Detroit Red Wings: NHL Prospect Tournament Roundup
By Tyler Kotila
The Detroit Red Wings are just days away from the start of Training Camp in Traverse City, Michigan. They just completed the NHL Prospect Tournament as champions after defeating the Dallas Stars. There was plenty of excitement that came out of the NHL Prospect Tournament, but what could this mean for the 2019-20 season?
The Detroit Red Wings produced a twenty-seven man roster full of prospects for the 2019 NHL Prospect Tournament. The roster included names like Taro Hirose, Filip Larsson, Alec Regula, Moritz Seider, Joe Veleno, and Filip Zadina. There were other players on the team like Troy Loggins who was a signee of the Grand Rapids Griffins from March of 2019. Besides prospects and Griffins signees, they also had some free agent invitees such as Owen Lalonde or goaltender Sean Romeo.
Going into the tournament, there was plenty of uncertainty about where prospects will land this fall whether it be. Making the NHL club, being with the AHL club, or being loaned back to their European League teams. There has been some clarity that has arisen regarding the destination for some of the prospects like Seider who is likely heading to the AHL roster rather than back to Adler Mannheim.
The Red Wings opened up the NHL Prospect tournament against the Chicago Blackhawks team where they lost 5-4 in overtime after Adam Boqvist scored just forty-three seconds into the period. Coming off the loss, the Red Wings destroyed the St. Louis Blue in game two 7-3 where Veleno jumped out as the top performer.
Heading into the weekend, the Red Wings had a split 1-0-1 record. Game three took place on Monday where they defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 7-4 with a surprising game from Chase Pearson. The former fifth-round draft choice from 2015 jumped out in front of Veleno as the Red Wing’s top performer after the contest against the Maple Leafs. Veleno then jumped back on top after coming in clutch, scoring to help the Detroit Red Wings attain a 6-5 victory over the Stars to win the Championship.
With a very promising prospect camp, there is a lot to look forward too as official training camp opens up and the season gets underway. With plenty of prospects playing some quality hockey, the Red Wings will have some tough choices coming.
They will have to decide who should get the first crack at making the NHL roster and who should be sent to the Griffins to develop more before their time in the NHL comes.
The ultimate reality for this season is that growth needs to be the goal, the team needs to take positive steps towards becoming a playoff team again, and that starts with the young talent. If the young talent excels, the future will be bright, having a surplus of players who can be developed allows for trade pieces or a stockpile of talent for the Red Wings future.