The Athletic’s Max Bultman discusses the resumption of scrimmaging on the first day of the Red Wings’ 2025 training camp:
“For a Day 1 scrimmage, I thought that it was very tight-checking and intense,” Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin said. “I think Todd set the tone with that, and his opening meeting.”
Based on the schedule, it won’t be the only one, with scrimmages on the docket each day in Traverse City before the Red Wings head to Grand Rapids for the Red-White game.
McLellan said his thinking with going right into the scrimmages stemmed from getting the players ready for their first preseason game Tuesday, but added, “We’re also evaluating them on how they can play.” His pre-camp message at the team’s meeting Wednesday centered on how important camp was for the group, and the need to take advantage of it. He also stopped practice to correct players and plays while it was ongoing, not letting bad habits or missed reads go unchecked.
The team surged under McLellan when he arrived the day after Christmas last season, winning seven straight games after the head coach’s first practice to revive their season. Detroit ultimately fell short of the playoffs for the ninth straight season, though, in part due to a miserable showing in March, after the 4 Nations break.
For a group that has struggled to stop the bleeding in recent years, it was no surprise to hear McLellan emphasize the need to get better “between the ears” as well. That type of re-wiring may take some time, but hearing it emphasized on Day 1 speaks to its importance for Detroit’s season.
“That comes from us,” McLellan said. “They’re going to read off our body language and our demeanor. It comes from leadership. It comes from practice. We can put them in stressful situations and then push them, and if we see signs of them rolling over — and I mean that professionally, they don’t quit — but maybe letting up a little bit, we’ll push them even more. There’s going to be times in the game where they verbally got to get jolted because you can feel it coming. And we’ve got to grow out of it. It’s not an easy thing to do. But we will.”
Continued (paywall)
