If the Prospect Tournament last week didn’t get you amped up for the season, then today should – IT’S THE START OF TRAINING CAMP!
The Red Wings were kind enough to release the full schedule and roster yesterday. 68 players will eventually need to be trimmed down to 23 by the end of the pre-season exhibition games (or “friendlies” for those of you outside of North America). Camp itself will run thru the 25th, with 8 pre-season games picking up the next day and running thru October 7th. It’s about to be a bumpy and exciting 2 weeks.
Of course, there are the usual Camp concerns to watch for – will the new guys look good, can someone bounce back after injury, can one or two of the yutes crack the Opening Night Roster…
Specifically, here are a few of the storylines Wings fans will be watching for in Camp:
Can Alex DeBrincat look like 40-goal Alex DeBrincat? We’re bringing in Artem Anisimov on a PTO to try to get him rolling. It’s not going to break our season if he’s only a 27-goal guy like he was last year in Ottawa, but there are a LOT of people rooting hard for Alex to be a home-town hero and at least net 30 for us. But if he’s REALLY on form, it’s going to have a bigger effect on this team than I think most of us realize. We believe in you, Alex.
Where will Sprong, Berggren, and Kostin fit? All 3 of these guys have something to prove this season, and are going to want more ice-time to prove it. Was Sprong’s ‘22-‘23 season an anomaly? Does Berggren have another gear offensively? Can Kostin break out the way Yzerman & Co seem to think he can? These 3 are going to drive some serious internal competition.
What’s our defense even going to look like? Steve Yzerman turned over almost half of our expected starting defenders this summer by bringing in new guys Gostisbehere, Petry, and Holl. Only Seider, Walman, Määttä, and Chiarot remain from last season. The top pairing is seemingly locked down, but how will the chaos unfold after that?
Do we have a battle for the back-up goalie spot? Something something shameless self-promotion something…
Can top prospects force hard decisions? Expectations are running high for Söderblom, Edvinsson, Johansson, Hanas, Tuomisto, Danielson, and Kasper. Who else can add their name to that list? And can any of them crack a roster where Steve Yzerman has very clearly raised the bar over the summer?
How will Derek Lalonde’s system look in its second season? A defense-first mentality pushed improvement in this squad last season. Did we bring in the right guys to help solidify that system and take another big step forward? Another 10-pt gain could put us squarely in the Playoff mix, but is that even possible?
Can we have functioning special teams units? The Wings have been… not great up or down a man for the past few years. Do we finally have the pieces to make teams think twice about taking a penalty? Are we finally able to hunker down and not worry about our own guys ending up in the box?
Use this space as the open thread for the day. Post whatever news and updates you can find, keep the conversation lively, and LET’S GO RED WINGS!
