The NHL Prospect Tournament is finally underway, and it’s the unofficial start of the hockey season. Afterall, next week is Training Camp, then the NHL pre-season starts, then the regular season, and then our schedules are full until (hopefully) mid to late June.
For their first practice of the tournament, the Wings held a fast paced practice that lasted about 30-45 minutes. It was a chance for Griffins head coach Todd Nelson to test out some lines and pairings for the Wings’ first game tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets at 7:30 pm EST.
Here are the possible lines and pairings we’ll see tonight.
Forwards:
Evgeny Svechnikov – Kyle Criscuolo – Tyler Bertuzzi
Zach Nastasiuk – Dominic Turgeon – Dylan Sadowy
Mathew Santos – Mike Borkowski – Givani Smith (Luke Kirwan & Alex Globke rotating in)
Justin Brazeau – Jeff DeWit – Luke Coleman (Adam Marsh rotating in)
Defense:
Robbie Russo – Joe Hicketts
Dan Renouf – Filip Hronek
Dylan Coghlan – Jordan Sambrook
Matthew Caito
Goalies:
Jake Paterson (starting)
Connor Hicks / Stephen Dhillon
Important Game Info:
I’ll try my best (internet allowing) to post updates on Twitter during the game. I often need to use numbers or name abbreviations to tweet out updates and get back to the game and not miss anything, so this sheet with all the team rosters and player info will come in handy if you’re following along. All the player names on the rosters have links to their EliteProspects bio pages if you’re looking for more details on any of the players.
[Update] Live updated and historic box scores and game info can be found here on Point Streak.
Streaming:
Yes, it looks like people outside of Traverse City will finally be able to watch all the Prospect Tournament games! The Wings take on the Columbus Blue Jackets in game 1, tonight at 7:30pm EST and the Red Wings will be streaming all the NHL Prospect Tournament games both via their web site, and Fox Sports Go. Below is the information the Wings sent out, and the links in the second tweet take you to the live feeds. All of the Wings games are in West Rink, so knowing which one to click on will be easy. Fox Sports Go is only available to people in the United States, but you’ll be able to stream outside the US via the Red Wings website.
2016 @NHL Prospect Tourney Live Stream info:
David’s Rink: https://t.co/j2AwZFNYSl
West Rink: https://t.co/quQPHV0xC5
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 16, 2016
For those looking to stream the Prospect Tourney via FOX Sports GO (U.S. Residents) ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/1wiIa9AXuG
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 16, 2016
So that’s what we’ve got for now. Stay tuned later for a game recap and game highlights. In the meantime, if you have any questions, or have things you’d like me to ask players about, let me know in the comments, or via Twitter (@Slapshotg0al). I hope you guys and gals are as excited about this tournament as I am. Hockey is here!
