As DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills notes, Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde suggested that the comfort level for both himself, his coaching staff and the Wings’ players were all higher today, as the Wings’ second training camp under coach “Newsy” began:
“I think guys did their work this summer,” said Lalonde, who is overseeing his second camp with Detroit. “I really liked the pace and tempo of practice today. Players are no different than coaches and fans. You add some pieces, it gets guys excited. There’s a little energy going into camp with what we added in the offseason. I think everyone was anxious to get to work today.”
The Red Wings’ dressing room added an influx of new faces this offseason, so for Lalonde, one of his main focuses before the 2023-24 season begins is building team chemistry. Fortunately, Lalonde said he already notices an added level of comfortability between the players.
“They’ve already done some work on the inclusion part of things,” Lalonde said. “They’ve done some team things off the ice, even back in Detroit. A lot of these new faces felt a lot more comfortable in Day 1. I think it helped for a positive start in camp.”
For Lalonde and his coaching staff, the five-day camp and eight-game preseason schedule are opportunities to experiment with different line combinations. On Thursday, there was plenty of intrigue around the top-line trio of Alex DeBrincat, captain Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond.
Lalonde said while he is not “married to” that combination of forwards, their potential is exciting.
“This is the first look of camp,” Lalonde said. “Obviously, three very talented players. We wanted to get them together for Day 1 and they did some very good things, especially on some entries and rush things.”
