Derek Meech has been given the final defensive roster spot after his competitors Brent Sopel signed a $1.3 million deal with Chicago and Kyle Quincey suffered a fractured hand.

"All played very, very well, all can play in the NHL quickly as long as they continue to develop and work," coach Mike Babcock said. "We're real excited with Ritola's camp, Ericsson had a great camp and so did Howard. Ideally, they'll be Red Wings sooner than later."

I expected Meech to receive the spot even before his competition left or suffered injuries so this isn't a surprise. Had another player earned the last spot, he would've had to pass waivers to make it back to Grand Rapids and he would've been picked up by another team.

The forward roster spots have not been finalized, but it's likely the team will select one player and maybe even a second player of the following four: Matt Ellis, Igor Grigorenko, Mark Hartigan, and Aaron Downey.