FloHockey.tv’s Chris Peters and the Hockey News’s Sam Stockton attended the World Junior Summer Showcase in Plymouth, MI last week.
Both Peters and Stockton offered post-event notebooks regarding the performances of the Team USA players (in Peters’ case) and Red Wings prospects (in Stockton’s case) who participated in the event.
Peters’ first notebook article focused on the forwards which Team USA Blue and Team USA White employed, including Red Wings 2024 draft pick Max Plante…
Max Plante, LW (DET): I thought Plante had a great camp and put himself on the map as a potential option. He was given looks with some of USA’s most skilled players on the power play, putting him in the bumper position. Plante was a natural and was able to facilitate from the middle of the ice. On top of that, I think Plante was moving with quickness and showed his smarts with the puck on his stick. He looks like he has a chance to be a secondary scoring and power-play option for USA at the World Juniors provided he keeps this going in the first half of the season at Minnesota Duluth.
Peters’ second notebook article focused on Team USA White and Team USA Blue’s defensemen and goaltenders, including Red Wings 2024 draft pick D John Whipple, and 2023 draft pick and goaltender Trey Augustine…
John Whipple, LHD (DET): Whipple plays an abrasive style and certainly annoyed a number of his opponents. He also took a few unnecessary penalties. I don’t think he’s going to be in the mix this year, but he’ll certainly have a chance to make it in 2026 in his home state of Minnesota. He held his own this week, but more time and strength building at Minnesota will prepare him to be ready next time around.
Trey Augustine (DET): Team USA’s starter and two-time WJC medalist really has no threat to his seat as the No. 1. He played two periods this week and didn’t allow a goal. His sharpness between the pipes was evident and the coaching staff even said they thought he’s looked stronger and even more composed. His ability to control everything in front of him and read plays is high-end. He’s the key to USA’s hopes to repeat.
And Stockton focused on both the Red Wings’ three USA Hockey participants, as well as Team Finland forward and captain Jesse Kiiskinen, who’s been a Red Wings prospect for about a month now:
Jesse Kiiskinen: Kiiskinen—acquired just in June and unable to attend development camp due to compulsory military service—was perhaps the biggest point of intrigue from a Red Wings perspective entering the week. Kiiskinen wore the “C” for the Finns and played a quintessentially Finnish rugged third line role. He played in all situations, including as the net front player on the Finnish PP, where he scored a pretty between-the-legs goal on the final day of competition in a win over Sweden.
“He has good character,” Finland coach Lauri Mikkola told The Hockey News. “He is a good person and just a little bit leader in the locker room there. He has lots of giving for the team.”
Despite the highlight reel goal, I don’t see Kiiskinen as a prospect with an exceptionally high ceiling. It’s a bit difficult to picture him playing top six minutes in the NHL. With that said, it’s not at all difficult to imagine him as a useful NHL player. As Mikkola’s remark suggests, Kiiskinen does a lot to endear himself to a coaching staff, and those are qualities that will eventually serve him well in looking to lock down an NHL role.
Stockton also gave an overall outlook for Team USA, Team Finland, and he discussed Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde’s role with Team USA this past week. His article’s excellent.
Again, I wish I could have attended the WJSS, but my vehicle is currently undriveable, and we’re trying to figure out a way to replace it.
We’ve tried to work with multiple state agencies and have not been able to find a way to even get the dangling muffler and catalytic converter replaced, so we’re really struggling to find a way to secure the help necessary to at least make the rusted-out, 18-year-old Pacifica safe to travel short distances.
I’m sorry that “real life stuff” got in the way of hockey coverage, but sometimes that’s the way life breaks.
