The Red Wings brought in Saginaw Spirit winger Dean Loukus, a native of Calumet, MI, as a free agent invite for this past week’s summer development camp. MLive’s Ansar Khan spoke with Loukus about his experience:
It’s a lot of work, it’s a job for sure, but it’s been fun,” Loukus said. “I’ve had a blast. There’s a lot that comes in. You try to be a sponge and soak it in. They do a whole deep dive into what you should eat, how you should sleep and different things like that. Try to implement that into your normal day and normal training. It’s pretty cool stuff. Growing up watching the Red Wings, it’s just a far-off dream for a kid from a small town.”
Loukus, 20, hails from Calumet, a town of 700 in the upper reaches of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. He capped an outstanding four-year career at Calumet High School in 2021 by winning the state’s Mr. Hockey Award, leading the Copper Kings to the Division 3 championship game, where they lost to Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood.
Loukus watched the Red Wings play in the 2019 Kraft Hockeyville exhibition at the Calumet Colosseum, the oldest continuous-use indoor ice arena in the world (since 1913). The only other time he saw them in person was some 10 years ago during a game at Joe Louis Arena. This past week was his first trip to LCA.
“It’s pretty special,” Loukus said. “Every room is pretty high tech. Some of the weight room stuff is pretty cool, the technology. Thee dining room is nice, has a restaurant-type vibe.”
