Both the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan and the Free Press’s Helene St. James offer training camp questions and/or storylines this morning, so we’re going to combine their articles into one entry.
▶ 3. Will all the new faces mesh with the remaining players? That’s always a question as training camp arrives. But rarely has there been as dramatic of a roster shakeup as this one with the Wings, with so many new faces.
Given the experience level of most of the new players, there’s a good chance the jelling and getting comfortable with each other shouldn’t take that long.
But it’ll be a work in progress, for sure.
▶ 4. How does Alex DeBrincat fit in? The Wings finally have an elite, proven goal-scorer who returns home (DeBrincat is from Farmington Hills) who is expected to boost an offense that needs a spark.
DeBrincat has scored 41 goals twice in a season while in Chicago, and that type of production would go a long way toward the Wings inching closer to a playoff berth.
It’s exciting to think what DeBrincat and Dylan Larkin can be capable of if the two, as expected, play on the same line.
Kulfan continues (paywall)…I am curious to see how long it takes for the roster to “gel” given that 40% of it changed over the course of the summer…
And the Free Press’s Helene St. James offers five “storylines” to watch for as training camp begins:
Power play units: Expect there to be an emphasis on special teams during camp, so that the coaching staff can get a feel for which units should get the most looks during exhibition season. Alex DeBrincat, Jeff Petry and Shayne Gostisbehere headline the newcomer cast that should give the Wings an actual advantage when they have an extra skater, something that has been missing the last several years. The coaching staff will have choice selections in putting together the two units, with solid options for players to play in front of the net, along the wall, and on the point. A functional power play would go a long way towards making the playoffs.
Line combinations: With DeBrincat on the top line next to Dylan Larkin, the Wings suddenly look like they can field two real scoring lines, with either newcomer J.T. Compher or Andrew Copp centering the second line and David Perron and Lucas Raymond on the wings. With Copp and Michael Rasmussen showing chemistry before a February injury ended Rasmussen’s season, those two could end up on the third line, with Robby Fabbri. That’s a group with scoring potential, too, in addition to sound defense.
Continued; I’m very curious to see which prospects respond to the increased competition well, and which prospects and/or try-outs’ play falls off now that the NHL’ers are in town.
