DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted his late-evening recap of the events of Day 3 of Red Wings’ 2025 training camp, and tonight, Mills frames Saturday’s activities in terms of what coach McLellan hopes will carry over to Sunday’s Red & White Game (3 PM EDT Sunday on WXSP and DetroitRedWings.com):
A productive scrimmage for McLellan will start with the players carrying over the level of competition that he saw on the ice on Saturday.
“I thought the guys were a little more competitive today than they were yesterday,” McLellan said. “There was physicality in the game. The ice was harder to come by, so it was tighter. There wasn’t a lot of free space. It was getting closer to what real hockey should look like. I hope that continues tomorrow in GR. Then we can pack up, get home, have a day off and a lot of games are going to come at us in a real short period of time.”
Creating that tough, but beneficial, environment in Training Camp has been a group effort.
“[The veterans] have been really good,” McLellan said. “There hasn’t been anybody dragging their butts or cutting corners, but I expected that from all of them. The youth have certainly pushed. There have been some real good performances by some players who have provided pace and tenacity, and that’s a real good sign as well.”
McLellan added that he’s encouraged the skaters to embrace a mindset that includes a willingness to take risks.
“I told the group today that there’s some players who have come here and they’re kind of riding the brake a little bit, maybe afraid to make mistakes,” McLellan said. “And then there are players who have come to make the team. If you’ve been riding the brake a little bit, figure out who you are and let loose. You can’t play conservative all the time. If you make mistakes, we’ll help you. But if your biggest mistake is you’re playing with your foot on the brake all the time, we can’t help you with that.”
Continued; hockey-wise, I get the feeling that coach McLellan’s brakes don’t get a whole lot of work. He seems like a gas pedal kind of coach.
