players that coming in with the mindset that mindset that I am going to make this team. Joe Veleno, Michael Rasmussen — they want a bigger role, they want more ice time. So there’s competition there. We’ve got a couple young kids that have their minds set on potentially making the team. So there is competition at all levels."
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The Red Wings will spend five days on ice at Centre Ice Arena: Practices and scrimmages run Thursday through Saturday as well as Monday. Sunday will feature the Red and White game. The 68 players scheduled to be at camp will be divided into three squads, which will give some indication of what Lalonde is thinking — but there are usually daily adjustments.
Here are the top five storylines worth following:
Power play units
Expect there to be an emphasis on special teams during camp, so that the coaching staff can get a feel for which units should get the most looks during exhibition season. Alex DeBrincat, Jeff Petry and Shayne Gostisbehere headline the newcomer cast that should give the Wings an actual advantage when they have an extra skater, something that has been missing the last several years. The coaching staff will have choice selections in putting together the two units, with solid options for players to play in front of the net, along the wall, and on the point. A functional power play would go a long way towards making the playoffs.
Line combinations
With DeBrincat on the top line next to Dylan Larkin, the Wings suddenly look like they can field two real scoring lines, with either newcomer J.T. Compher or Andrew Copp centering the second line and David Perron and Lucas Raymond on the wings. With Copp and Michael Rasmussen showing chemistry before a February injury ended Rasmussen's season, those two could end up on the third line, with Robby Fabbri. That's a group with scoring potential, too, in addition to sound defense.
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Defense pairings
Moritz Seider and Jake Walman really jelled after being partnered New Year's Eve, so it seems sensible to reunite those two. That leaves Petry, Gostisbehere, Justin Holl, Ben Chiarot and Olli Määttä to fill the remaining two pairs. Chiarot's plus-minus last season was an ugly minus-31, but he's 6 feet 3, 232 pounds, plays a heavy game and stands up for his teammates. Petry and Gostisbehere both project to be factors on the power play units. Määttä seems like he could start on the sidelines, but he's coming off a good season and will do everything possible to show he should be in the lineup.
How prospects respond
It wasn't just that the Wings' young players went 0-3 in last week's prospects tournament, it was their lack of composure and poor defense that stood out. Dan Watson, promoted over the summer to coach the Grand Rapids Griffins, pointed out afterwards that "it doesn't get any easier." Nate Danielson, the Wings' first-round pick from this summer, had a good showing, and so did Cross Hanas and Amadeus Lombardi; Carter Mazur was injured in the first game. But on the whole, the players the Wings are counting on to push for places in Detroit over the coming seasons didn't inspire confidence. Marco Kasper, a first-round pick from 2022, is certainly capable of much better than his lackluster performance. Now that they'll be competing against veterans, the prospects would do well to bear down.
Competition in goal
Nobody had a tougher time in the prospects tournament than Sebastian Cossa, the 2021 first-round pick expected to emerge as the team's goaltender of the future. He gave up six goals in back-to-back outings, starting the first half of one game and finishing the second half the next day, with less than 60 minutes on the ice. His teammates bear blame, too, but Cossa's inability to recover mentally from giving up soft goals is an issue. The scrimmages will be an important outlet for Cossa to take steps towards showing that he should start the season with the Griffins, and not in Toledo. Alex Lyon, another offseason addition, is coming off his best year of pro hockey and will want to establish himself as the third stringer. Beyond that, camp will be a good opportunity for Ville Husso and newcomer James Reimer to show they're up to carrying the workload for the Wings.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her @helenestjames.
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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.
For (preseason) openers: Penguins
Matchup: Red Wings (35-37-10 in 2022-23) vs. Pittsburgh (40-31-11 in 2022-23), exhibition opener.
Faceoff: 7 p.m. Tuesday; Little Caesars Arena, Detroit.
TV/radio: None.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings training camp: 5 best storylines to watch
