The Red Wings selected forward Kevin Bicker with the 147th overall pick in last week’s NHL Draft, taking a flyer on a German-born forward who will try to “make the jump” from the German under-20 league to the DEL this upcoming season.
As a result, the Lowen Frankfurt asked Bicker to chronicle his 5 days spent at this week’s 2023 Summer Development Camp, and here’s a rough translation thereof:
After his draft last week, Kevin is now a guest in Detroit
They’re exciting times for our Frankfurt youngster Kevin Bicker. In the fifth round of the NHL Draft last Thursday evening, the Detroit Red Wings secured the rights to the young forward. Shortly after, Kevin was onboard a flight to Detroit!
While his teammates are mostly sweating it out in the gym right now, Kevin was allowed to go on the ice at a camp in Detroit–and Kevin wrote a kind of diary for you, and he’s happy to share his great experiences with you.
Day 1: At the start, the focus was of course on physicals and athletic fitness, which were examined both in the gym and on the ice.
Day 2: We started the day with an intensive gym session and received, among other things, valuable training tips for our further preparations for the season to come. Then it was time to go on the ice. One hour of skating and one hour of skills.
The skill drills were about making our individual hockey skills automatic, and making them second nature to us. In other words, our target guide is to be technically adept, skating agile and creatively.
Day 3: We were on the ice for 1.5 hours, and then received a recovery/regeneration session. And the afternoon included a “Paintball Time-Out.”
Day 4: Yesterday we repeated the “Gym-and-Skating-Skills program,” and let the day progress, and ended the day relaxing by going to a baseball game together in the evening.
Day 5: Today is the last day of development camp in Detroit, and our time ends here with a 3-on-3 tournament, played by 4 teams.
Then my plane will be waiting and I’ll jet back to Germany!
P.S.: Ah, I almost forgot: There was also a lot of theoretical material, of course. Between individual training sessions, we received presentations on topics such as nutrition, sleep, finances and legal matters.
