A pair of articles discuss Red Wings prospects taking part in the World Junior Summer Showcase this morning.
First, Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff wrote an article profiling new Red Wings prospect Jesse Kiiskinen, who Detroit acquired in a trade with Nashville.
Duff reports that Kiiskinen was unable to take part in the Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp due to compulsory military service in Finland, but now he’s wearing the captain’s “C” for the Finns at the WJSS:
Now that’s completed his [military] service with that national team, he is in Plymouth, leading Finland’s national junior team at the World Junior Summer Showcase.
“Now I can start focusing on just the hockey,” Kiiskinen said. Chosen 68th overall in the 2023 NHL entry draft, he shows a desire to mix it up, working the corners and the net front with enthusiasm.
He’s proudly wearing the C as Finland’s captain, a role he’s been filling since last February in preparation for this season’s IIHF World Junior Championship.
“It’s unbelievable to be in the national team and then you are the national team captain,” Kiiskinen said. “It’s more like unreal.”
Second, The Athletic’s Max Bultman posted an article which focuses on Kiiksinen and Team USA’s Max Plante, with a short note about American participants John Whipple and Trey Augustine. Bultman reports that Plante has impressed over the course of three games for Team USA:
Plante has been the most interesting of the group so far. Three games in, he’s up to 4 points (two goals, two assists), and has gotten significant deployment for the Americans.
Team USA begins camp divided into two rosters, and Plante opened camp on USA Blue’s first-power play — which featured four other players who all look likely to be on PP1 come December: returners Zeev Buium, Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault, and potential 2025 first-overall pick James Hagens. That’s obviously a highly talented group of players, and while [team USA coach David] Carle was quick to point out early in the week that there would be lots of different looks and combinations tried throughout the week, it says something that Plante was the choice to complement that group in the bumper position on PP1.
Certainly, the rationale starts with his hockey sense — Plante’s calling card — and he quickly validated that decision with a power-play assist to Perreault in the opening game. But his contributions went beyond that. He added a goal and another assist at five-on-five, finishing off a nice set-up from Hagens five minutes into the first game, and then added an assist to Oliver Moore to turn in a 3-point game.
After that opener, Carle said of Plante’s line with Moore and William Whitelaw: “A lot of speed, hockey sense. I thought they possessed the puck in the offensive zone, obviously made some plays off the rush as well. I was really happy with that line. They did a nice job today.”
Bultman continues (paywall), and his article is superb;
As Bultman suggests, it’s difficult to make any hard and fast judgments upon the Red Wings’ participants at the WJSS–it is “summer hockey” after all.
Augustine is penciled in as Team USA’s presumptive #1 goaltender heading into the World Junior Championship, so much so that Augustine was among the WJSS returnees who was excused from the event to head home and train with their respective teams. The South Lyon, MI native will embark upon his sophomore campaign as the starting goaltender at Michigan State University this fall;
It’s encouraging that Kiiskinen sounds like a real prospect with some edge to him. The Red Wings acquired Kiiskinen and a 2nd round pick that was used in the Jake Walman trade from Nashville in exchange for tough defenseman Andrew Gibson and a 3rd round pick. Many folks felt that the Wings took a step back by sending big Gibson to Nashville for Kiiskinen, so any positive news regarding the ring wing is good to hear. Kiiskinen will play his second season in the Finnish Liiga (with HPK) this upcoming season.
Plante’s never going to be a large man, but the 5’11,” 176-pound center/wing is a natural play-maker who posted 46 assists in 51 games played with the U.S. National Team Development Program last season, and Plante’s pluck and two-way game serve as pleasant additions to his passing skills. He will head into his freshman season at the University of Minnesota-Duluth this fall, where he’ll play alongside his brother, Zam Plante;
Whipple is what he is–a long-shot prospect, drafted 144th overall–but he stands at 6’1″ and 194 pounds, and the observations regarding his physical edge are encouraging as he remains something of an unknown quantity as he prepares to take part in his freshman season at the University of Minnesota.
