Prospect Games ‘player takes’: Red Wings take Game 1 by a 5-1 tally

The Detroit Red Wings’ prospects took a 5-1 decision from the Dallas Stars in the opening game of the teams’ two-game Prospect Games at Centre ICE Arena in Traverse City.

The Red Wings’ prospects rallied from a 1-0 3rd period deficit thanks to goals from Charlie Paquette and Gabriel Seger 2 minutes and 8 seconds apart, early in the 3rd; Jakub Rychlovsky slithered a slick pass from Shai Buium home for a power play marker at 7:20 of the 3rd; Alexandre Doucet chipped in an Amadeus Lombardi pass at 14:46, and Lombardi found Doucet again for an empty-netter at 16:14.

Goaltender Carter Gylander was challenged more over the first 20 minutes than the final 40, but his 17-save performance was a stout one, and the Wings peppered Benjamin Kraws with 37 shots.

The teams will square off again tomorrow at 2:30 PM EDT; the game will be streamed on DetroitRedWings.com and only DetroitRedWings.com.

I’m going to be blunt and honest here: it’s not the same watching a game on an internet stream, so my analysis is just going to be less in-depth over the course of the next two days…But the situation is what it is.

Forwards:

#81 Jakub Rychlovsky — #29 Nate Danielson “A” — #28 Michael Brandsegg-Nygard

#81 Jakub Rychlovsky: I’m fairly certain that this was Rychlovsky’s first game on North American ice, and he’s not a youngster per se at 23 years of age, but Rychlovsky got better as the game went along, and his goal was a sniper’s power-play marker (among 4 shots on the night).

The 5’10,” 181-pound left wing did a good job of battling his way through the corners and along the boards en route to the front of the net; he displayed a strong shot, shooter’s instincts, and on-ice intelligence, and he didn’t get pushed around very much for a European pro.

It’s just one game, being played against prospects who are 25 and under, but Rychlovsky looked like there is far more than an ounce of talent where the free agent signing is concerned.

#29 Nate Danielson “A”: You hate to make determinations from one game, but Danielson is certainly ready to turn pro at this point. Listed at 6’2″ and 188 solid pounds, the center who dominated the second half of his last WHL season with the Portland Winterhawks was excellent in terms of his all-round game, finishing even with 6 shots. He won faceoffs, he blocked shots, he displayed a wee bit of a snarl in terms of his one-on-one play, his stick work was excellent both offensively and defensively, he skated strongly, and his positioning was sound.

I’m not certain whether he’s going to compete for a spot on the Red Wings’ roster out of training camp, but Danielson helmed the top line, wore an alternate captain’s “A,” and his confidence and poise are already at NHL levels for sure.

#28 Michael Brandsegg-Nygard: Brandsegg-Nygard finished with an assist on Rychlovsky’s goal and a shot on goal, but it was not for a lack of trying to shoot on his part. The 6’1,” 207-pound winger is incredibly shot-happy–in the best sense of the term–and while he really struggled to deal with narrower ice and the move-the-puck-up-the-ice style of the game as he tried to regroup, regroup and drop pass at center ice…

And while he’s not gigantic by any stretch of the imagination…The young man is strong and stocky, the young man knows how to tangle with opposing forwards and come up with the puck, and he meshed well with Rychlovsky and the ever-confident Danielson.

I can see why the Red Wings want to take a “long look” at Brandsegg-Nygard over the course of the Prospect Games and training camp. He’s only 18 going on 19 this October, but there’s a presence to him that’s mature for his age.

#25 Hunter Johannes** “A” — #78 Amadeus Lombardi “A” — #63 Alexandre Doucet

#25 Hunter Johannes** “A”: Johannes is the oldest player on the Red Wings’ prospect team at 26, and Johannes more or less did what you would expect an older player to do among younger peers: he dominated at times.

Finishing with an assist, a +2 and 4 shots, the 6’3,” 217-pound left wing and Grand Rapids Griffins-contracted player looked like a power forward who can handle his way through traffic and can handle his way through difficult battles against opposing players, and I’m not certain that his “angry meter” was even above 50% for the vast majority of the evening. He’s no Bob Probert in-the-making, but for somebody who’s going to ride shotgun for the Griffins’ young stars, he looked really good.

#78 Amadeus Lombardi “A”: Lombardi was brought in at the last minute to fill in for the injured Ondrej Becher, and the 21-year-old center played like a seasoned pro (which he is, having one AHL season under his belt). The 5’11,” 171-pound center started off slowly and looked to be bumped around a bit in traffic initially, but he gelled with his linemates quickly, and he eventually finished with 2 assists on Alexandre Doucet’s goals, a +2, and he took 3 shots of his own.

Lombardi is always going to have to battle against his size, but the speedy, plucky little forward possesses the self-assured style of someone half-a-foot taller and 50 pounds heavier, and nobody’s going to win battles for the puck against him when he goes into the corners. I was particularly impressed with his ability to “make up as he went along” in terms of making a few puck-handling mistakes, retrieving his own missed deke en route to setting up Doucet’s first goal.

#63 Alexandre Doucet: Doucet is another player who’s going to have to battle uphill in order to make the NHL, but the 22-year-old posted good numbers with the Toledo Walleye (41 points in 52 ECHL games) last season, he’s bulked up to 6′ and 198 pounds, and while there were times that he looked to be in above his head a bit, Doucet did a great job of playing better as the game went along.

He doesn’t possess blinding speed or mammoth strength, he’s not the most physical player, and there’s no mean streak in him, but he’s competitive and he’s skilled, and this year, he wants to make the jump from the ECHL to the AHL. He definitely has the skill set to do so.

#82 Gabriel Seger** — #58 Emmitt Finnie — #57 Borya Valis*

#82 Gabriel Seger**: Seger, another Griffins-contracted player, scored a goal on his only shot and finished at +1. The 6’4,” 213-pound Swedish power forward is 24, so, like Johannes, he’s really in Traverse City to serve as a leader/role model and become accustomed to the players for whom he’ll provide a physical deterrent in Grand Rapids or Toledo (possibly both). He looked like a big old Swedish moose on the ice, and the fact that he flashed some hands was a bonus.

#58 Emmitt Finnie: Finnie is someone who’s going to need another WHL season to truly fill out, but the 19-year-old earned a contract already because the 6’1,” 183-pound center has all sorts of grit and determination. He finished with an assist, a +1 and 4 shots in the first Prospect Games affair.

While Finnie still looks a little under-powered to me in terms of his upper-body strength, he’s one of those gritty third or fourth-line centers in the Red Savage mold, somebody who can be trusted equally on a power play or on the penalty kill, someone you can play in the last five minutes of a game you’re trailing or tied when you want to find momentum, and someone who is going to make his own chances due to his very solid skill set. He’s speedy, though not as speedy as Lombardi, and he’s got a near-Danielson level of self-confidence.

#57 Borya Valis*: Valis, a free agent invite from the Prince George Cougars, had a very good game. Finishing at +1 with 2 shots, playing on the Red Wings’ third line, the 6’2,” 185-pound right-shooting right wing looked every bit the play-maker that the Red Wings chose to invite from 2024 draft pick Ondrej Becher’s team, and Valis’ skating skills and ability to deke and dangle through traffic were quite impressive.

It’s only been one game, but, as Ken Kal and Bob Kaser pointed out, there are scouts from all sorts of pro teams at the Prospect Games, and even if Valis doesn’t earn a job with the Wings at some point in the future, he could be setting himself up for a pro payday somewhere else.

#42 Carson Bantle** — #59 Brayden Edwards* — #65 Charlie Paquette*

#42 Carson Bantle**: Another Griffins-contracted player, 22-year-old Bantle stands at 6’5″ and 207 pounds, and he finished at a +1 with 1 shot on goal in what was a somewhat muted game. The graduate of the University of Wisconsin has a strong shot and good presence along the boards, and, like Johannes and Seger, I’m certain that his “angry level” can be cranked up quite a few levels if necessary. The Griffins have been going toward smaller 3rd and 4th-line players over the last couple of seasons, but this year, I could easily see Johannes, Seger and Bantle constituting part or all of a Griffins’ checking line.

#59 Brayden Edwards*: The Lethbridge Hurricanes free agent invite was good, finishing with an assist and a +1. Edwards stands at 6’1″ and 188 pounds, and he did what he was advertised to do in the scouting reports–he played solid, sound defensive hockey on the 4th line while contributing to the Red Wings’ offense. He didn’t get pushed around, he didn’t lose his cool, and the 19-year-old looked like a capable presence on the 4th line.

#65 Charlie Paquette*: Paquette scored a nice goal and finished at +1 with 2 shots on the night. A free agent invite from the Guelph Storm, the 18-year-old stands at a very solid 6’2″ and 207 pounds, and he can barrel his way toward the net with authority. There’s not too much to say about a 4th-line free agent who happened to score a pretty goal, but his work ethic was good and he converted, affording the Wings balanced scoring.

Defensemen:

#22 Shai Buium — #62 Matthew Virgilio*

#22 Shai Buium: Buium is the only Red Wings-contracted defenseman on the team, mostly because the Red Wings had a gaggle of turning-pro defenders on the Prospect Tournament roster last year, and it’s essentially verboten to bring them back as “ringers.”

Standing 6’4″ and 210 pounds, with room to grow into that big body, Buium finished the game with an assist, a +1 and a shot on goal, and he looked like the #1 defenseman whose ice time he received. Buium is not necessarily going to develop into a top-pair, offensively-minded defenseman like his brother Zeev, but the 21-year-old was rangy, physical, strong-skating and able to handle the puck at high rates of speed, generating offense and bailing out his team when they needed some help defensively.

It was just his first game against non-NCAA competition, but Buium’s steady play on a very “green” Red Wings blueline was good to see.

#62 Matthew Virgilio*: Virgilio was probably the best defenseman of the Wings’ numerous free agent invites. Standing at 5’11” and 186 pounds, the 18-year-old finished at +1 on the night, and he provided a very steady foil to Buium’s mobile game. The right-shot defenseman (as I said in the pre-scout) didn’t even turn 18 until May 24th, so it is perhaps not surprising that he was passed over in the draft in his first year of eligibility, but as a younger player skating against older competition both in the OHL with the Soo Greyhounds and in Traverse City, he looked really strong.

#89 Marcus Kearsey* — #87 Josh Van Mulligen*

#89 Marcus Kearsey*: Kearsey is another player who isn’t particularly big at 5’11” and only 176 pounds, but the Charlottetown Islanders free agent invite did a good job of keeping his nose clean, as they say. He finished at +3 with 5 shots, not necessarily surprising for a defenseman who posted 42 assists and 49 points over the course of 62 draft-year games, and the 18-year-old and his fellow down-the-roster defensemen were a little shaky early on, but they really found their games against a particularly AHL-veteran-heavy Stars roster, and that was good to see.

#87 Josh Van Mulligen*: Van Mulligen didn’t shine quite as brightly as fellow free agent invite Kearsey, but he finished at +3 with a shot on goal. 6’3″ and 205 pounds, the Medicine Hat Tigers defenseman matched the smaller, speedier Kearsey stride for stride, his mobility was good overall, and there was a physical edge to his game that was encouraging.

#95 Blake Smith* — #83 Bauer Dumanski*

#95 Blake Smith*: Smith is a meat-and-potatoes kind of defenseman, a massive 19-year-old who stands at 6’5″ and 215 pounds, and he did what you would expect a third-pair defenseman to do: he stood up well against the Stars’ best offensive players, he was physical, mobile, and he finished with zeroes across the statistical board, which is good for a defensive defenseman with an edge.

#83 Bauer Dumanski*: The 3rd of 3 Prince George Cougars free agent invites, Dumanski and Smith both finished even with no shots and no penalty minutes taken. The 19-year-old defender from the Canadian West Coast isn’t all that big at 6’1″ and 197 pounds, but Dumanski looked very solid and very steady alongside Smith, playing as a left-shooting defenseman on the right side of the ice. So far, so good.

Goaltenders:

Starter: #31 Carter Gylander: 23-year-old Carter Gylander didn’t have to be spectacular in stopping 17 shots over the course of his game against the Stars, but he was particularly good as Dallas dominated the 1st period, sealing the ice surface, utilizing all of his 6’5,” 196-pound frame to slither, slide and stop at the right places in the crease to stop pucks, and he was only beaten by a glove-side rebound goal that sort of flipped over his glove hand.

The Colgate graduate was unflappable in what will probably be his only Prospect Games start, and I’m assuming that, regardless of whether he ends up in Toledo or Grand Rapids, Gylander will continue to display the patience and poise that he has as a slow-warming, slowly-maturing Red Wings prospect over the past five years.

Back-up: #61 Landon Miller: Miller’s going to be tested tomorrow, and I’m going to be intrigued to see what he can provide. Still only 18, the 6’5,” 203-pound goaltender from the Soo Greyhounds was a 126th overall pick this past June, and he was selected despite posting so-so statistics for the Greyhounds of the OHL, mostly because he’s got the size and demeanor necessary to develop into a very solid goaltender. He’s going to earn the Greyhounds’ starter’s spot this season, but I have a feeling that the Prospect Games start might be a bit of a wake-up call for the young man sporting a 2.79 goals-against average and .889 save percentage over the course of a 17-6-and-0 season this past year in the Soo.

Scratches:

#41 Ondrej Becher, forward: According to Bob Kaser on the Red Wings’ broadcast, Becher has an injury and will be out for “a couple of weeks.” That’s got to be very disappointing in two senses for Becher. First, he doesn’t get to take part in the on-ice part of training camp, and second, he was supposed to find a place to play this upcoming season as a 20-year-old who may not be back with the Prince George Cougars. The 6’1,” 187-pound center will have to wait a bit now to determine where he plays for the 2024-2025 season.

#49 Dylan Edwards, forward: Edwards is the brother of Brayden, but Dylan plays for the OHL’s Erie Otters, where the free agent invite split his season after posting 35 points in 21 games for the OJHL’s Toronto Patriots. He’s only 5’8″ and 169 pounds, which isn’t going to knock over a leaf at the pro level, but the 19-year-old forward is going to have to be something of a sponge here at the Prospect Games and during training camp, working hard to learn all he can about maximizing his size and scoring abilities.

#67 Chase Lefebvre, forward: Lefebvre may or may not draw into the lineup as a 6’2,” 170-pound forward who had an OK season for the Peterborough Petes, posting 39 points, but also finishing at -46. The Red Wings still saw enough in Lefebvre to invite him to the Prospect Games and training camp, and, like Dylan Edwards, the 20-year-old is going to have to learn as much as he possibly can as he participates in the Prospect Games and training camp.

#64 Zach Sandhu, defenseman: One final free agent invite, the 6’2,” 200-pound defenseman from the OHL’s Oshawa Generals is a stay-at-home defender who didn’t produce a ton of points as he split his first draft year between Guelph and Oshawa. Whether he draws into the Prospect Games lineup will be up to Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan Watson.

#68 Gage Alexander, goaltender: Alexander stands at a massive 6’6″ and 205 pounds, and the 24-year-old was a throw-in in the Robby Fabbri trade to Anaheim. Alexander has mostly played at the ECHL level over the course of his career, earning limited ice time, and while he’s huge, he hasn’t posted spectacular numbers. He’s probably headed to Toledo to work alongside Griffins-contracted Jan Bednar under the tutelage of Walleye coach Pat Mikesch.

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George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, and have worked with MLive and Kukla's Korner. Thank you for reading!