The Athletic’s Bultman talks Wings depth chart

The Athletic’s Max Bultman estimates the Red Wings’ lines as training camp begins:

After​ months of waiting,​ training camp​ is almost here​ for​ the​ Detroit Red​ Wings. Following a golf outing​​ in Traverse City on Thursday, players will hit the ice for the first time Friday morning to kick off what could be a competitive training camp for the franchise’s top young players.

There will be intrigue over three recent first-round picks, Filip Zadina, Michael Rasmussen and Dennis Cholowski, all looking to make the roster for the first time. There’ll be a glimpse at the progress of players like Evgeny Svechnikov, coming into an important camp for his trajectory in Detroit. And of course, curiosity over Henrik Zetterberg’s future with the team, which looks bleak given the condition of his back heading into the season.

All of those factors will go into solving the puzzle that is an NHL depth chart. The few baseline assumptions are these: Dylan Larkin is in for a big promotion as a first-line center and the player other teams will focus on. It stands to reason he’ll be flanked by the team’s top goal scorer, Anthony Mantha, creating a solid foundation but one that could still struggle to match up against some of the elite top lines in the Eastern Conference. Andreas Athanasiou should start the season at center; Rasmussen feels like a good bet to make the team at this point, and Zadina is likely to have that opportunity as well with a good preseason.