The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton posted a training camp wrap-up, including this summary of yesterday’s activities:
On the final day of camp, the Red Wings announced three more cuts. Emmitt Finnie, Detroit’s 2023 seventh rounder, was sent back to the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, while Dean Loukas and Nic Sima were released from their try-out deals.
“We have some good teaching from everything we covered yesterday, and it’ll be a good step into our game tomorrow,” said Lalonde to open his final press availability of camp.
“Even in the Red & White game yesterday, you could see a little more organization with our structure,” Lalonde added of his team’s progress through the five days. “It’s a small thing, but even our sets and our face-offs, guys were on the same page. It looked organized; it looked detailed.”
Lalonde noted that experimentation with line combinations and competition for roster spots will continue throughout the eight pre-season games and that the organization would “probably like to have our group by that last exhibition game on that Saturday.”
The second-year head coach also spoke about his not-so-pleasant experience reading some preseason prognostications.
“I’ve stopped reading media because it’s so negative on us,” Lalonde said, setting an us against the world tone to Detroit’s 2023-24 season. “I think the highest article I read is a 14% chance to make the playoffs. Everyone’s writing us off, and…it’s not a knock on our guys, it’s just the reality of the division and the conference that we’re in. We’ll knock the noise away. It’ll be about our process, just doing things correctly.”
