The Red Wings are hosting their annual prospect tournament this upcoming week and weekend in Traverse City, Michigan, and the Red Wings revealed their roster for said tournament approximately two weeks ago.
I shared my thoughts regarding the roster shortly thereafter, and, on Sunday, Detroit Hockey Now’s Nate Brown asked five pertinent questions regarding the Wings’ prospects. Among them:
What about Elmer Soderblom? Rookie camp is just the first step in what could be a giant leap for the towering forward. His 21-goal, 33 point performance in 52 games with Frolunda seems the appetizer for what could be a very telling season. Be it with Grand Rapids or Detroit, Soderblom’s appearance on North American ice has been eagerly anticipated. A dominant rookie tournament will only amplify the attention on Soderblom.
Brown continues, and my biggest question is simple:
How do the forwards stack up?
The Red Wings’ prospect tournament blueline is absolutely stacked with prospects who’ve accumulated professional experience in Simon Edvinsson, Eemil Viro, Albert Johansson, Seth Barton and Donovan Sebrango, but up front, Soderblom is the only player who’s played at this level.
If Sebastian Cossa can find his form in the net, and the defense can stand up in front of him, the Wings will be able to keep pucks out of their own net, but with Soderblom, Cross Hanas, Pasquale Zito, the college guy, Drew Worrad, AHL-contracted Kirill Tyutyayev and 18-year-old Amadeus Lombardi standing out among a host of try-outs…
The Red Wings’ prospect tournament team is going to have to develop chemistry, scoring depth and defensive aplomb in a hurry.
It’s going to take Grand Rapids Griffins coach Ben Simon’s hard work to build a roster out of a bunch of players who don’t know each other very well, and on top of that, a bunch of forward try-outs who will have to find their way into roster spots quickly.
