Kelowna Rockets defenseman Jackson DeSouza took part in the Red Wings’ prospect tournament and main training camp over the past two weeks in Traverse City.
The free agent invite didn’t land a job with the Wings, but the 6’4″ defenseman looked mobile and smart with the puck in limited duty at the prospect tournament, scoring a boomer of a goal, and he skated with the AHL’ers/ECHL’ers team during training camp.
DeSouza spoke with the Kelowna Rockets’ website regarding his time spent with the Wings:
“It’s pretty awesome just being around those players and basically seeing players from across Canada and the world show up and try to make it to the next level, you definitely learn a lot.
“I was a little shocked when the puck went into the net. If you told me when I was 16 years old that was going to happen, I would tell you that you were lying. I did everything I could this summer to make sure that I could perform at that level, so it was a nice reward.”
At the end of the rookie camp, DeSouza was invited to stick around for the first few days of their main camp where he said he was able to take plenty away that will help him grow as a player.
“It’s pretty surreal, seeing those guys that are basically living your dream. It pushes you to try and get there, you definitely learn a whole lot of things like how they conduct themselves on and on the ice, they’re professionals in their game and it’s their job, they’re playing to keep it and feed their family.”
