Red Wings Prospect Tournament Roster Preview

The 2015 Prospect Tournament gets underway on Friday with the Wings practicing at 11:30 AM and playing their first game at 7:30 PM against the Carolina Hurricanes. The full schedule can be found here. The St. Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets, Carolina Hurricanes, New York Rangers, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, and Detroit Red Wings all return to the tournament and will be joined by the newly added Chicago Blackhawks.

The Prospect Tournament rosters have finally been released and before the tournament gets underway, let’s take some time to get to know the players who will be wearing the Winged Wheel. The Wings roster has 10 of their own draft picks, 3 players they acquired via free agency, and 12 free agent invites.

Before we delve into getting to know the players, here’s the complete roster, and here’s a shared doc with the rosters of all 8 teams for this year and last.

Red Wings Roster

Red Wings Prospects

We’ve covered most of the Red Wings prospects in depth in our Top 15 Red Wings Prospect Posts through the Summer, and you can read all the juicy details and find out where we ranked Evgeny Svechnikov, Anthony Mantha, Tyler Betrtuzzi, Zach Nastasiuk, Dylan Larkin, Andreas Athanasiou, Dominic Turgeon, Tomas Nosek, Vili Saarijarvi, and Joe Hicketts in articles linked to their names.

The other two Wings draft picks who will be attending the Tournament are Adam Marsh and Jake Paterson.

The Wings took Adam Marsh with their 7th round pick in this year’s draft just 10 spots ahead of dead last in the draft. Marsh had some trouble before going to playing the QMJHL that undoubtedly caused many teams to not take a chance on him, but the offensive forward is working to prove the Wings right to give him a chance. He’s a very fast skater with even better acceleration. He’s a smart, intuitive goal scoring sniper with great speed who’s lacking somewhat in the defensive department. However enough offense can make up for defensive lapses and his speed allows him to make up for many of his mistakes.

Jake Paterson is the Wings 2012 3rd round pick and is about to start his pro career in the ECHL with the Toledo Walleye. Patty’s average size for a goalie by today’s standards but manages to cover a lot of the net, especially down low, despite not being huge. He’s athletic and eternally calm and nothing fazes him; you’d never know if he was playing in a game 7 playoff game or a preseason scrimmage by his demeanor. He’s competitive and works hard to stop second chances and that’s where his athleticism comes in handy. He’s also a great puck handler.

Free Agent Invites

Forwards:

Nick Betz is a hulking 20 year old winger, standing 6’4″ and weighing in at 220 pounds. He’s an average skater but has excellent net presence, a very hard shot, and a long reach and big body that help him create turnovers. He’s headed back to the Erie Otters for his 5th and final OHL season (in his overage year) and it’s going to be interesting to see what his production is this year. His first 4 seasons in the OHL he scored 14, 12, and 18 points respectively. Last season he played on Connor McDavid’s wing most of the season and saw his point production skyrocket to 54 points. He was the 129th ranked North American skater at mid term last year, but in a McDavid inflated season he was clearly too risky a pick for an NHL team to take and he went undrafted.

Jerome Verrier was a prospect tournament invite in 2014, was a development camp invite this summer, and is back for the tournament this year. He’s 6’0″ 192 pounds and had impressive offensive numbers in the QMJHL, having back to back 30 goal seasons in 12-13 & 13-14 before battling back and shoulder injuries in 14-15, being limited to only 40 games, and putting up just 8 goals and 25 points. He’s a tenacious, energetic, grinding, pesky winger who had a very good development camp, was very noticeable in the scrimmages, and has been a player that’s caught my attention for the last couple years. He’s speedy, skilled, good under pressure, has a fantastic attitude and work ethic, and will drive you nuts getting under your skin one minute, then score against you the next. He’s exactly the kind of player the Wings would be interested in signing and I hope they do.

Conor McGlynn was a 2013 Boston College commit who decided to sign with the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL instead. The big 6’2″ 205 pound physical center attended the Wings Development Camp this summer and hopes to make a very good impression on the Wings in the tournament. He did make an impression in the development camp scrimmages and is an invite I’m keeping my eyes on.

At 6’2″ 227 pounds, Evan Polei is a big, tough, physical winger whose penalty minutes number is the biggest on his stat sheet. He attended the Prospect Tournament last year but was on the St. Louis Blues bench and he was injured in a pre-season game with his WHL team, the Red Deer Rebels, and was unable to attend the Blues’ main training camp. He was at the Wings Development Camp this summer and has been described as a potential power forward who’s not afraid to drop the gloves or mix things up. He hasn’t yet shown a lot of offensive abilities, but he looked defensively sound in Development Camp scrimmages and with his size could have some potential.

Kurt Etchegary has been team captain for the Quebec Remparts in the QMJHL for the last two seasons. The 5’11” 190 forward was a Red Wings development camp invite in 2013 after being passed over in that year’s draft. The following November it became public knowledge that he had a pericardial effusion around his heart that required surgery. He had been undergoing treatment for a while, hoping to avoid surgery and teams knew about it leading up to the draft so I’m sure that influenced their decisions not to take him; despite him being ranked the 72nd north american skater in his draft year. Last season the 20 year old posted career highs with 25 goals, 35 assists, and 90 penalty minutes and this summer he signed an ECHL contract with the Toledo Walleye for the upcoming season.

Defensemen:

Justin Lemcke is an effective two-way defenseman who plays smart and makes a good first pass. He is also capable of playing solid physical hockey and improved throughout the season last year for the Belleville Bulls in the OHL. The 6’2″ 201 pound 18 year old is very poised for a young defenseman and was expected to be a potential solid late round pick in the 2015 draft, but ended up going undrafted. He’s young but has the potential to be a solid NHL prospect and was 137th ranked American Skater on CSS final 2015 rankings.

Ty Stanton was a Red Wings invite in the 2014 prospect tournament as well as a development camp invite this year. The 6’4′ 187 pound 20 year old was eligible for the 2013 NHL draft and was the 78th ranked North American skater by central scouting prior to the draft. He battled numerous injuries that season and suffered a season ending concussion in early March which contributed to him not being drafted.

Defenseman Andrew Prochno just completed his college career at St. Cloud State where the defenseman had 91 points (16G, 75A) in 147 games and was a plus 50. The 23-year-old was on the 2011-2012 WCHA All-Rookie Team and the 5’11” 190 pound D man was an alternate captain for the Huskies last season and was a 2013 ALL-WCHA Academic. He’s a two-way defenseman. Prochno also signed an ECHL contract with the Toledo Walleye this summer for the upcoming season.

Jarrett Meyer was another development camp invite and is a massive defensive defenceman standing 6’9″ and 240 pounds at only 18 years old. He lacks an offensive game, but his massive size, reach and strength cannot be ignored. He is a project player, who only played 37 games for the Owen Sound Attack in the OHL last season and had a single assist and 20 penalty minutes to show for it.

Jalen Chatfield is a 19 year old about to enter his 2nd year in the OHL with the Windsor Spitfires. The defenseman was a development camp invite and is a prototypical 2 way defenceman. At 6.01 181# he’s average in height and slight in frame. He skates well, has a good stick and makes a good first pass. When drafted by the Spits, GM said “He’s a mobile kid. A right-handed shot. He can skate and can move pucks”

Goalies:

Matt Mancina is a 6’3″ 196# goalie currently playing in the OHL, last year he had the 19th best GAA (3.48) and 14th best SV% (.900) in the league. He attended the Montreal Canadiens development camp this year and scouting reports say his best assets are his positional play and ability to focus and block out external distractions. He excels at squaring up to shooters and playing an extremely strong positional game. He limits his movements and is very economical in what he does. He anticipates well, and shows a strong ability to react to the play and read the ice.

Connor Ingram is 18 years old and just completed his rookie season for the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL and had the 13th best GAA with 2.96 and 14th best SV% with .904 and was named Kamloops rookie of the year along with Deven Sideroff who was the Ducks 3rd round pick in this year’s draft.

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Coming Soon:

Roster preview for the other 7 teams attending the Prospect Tournament.

Stay tuned!