The Detroit Red Wings’ first summer development camp since 2019–some three summers later–got underway at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center today, July 10th, 2022.
While assistant director of player development Dan Cleary is right in suggesting that this is not an evaluation camp–that’s what the prospect tournament is for…
I can tell you that Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman, assistant GM Shawn Horcoff, Cleary, who’s an assistant director of player development, associate director of player personnel Jiri Fischer and members of the Red Wings’ coaching and scouting staffs were closely watching the players engage in skating tests from the executive suite which overlooks the ice at BELFOR.
The executives are all here. pic.twitter.com/uwfH4c5Sed— George Malik (@georgemalik) July 10, 2022
I can’t emphasize enough that, at least for the morning sessions, the executive suite was FULL of people watching intently from the big, comfy chairs which overlook the ice, and a couple of laptops were out as well. When the players were off ice, the executives had powwows and ate brunch.
They may not be evaluating players for jobs per se, but they’re watching nonetheless.
As far as the on-ice personnel is concerned, Wings player development consultant Dwayne Blais, director of sports science Mike Barwis, Grand Rapids Griffins coach Ben Simon and the majority of the Wings’ strength coaches and trainers from both Detroit and Grand Rapids put the players through their paces today.
The players engaged in what are called “skating tests,” utilizing laser rangefinder-powered “gates” to measure the players’ speed and endurance over a closed course. The gates include lights to indicate when players break the plane of the laser, and they’re calibrated and record data sent to iPads.
Good morning from the BELFOR Training Center. pic.twitter.com/2n0hPyrs6m— George Malik (@georgemalik) July 10, 2022
With goaltenders more or less relegated to taking some goal-line-to-blue-line laps, the skaters present–separated into groups of forwards and defensemen–first engaged in a set of eight laps taken over 50-meter course, with most blazing out to strong starts, and slowing relatively quickly as they received only 8 seconds’ worth of rest between “reps.”
Welcome! Kasper is wearing #92. pic.twitter.com/nCQ8imakmt— George Malik (@georgemalik) July 10, 2022
The skaters also engaged in a timed set of laps around 4 cones set up approximately 25 feet apart, with laser rangefinder gates at the beginning and end of the course. The skaters would loop around the outside of the cones in a ‘figure 8’ first without pucks, and then with pucks on their sticks.
Everyone say hello to Marco Kasper! #LGRW x #DRWDC pic.twitter.com/FTPhlCnLP6— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 10, 2022
About ten of the participants either “blew tires” and had to re-start their circuits, or they lost pucks and had to re-start as well. It didn’t matter whether they were try-outs or gifted skaters; the players felt the pressure of attempting to complete a timed course while skating right on the edge of controlled puck-carrying, and sometimes, they blew the drills.
But they were always given the opportunity of retaking the drills until they successfully completed them, even if it took a couple of tries’ worth of frustration.
To get to the point: it’s very, very hard to attempt to get a feel for players based upon skating tests alone. I’m going to become more familiar with these players as the week progresses, but Sunday involved hints, flashes, and glimpses of talent, but nothing sustained.
And Dan Cleary is right that there are no jobs on the line right now. The prospect tournament is when players can really make or break their tenure as prospects, free agent invitees or members of the Grand Rapids Griffins and/or Toledo Walleye.
But it’s hard to not want to assess. It’s hard to watch and not make an impression, or develop an opinion as to a certain player’s skill set, strengths and/or weaknesses.
The players are going to be working with skill development coaches from Monday to Wednesday, and camp will close with the players having fun in a competitive environment via some 3-on-3 hockey on Thursday, the day after free agency begins. The Red Wings are going to live stream a fair chunk of Monday through Wednesday’s activities, as well as the 3-on-3 games.
Between now and then, I’m going to be in attendance, and I’m going to at least get a feel for some of the 39 players participating in the camp.
Today I feel that it’s necessary to introduce you to the 39 players, explain what may or may not be on the line for them this week, and to go from there. So, with thanks to EliteProspects for the player profile links, here we go:
TEAM HOWE:
Forwards:
#56 Pasquale Zito, LW: Zito wasn’t in attendance today. A6’1,” 176-pound winger, was drafted sight unseen in 2021 because his Windsor Spitfires didn’t even play a game due to the pandemic. This past season, the pugnacious instigator posted 42 points (20 goals and 22 assists) over the course of 49 games with the Windsor Spitfires, dealing with injuries here and there. He also posted 2 goals and 5 assists over the course of 16 playoff games, making the OHL final.
Zito was traded to the Niagara IceDogs a couple of weeks ago, and over the course of camp, I’m curious to see whether the part-time center can display some of his scrappy, hard-working characteristics during battle drills, and whether his speed and faceoff abilities are spot-on. He projects as a middle-six forward, and a plucky one at that. I want to know whether there’s real potential there.
#58 Riley Piercey, RW**: Piercey is going into his “overage” season with the Flint Firebirds as a 20-year-old, and the 6’3,” 212-pound forward posted 58 points (27 goals and 31 assists) in 59 games this past season, but he wasn’t drafted for the second time, and thus he’s a free agent invite.
Piercey is big, he scores, and he may or may not possess a physical edge in that man’s body, but, like Zito, nobody saw him play over the course of the 2020-2021 season because the OHL did not have a season, and it’s hard to say whether he’s worth a contract.
He’s probably going to take part in the prospect tournament given his big-bodied status and ability to play because Canadian Hockey League players’ seasons don’t start until the middle-to-end of prospect tournaments, but I know very little about him.
#61 Ethan Phillips, C: Phillips stands at 5’10” and 160 pounds, and I’m very curious as to what the 2019 draft pick has to bring to the table. He hasn’t really established himself as a scorer while playing for Boston University, and he’s been scratched on occasion. He posted 17 points in only 28 games played this past season. The 21-year-old is going into his senior year at BU, and he’s fast, but he’s small, and it’s hard for those players to find employment if they aren’t excellent performers.
#62 Theodor Niederbach, C: As previously noted, Niederbach did not take part in Sunday’s activities due to passport issues. The 6,’ 190-pound center was a 202 draft pick, and after posting 16 points in 51 games with Frolunda HC of the SHL, he’s decided to sign with Rogle BK (Marco Kasper’s team) in order to get a better chance to play regularly.
Niederbach is a bit of a wild card here. I’ve seen him play at the World Junior Summer Showcase, and I know that he skates well, he’s a great stickhandler and passer, and when he doesn’t get the puck jitters or over-complicate things, he can score. The question for the 20-year-old is whether he can find some consistency with more regular playing time. He’s got second-line potential, but his lack of self-confidence has bothered me for a while now.
Niederbach is headed to Alberta to play in the World Junior Championship this August, so his passport issues involve the Swedish team having his passport.
#72 Trenton Bliss, C*: Bliss gets one asterisk next to his name because the 6’1,” 195-pound winger and outgoing captain of Michigan Tech’s Huskies is contracted to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. Whether he plays for the Griffins or the Toledo Walleye might be decided by how he performs this week, and more importantly, in the prospect tournament.
I’ve never seen him play, but his point-per-game stats over his junior and senior years at Tech are intriguing, especially last year’s 12 goals and 28 assists for 40 points over the course of only 36 games played. He skated in 3 games for the Griffins as well, not registering a point.
#74 Cross Hanas, RW: We’ll see whether Hanas, who is “turning pro” this season, joins Bliss in Grand Rapids. The 20-year-old scoring winger posted a very impressive 26 goals and 60 assists for 86 points in 63 regular season games with Portland, and he added 73 penalty minutes to the mix. Hanas is 6’1″ and 171 pounds, and I remember that at last year’s World Junior Summer Showcase, the Texan said that he wanted to improve his two-way play.
He’s always looked a bit heavy-footed to me, but Hanas is an established point producer at the WHL level, and he’s going to get a long look in Grand Rapids to see whether he can replicate his Major Junior production.
#84 Julien Anctil, C**: The 6’2,” 175-pound center is a free agent invite from the QMJHL’s Sherbrooke Phoenix. He posted a very solid 26 goals and 42 assists for 68 points in the high-scoring “Q,” but he’s a 21-year-old, so he’s aged out of Major Junior, and is looking to land a pro contract.
The Wings have a mixed record with players from the Q, and it’s very hard to discern whether scoring players are representative of the Q’s high-scoring nature, or whether they’ve really got scoring chops. Anctil could be a bonus pick to strengthen the Walleye’s lineup, or he could possibly go to the prospect tournament looking to impress another organization. For now, he’s here to get educated.
#87 Dylan James, LW: James was just drafted by the Wings this past weekend. The 6,’ 177-pound winger was picked 40th overall after posting 61 points (28 goals and 33 assists) in 62 games for Sioux City of the USHL, and the Albertan is headed to the University of North Dakota this fall.
There’s debate as to whether James has 2nd line potential, or whether he’s a bottom-of-the-lineup forward. We’re going to find out some of the aspects of his game this week, and I’m curious to see what skill level he possesses.
#88 Liam Dower-Nilsson, C: “LDN” isn’t big at 6′ and 174 pounds, but the Frolunda HC center posted an impressive 19 goals and 31 assists for 50 points in only 34 Under-20 league games, and the waterbug is looking to graduate to the men’s league team full-time this upcoming season.
He didn’t register a point in 10 games for Frolunda last year, but he was mostly being used as the team’s 13th forward, and some games, he didn’t leave the bench (that’s how Frolunda likes to break in its “kids” [and Dower-Nilsson is only 19]).
At this point, the Wings have seen a lot of Dower-Nilsson, but I haven’t, and I’m excited to see whether his high-end offensive skills are being reinforced by a growing body.
#92 Marco Kasper, C: Kasper is the Hot Guy going into development camp as the Red Wings’ 8th overall pick in the 2022 draft. The 6’1,” 183-pound center and Austrian-who-speaks-Swedish possesses an impeccable pedigree as a two-line center with, for a European player, a particularly competitive edge and a great two-way game.
Kasper didn’t post a ton of points in his rookie season in the SHL, posting only 7 goals and 4 assists for 11 points in 46 games with Rogle BK of the SHL, but he also didn’t play a ton. There are questions as to what his offensive ceiling is.
Kasper didn’t turn 18 until early April, so that’s why he wore a cage in the SHL this past season. Ideally, the Abbott twins, who coach and serve as the GM of Rogle, respectively, will afford Kasper more ice time this upcoming season.
In the interim, he looked great today, really dynamic.
#98 Brennan Ali, C: Another 2022 draft pick, the 6,’ 193-pound center bounced between a New England prep school, where he posted 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points in 24 high school hockey games, the U.S. Under-18 team, where he posted an assist in two games, and the USHL’s Lincoln Stars, where he posted 2 assists in 9 games.
There is some question as to whether the 212th overall draft pick is going to stay with Lincoln this upcoming season, or whether he’s going to play for Notre Dame. I believe he’s staying with Lincoln for one more campaign.
Of course, with a last-round selection, one wonders whether the Wings have picked a diamond in the rough, or a Mr. Forgettable. It’s far too early to say, but we’ll get a glance or three at the enthusiastic center this week.
Defensemen:
#3 Simon Edvinsson: Edvinsson, the third Swede who’s headed to the World Junior Championship after this week’s events, is also turning pro this upcoming season. There’s a lot of belief that the 19-year-old is already ready to play in the NHL after a very strong season for Frolunda HC, where he posted a very solid 19 points in 44 games played.
Edvinsson is big, physical, a strong skater and a risk taker who possesses a ton of self-confidence, and the prospect tournament and main camp will determine whether he takes a spot on the Wings’ roster, or whether he starts the year in GR, but we should all get a bit of a feel for his tremendous upside and readiness for NHL duty this week.
#51 Eemil Viro: Viro, a 20-year-old who played for TPS Turku of the Finnish Liiga for the past two seasons, reminds me of Brad Stuart. He’s not as physical as “Stuey” was, but the 6,” 176-pound defenseman possesses one of those Swiss Army Knife-like all-round skill sets that sticks out for his utter adaptability. He skates through his hips, which are always in motion, and while he had a little trouble with the puck today, from what I’ve seen of Viro at the World Junior Summer Showcase, he’s pretty much ready for the pro game.
#78 Shai Buium: Buium is a bit of a paradoxical player to me. One of the Red Wings’ three University of Denver NCAA Division 1 Champions, the 6’3,” 220-pound Buium is gangly, he looks awkward at times when he skates, and yet he posted 18 points in 39 games for a stacked Denver team, he’s very confident in his all-round abilities, and he’s got underrated physicality.
Skating better backwards and laterally than he does forward speed-wise, the 19-year-old presents as a capable all-round defender who may end up earning that 36th overall selection in the 2021 draft. For now, he needs to go back to Denver after the summer development camp and follow up his freshman campaign with a better sophomore year.
#79 Cedric Fielder**: Fielder, a free agent invite with a solid moustache, stands 6’3″ and 204 pounds, and the 21-year-old Western Michigan University defenseman is going into his junior year at WMU as a stay-at-home defender.
He skated very well today, and for college players, the development camp is the only time that the Wings get to see them “in person” over the course of the year, so there is something at stake for him in terms of impressing those in attendance.
#81 Cooper Moore: At 21 years of age, going into his junior season at the University of North Dakota, the 6’2,” 190-pound Cooper Moore needs to start stepping up. Moore is a superb skater and someone who made an impression on me three years ago as an 18-year-old with an all-round skill set, but he hasn’t blossomed offensively at all after transitioning from the BCHL (where he posted 33 points for Chilliwack) to the NCAA level, where he’s posted 14 points over the course of 56 games.
On what’s looking more and more like a stacked defensive prospect pool, Moore needs to find a way to stand out as more than a solid #4 guy.
#95 Tnias Mathurin: Another 2022 draft pick, the 6’3,” 197-pound Mathurin looks bigger than he already is, and he’s pretty big and very lanky. He was a 5th round pick, 137th overall, on Friday, and he posted 3 goals and 12 assists for 15 points in 44 games with the North Bay Battalion of the OHL this past season.
He’s big and he’s physical, but you have to be able to keep up with the Red Wings’ up-tempo system to earn a pro contract, and while Mathurin has a lot of time, there were rumbles that all he is is a physical, heavy-footed defenseman. Time will tell.
Goaltenders:
#31 Andrew Oke**: The Wings didn’t have to look far for this free agent invite. The 18-year-old native of Shelby Township, MI stands at 6’2″ and 200 pounds, and plays for Chris Osgood’s Saginaw Spirit, where he posted a not-so-pretty 4.63 goals-against average in 36 games for a struggling Saginaw team. He still won 13 games, however. That stat line gets you passed over in the 2022 draft, but time is on his side, and
#35 Carter Gylander: In what is a more crowded goaltending pipeline than we thought, Gylander is an intriguing prospect. The 2019 draft pick is 21 now, and the Colgate University netminder stands at a massive 6’5″ and 185 pounds. He’s got very good fundamentals…
But he split his freshman season at Colgate, playing only 19 games, and this past season, he suffered a setback, going 7-and-8 over the course of only 16 games, losing his presumptive starter’s spot to his teammate, Mitchel Benson. Benson just transferred to Boston College, so we’ll see whether Gylander can regain his starter’s spot in his junior season.
#68 Connor Murphy**: Murphy might be here to soak up the atmosphere. A 1998 birth date makes him 23, and the 6’4,” 200-pound goaltender is heading into his senior season at Union College. He posted an OK 14-18-and-3 record in 37 games, with a 2.66 goals-against, but a .919 save percentage, and as he’s only here for the summer camp, he’s going to have to absolutely dazzle to earn a contract. In the interim, he’s going to learn a lot from the Red Wings’ goaltending coaches.
TEAM LINDSAY:
Forwards:
#21 Kienan Draper, RW: Kienan is 20, but he’s just about to start his freshman campaign at the University of Michigan as he spent two overage seasons in the BCHL with the Chilliwack Chiefs. Draper posted a very solid 23 goals and 27 assists for 50 points in 52 games this past season, and the 6’1,” 198-pound right winger and sometimes center looks like a spitting image of his dad, despite being a right-handed shooter…
And he’s fast. He’s not Kris Draper fast, but Kienan is speedy, maneuverable, and, at least at the BCHL level, generally a point-per-game player. He may project to be more of a two-way forward at the pro level, and at 20 years of age, he’s going to have to maximize his time at U of M to turn the Wings’ heads, regardless of whether he possesses a familial affiliation.
#37 Chase Bradley, LW: The 20-year-old Bradley has flown under the radar over the course of his first season with UConn, posting only 9 points in 29 games, but the 5’11,” 180-pound heart-and-soul forward posted 40 points in 52 games as a USHL’er, which must have been satisfying for the Red Wings to see after they drafted him in 2020. He’s still quite young, but as a bottom-six forward, he’s got to find a way to stand out at the NCAA level.
#43 Carter Mazur, LW: Mazur has taken the kind of step forward that Bradley needs to take. A 2021 draft pick, the 20-year-old Mazur had a fantastic first season with the University of Denver, posting 38 points (14 goals and 24 assists) in 41 combined regular season and postseason games, and winning the national championship.
At 6′ and 173 pounds, there’s room for Mazur to grow physically, but the lanky, wiry forward went from a player the Wings picked in 2021 to be a 4th-liner to showing top-six potential in a hurry. He’s also from Jackson, and played for Draper’s Little Caesars team.
#54 Robert Mastrosimone, C: Mastrosimone, like former teammate Ethan Phillips, has something to prove. The 5’10,” 170-pound center posted a solid 25 points in 34 games with Boston University, and now he’s transferred to Ryan O’Reilly’s Arizona State University Sun Devils. Going into his senior year, he’s particularly fast, but he’s not particularly big, and he was reportedly not so happy with the way he was utilized ice-time-wise at BU. Ideally, that chip on his shoulder manifests as a superb, pro-contract-winning senior year, but that’s a bit of a long shot at this point.
#57 Cole Knuble, RW**: The 5’10,” 175-pound East Grand Rapids native is indeed the son of Mike Knuble, but he was passed over in the 2022 draft after a 49-points-in-62-games season with Fargo of the USHL, probably due to his size. At only 18, he’s slated to return to Fargo for another USHL season before heading to the University of Notre Dame in 2023-2024, and he’s going to have to post point-per-game stats to continue developing. I’m curious as to what he’s got to show us.
#63 Sam Stange: Stange, a 21-year-old Wisconsin native playing for his home state team, Tony Granato’s University of Wisconsin Badgers, stands at 6’1″ and 208 pounds, and while he headed to NCAA hockey with renown as a 67-point-scorer in high school and a 42-point-in-44-game scorer in the USHL, those numbers haven’t translated over the course of his first two college hockey seasons. In 66 games, Stange has only posted 18 points, and his goal-scoring aplomb hasn’t followed him on a consistent basis.
Like so many of the Red Wings’ NCAA prospects, he’s only here for the summer development camp, and he’s got something to prove going into his junior season.
#64 A.J. Vanderbeck, C**: Vanderbeck is a 5’11,” 185-pound center who’s the oldest player at this development camp at 24 going on 25 this September. He posted 43 points in 36 games with Northern Michigan University, and he’ll probably take part in the prospect tournament as an over-ager looking for a pro job. I’m not sure what he brings to the table other than looking at his stats and seeing a player who slowly but surely blossomed…While at 22 and 23 years of age.
Sometimes those guys are diamonds in the rough. Sometimes they’re not.
#67 Redmond Savage, C: Bryan Savage’s son stands at only 5’11” and 185 pounds, but the Miami of Ohio sophomore and 2021 draft pick is a blazingly-fast fourth line center who wins draws, agitates opponents and has a reputation for working his tail off. He didn’t have the greatest freshman campaign, but he’s not going to be a big point producer, and I’ve seen him play at the World Junior Summer Showcase as a penalty-killer and fourth-liner. He’s really suited to that role, and while we all want the Red Wings to draft superstars, sometimes you need players who embrace being supporting cast members, too.
I’m not sure whether he’s headed to the World Junior Championship this summer, but he was in the mix for last year’s Worlds before being cut from the team.
#94 Mitchell Martin, LW**: Martin is a big 6’4,” 199-pound left winger who posted an OK 40 points in 65 games with the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers, and the 19-year-old was passed over in the draft, so he was brought in as a free agent invite. “You can’t teach” that kind of size, but the one-year OHL veteran and Sudbury, ON native might be able to pick up a few tricks this week.
#96 Amadeus Lombardi, C: A member of the All-Name Team, the Red Wings drafted the Flint Firebirds center last Friday in Montreal after the 5’10,” 165-pound forward posted 18 goals and 41 assists for 59 points in 67 OHL games. It should be noted that he posted those numbers as a 19-year-old; Lombardi didn’t play during his 18-year-old season due to the pandemic cancelling the OHL season in 2020-2021.
He made an impression during the skating tests as somebody whose arms and legs are moving up and down and back and forth in a flourish, providing a strong, if inefficient, stride. He was fun to watch and he seems to work his tail off. If he can keep up those offensive numbers, the Wings might have something out of this 113th overall 2022 pick.
#97 Owen Mehlenbacher, C: Another 2022 pick (201st overall), the 6’2,” 189-pound Muskegon Lumberjacks graduate posted 17 goals and 25 assists for 42 points in 56 USHL games, and he’s slated to join Sam Stange’s University of Wisconsin Badgers, again, coached by one Tony Granato, this upcoming season.
I don’t know much about him, but I’m curious to see whether he’s got a sustainable scoring touch.
Defensemen:
#44 Donovan Sebrango: Sebrango is sort of the forgotten man in the Wings’ prospect pool. The 20-year-old already has 96 AHL games to his credit due to the OHL allowing its players to play AHL hockey after being drafted; this past season, the 6’2,” 195-pound defenseman played in 65 games for the undermanned Griffins, posting 7 points. He’s never going to light up the scoresheet, but the wily defenseman may be a third-pair, supporting-cast gem in the making.
His skating was a bit wild and a bit woolly, but at 20, with at least another AHL season to come, he might sneak up on people as a very physical third-pair guy.
#55 Kyle Aucoin: The 20-year-old Aucoin falls into the middle-pair spotlight. At 6′ and 175 pounds, the Harvard sophomore posted only 2 assists over the course of his first 30 NCAA games, but he’s an excellent skater–kind of like his dad, NHL veteran Adrian Aucoin–and the 2020 draft pick has some time to establish himself as a strong two-way defender.
#75 Drew Bavaro**: At 6’3″ and 200 pounds, the free agent invite and Bentley defenseman posted 27 points in 36 AHA games. He’s 22 years old and has just broken out as a point producer as a transfer student, going into his junior year heading to Notre Dame.
As the Wings have three either present or future members of the Fighting Irish on the summer development camp roster, as well as an overage prospect in 6’6″ forward Jack Adams enrolled at Notre Dame for a 5th-year season…Bavaro may have gotten a nod to come in and learn before heading back to South Bend.
#77 Oscar Plandowski: Plandowski has a lot of potential, but the 19-year-old with fine bloodlines is still quite raw. He’s just been traded from the Charlottetown Islanders to the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs after a 17-points-in-64-games season, and while his skating stride indicates that he is indeed the son of a professional skating coach in his mom and a director of amateur scouting his dad, who works for the Arizona Coyotes…
The Halifax, Nova Scotia native is a very lanky 6′ and 190 pounds, he’s got long arms, a long stick, and his skating stride makes him look like he’s 6’5,” but he hasn’t established himself as a top-pair QMJHL guy despite possessing good hands and strong puck-handling skills.
#83 William Wallinder: Wallinder, like Edvinsson and Niederbach, is going to play at the World Junior Championship in Edmonton this summer, but he was left off last December’s team, and the 19-year-old was pissed off. Rightfully so! The 6’4,” 190-pound defenseman posted 19 points in 47 games for Rogle in the SHL, and while the points didn’t follow him, raves for his overall performance did. So he’s gotten another chance at the WJC, and he’s going to have the ability to impress there.
In theory, he’s going to stay in Rogle for one more season, and then turn pro with Grand Rapids, and while Wallinder doesn’t project to be a top-pair guy, he gives the Wings an over-abundance of mobile 2nd pair defensemen.
Goaltenders:
#33 Sebastian Cossa: Cossa’s Edmonton Oil Kings won the WHL Championship and lost out in the Memorial Cup this past season, and the 19-year-old Cossa, who will play at the World Junior Championship in his home province for his hometown Canadians, was a big reason why. The 6’6,” 215-pound Cossa is a lanky, somewhat raw goaltender, but he possesses some spectacular instincts, and he was built to win 2-1 and 3-2 games, which is what the Oil Kings produced last season in abundance.
Cossa went 33-9-and-3 last season, with a 2.28 goals-against and a .913 save percentage, and every theory right now suggests that Cossa is going to turn pro with the Grand Rapids Griffins before he turns 20 in November.
I’m not completely sold on that narrative, given that the Wings have Jussi Olkinuora and Victor Brattstrom ready at the AHL level, and it’s hard to say whether the Wings are going to submit qualifying offers to Kaden Fulcher, who played in Toledo last year, or Filip Larsson, who’s returned to Sweden…So, if he were welcome in Edmonton, I could see Cossa staying in a comfortable place.
That being said, he’s very driven and very confident and sure of himself, and while he does make mistakes in terms of growing into that massive body of his (he’s listed at 6’7″ in some places, but the Wings have him pegged at 6’6″), needing to work on his five-hole and top-shelf coverage while in the butterfly…
He had a superb season, if he wants to turn pro and is willing to play some games in Toledo in order to gain a foothold in Grand Rapids, he can do that, and his ceiling is incredibly high, should he iron out the kinks and inconsistencies in his usually-superb game.
#36 Owen Flores**: Flores is a free agent invite who played for the OHL’s powerhouse London Knights this past season, but wasn’t drafted. The 6’2,” 170-pound goaltender played in 23 games for London, going 6-8-and-4, but his Ontario Junior Hockey League games were great, as he went 12-and-2 for London’s OJHL team, so…
He’s unproven. He’s a very, very raw, and he just turned 18 in May. He’s going to get in a full season with London. If he impresses this summer, never mind potentially this fall, he could be drafted by the Wings a summer from now. It’s far too early to tell.
#80 Pierce Charleson**: The 39th player I’ve written about today, Charelson is a 22-year-old native of Aurora, Ontario, who played for Michigan State University this past season. The 6’2,” 193-pound goaltender with the pretty Vaughn pads went 3-and-8 with a 3.65 GAA and a .904 save percentage, so he’s going into his junior year at MSU hoping to earn a starting job despite sub-par stats.
He’s mostly here to soak up the atmosphere and education, and we’ll see where things go from there.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the first-day’s worth of backgrounders and starting-to-scout reports, even if you’ve just skimmed them. I’m going to try to get to every day’s worth of development camp, free-agent Wednesday included, and while I’m not going to burn myself out, I’m very happy to bust my butt working for you.
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