The Red vs. White Game ended with Team White defeating Team Red 6-1, Patrick Kane’s gorgeous top-shelf shootout goal excluded. With the shootout included, Team White won 7-4 (per the box score on PointStreak.com).
That's a wrap from Traverse City!
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 22, 2024
A big THANK YOU for all your support this week, Hockeytown North! ♥️ pic.twitter.com/a3KgCV9ip7
😼🚨
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 22, 2024
📱 » https://t.co/pJ2o9m0es7
💻 » https://t.co/0ppY7IeFb2 pic.twitter.com/cU74AprVFH
EP Rinkside’s Sean Shapiro offered the first set of observations on the game via his Substack blog, Shap Shots…
Sheldon Dries really impressed. Now Dries is always going to stand out to me because I covered him as an AHL-contracted player during the 2017-18 season with the Texas Stars. Dries has pieced together a nice NHL career after his one-year AHL deal and scored twice in the scrimmage. He’ll start the year with Grand Rapids in the AHL, but could be in the call-up conversation and has a past history with Derek Lalonde.
Patrick Kane has some good pop in training camp, his first camp since his final season with Chicago. He looks like he should be more than a point-per-game player, which is something I wouldn’t have predicted 12 months ago when he was going through a surgery that could have been career-ending.
…
On that same note, Sebastian Cossa was quite good. He’s taken some nice strides, I was admittedly harsh on him earlier in his career, partially reading too much into when he was drafted, but when you look at his overall body of work and growth in the AHL, there is something to like in the long term.
Shapiro continues (paywall)…
After the game, Vladimir Tarasenko and coach Derek Lalonde also spoke with the media…
And the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan took note of coach Lalonde’s remarks about the Red vs. White Game…
The White team won the scrimmage 6-1, with the roster working on even-strength, four-on-four, three-on-three, special teams, and the shootout. It marked the end of camp in Traverse City.
“Very happy with it,” Lalonde said. “We accomplished a lot. It was concept-based and we had a few of some lines together, but it wasn’t about lines and defensive pairings. It was more about five-on-five structure and something to teach and now we have something to work off.”
As well as those made by Tarasenko:
Vladimir Tarasenko isn’t much of a golfer and doesn’t fish. So that limited the ways he got to know some of his new teammates on the Red Wings, although there’s always food.
“Went to a couple dinners,” said Tarasenko, after Sunday’s Red/White intrasquad scrimmage ended the training camp portion of the preseason. “It was nice to spend a lot of time with the guys and get to know them better. It was some hard days, and nice to get back to work again.
…
Tarasenko reportedly had several options around July 1 when free agency began, but the Wings were an organization he kept returning to.
“I talked to a few guys who had played here and they said good things,” Tarasenko said. “I talked to (general manager) Steve (Yzerman) about what they expected from me, and I also liked the way the team played. There’s a lot of good offensive guys, and all these facts combined to make the decision.”
Having two Stanley Cups on his resume is something Tarasenko doesn’t take for granted.
“It’s crossed my mind that I’m very fortunate to have experienced that,” Tarasenko said. “Not just once, but twice in my career and maybe more times. (Tarasenko was taught) the way you lead and work, it pays off for you and not only on the ice but being a good person is very important also. I’m trying to be a good person and work hard and I’m not going to change.”
The Hockey News’s prolific duo of Sam Stockton and Connor Eargood filed four articles after the Red vs. White Game, including a discussion of the Wings’ post-game cuts which included the following, from Eargood…
There are also some pro players competing for a roster spot. Among the tryouts, Lalonde is interested in what [Alex] Chiasson can bring as a power play specialist, while [Austin] Watson brings a toughness that could create space for skill players. Signed to an NHL contract, Sheldon Dries scored two power play goals in Sunday’s scrimmage, and Lalonde praised his performance — and versatility — after the game.
“Sheldon was my captain in junior,” Lalonde said. “I’ve been chasing him down for about eight years now. Finally got a GM to bite on it — in a good way. Really appreciate the player, appreciate the human being. He adds that depth. Obviously I would be extremely comfortable in a call-up situation any time.”
Stockton filed a formal Red vs. White Game Notebook…
“I wasn’t really concerned about any line combinations or D pairings,” the third-year head coach assessed at his post-game avaiability. “It was more about getting some five-on-five structure, something to teach off now, some video to work off. Same thing with our special teams, very valuable reps, and four-on-four and three-on-three is valuable. We’re always trying to get that introduced in our camp. Last year, we kinda came up with this three period structure, and it was extremely valuable for us, and we foresee it being the same this year.”
To unpack the day’s action, here are a few observations:
Strong Start for DeBrincat in Bid for Increased Consistency
Alex DeBrincat wasted no time opening his (exhibition) goalscoring account for the 2024-25 season, scoring just 24 seconds into today’s action when he slipped between Jeff Petry and Simon Edvinsson with some assertive stick-handling and a decisive shot. DeBrincat then completed his scrimmage with a goal in the shootout. Of course, it’s a long way from the most important moment to find the back of the net, but it’s nonetheless a positive data point as he looks to improve upon the 27 goals he notched in his first season back home in Detroit.
“I had a couple questions within the media last year when he would go through those slumps of not scoring, and, if you recall, it was never a matter of looks,” said Derek Lalonde of the path to improving consistency for DeBrincat. “He had a ton of looks. As long as players like that continue to get their looks that cycle of puck luck or shooting percentage kind of comes around.” Questions about 82-game consistency can’t possibly be answered in an intrasquad game, but for a sniper like DeBrincat, scoring surely beats the alternative.
Stockton continues, and Eargood asks four “Special Teams Questions” after the Red vs. White Game…
Can the Red Wings’ Power Play Tap into Old Chicago Chemistry?
Patrick Kane said Red Wings free agent signing Erik Gustaffson holds his own with the best power play pointmen he has played with in his career. The Red Wings put that high praise into action, reuniting Kane and Gustafsson with Alex DeBrincat on their top power play. That trio played together for an effective unit in 2019 with Chicago, finishing the season at a 20.2% conversion rate ranking 15th in the NHL.
The big question with Detroit’s power play is whether they can tap back into that mojo with ease.
“That’s real,” Lalonde described Saturday of the connection between the three players. “Probably even went into the signing. You get the players, one of a coach’s first exercises is to watch them from their past.”
Lalonde isn’t just copying the Blackhawks’ homework here. There’s an evident connection between the three players that showed up in the scrimmage. With all three on the perimeter of the power play, Dylan Larkin at bumper and Lucas Raymond at the net front, the Chicago alumni moved the puck well to each other and developed a handful of chances. Detroit would probably like to see them score — the unit actually went negative by allowing Tyler Motte to score a shorthanded goal against them. But, the skeleton of what they once had in Chicago showed.
Keying in on Gustafsson, Lalonde specifically likes the way that he finds Kane with time and space to utilize off his elite half wall play, while Gustafsson also seems to find DeBrincat’s “sweet spot” as a shooter. Gustafsson’s efficacy isn’t so much about what he can do as an individual, but more so the way he can help elite teammates reach their potential to score. Whereas last season’s top unit quarterback Shayne Gostisbehere could make a lot of individual moves, Gustafsson is much more reserved at the point.
Even if Gustafsson might not stir the drink, he puts the spoon in the hand of the players who will. If he can continue to do that, that bodes well for Detroit’s top unit.
Eargood’s article continues, and he wraps up the Hockey News’s training camp coverage by discussing the potential next steps for players who are looking to inherit the alternate captain’s “A” vacated by David Perron’s departure:
“I think this might give an opportunity to evaluate all of our (players) with an open spot, if you will,” Lalonde said Sunday after the Red & White Game. “We ask guys to lead whether they wear a letter or not wear a letter. We’ve done a really good job inside that locker room of building our leadership core. Many different guys into it. No rush on that by any means. We’ll probably take a look at a lot of different things.”
While Larkin wears the “C,” defenseman Ben Chiarot and forward Andrew Copp are both remaining alternate captains. They earned their letters the same time as Perron, immediately after joining the organization in 2022. But now, those veterans will be joined by a new alternate captain. The question now is who exactly the new ordained leader will be.
Lalonde didn’t specify which qualities he is looking for in his next alternate captain, but the decision comes at the crossroads of a few important roster considerations. Namely, some younger faces are joining the team in the coming years, while many veterans might start to phase out. And while this all happens, younger stars like Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider are entering their prime years as exceedingly important leaders on the team. Earlier this summer, Lalonde spoke of his desire for those two to take on greater leadership roles within the team. Either now or in the coming years, it might make sense to bring a representative of the younger generation into the official leadership contingent.
Meanwhile, Detroit has a number of other respected leaders in the locker room, including some with ample leadership experience. There are many candidates who could wear a letter, and that makes deciding who exactly gets the official promotion a difficult decision.
“A couple emerging, special players in Seider and Raymond, obviously some nice free agents, guys that have worn letters in different organizations in the past,” Lalonde said. “So we’re in no rush on that. But again, we worked really hard on our leadership, and it’s not necessarily just wearing a letter.”
Finally, MLive’s Ansar Khan rounded out his training camp coverage by discussing Marco Kasper’s maturation:
“Just going to try to play my game and play with confidence, make my (case) that I know I’m capable of and just work as hard as you can, like I’m always doing, and just give my best,” Kasper said.
Having bulked up a little while training back home in Austria will help.
“I’m always trying to get stronger in the gym, doing some heavy lifting, some conditioning as well, but just trying to become a man, if you want to say like that, and just gain some bulk as well,” the 6-1, 197-pound Kasper said.
He also played some Olympic qualifying games, though Austria did not qualify.
“That was good to get some games in before coming over here, just worked really hard,” Kasper said. “Practiced with the first team back in the Austrian League for a bit, so just getting in battles and getting in game speed. It was good for me.”
He admits he wasn’t as prepared for his first camp as he is this time around.
“The smaller ice … it’s really a big part for young guys coming over from Europe, and I had a tough time last year,” Kasper said. “But we practiced really hard in Grand Rapids, played really good games, had a good team, and really helped me and all of us young guys to just get better. I have a lot more confidence this year.”
Tomorrow, the Red Wings begin practicing for their 8-game exhibition season at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center, and I’ll pick up my coverage then.
I know I wasn’t at training camp this year, and I got pretty sick this weekend, but I hope that I managed to satisfy your expectations for coverage.
We’ll be doing some fundraising to plain old pay the bills–not your or my favorite thing–but if this is not just a community, but also a transactional blog to some of you, well…Then there need to be transactions to get the job done.
Take care and have a good Sunday.
Update: The Red Wings added a Twitter post-script:
Great way to end a great week 🙌 pic.twitter.com/uFkmZHgzJJ
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 23, 2024
