The Detroit Red Wings’ prospects won a 3-2 overtime decision over the Columbus Blue Jackets’ prospects on Tuesday afternoon, and the Wings’ beat writers have weighed in on the game.
The Hockey News’s Michael Whitaker provides a “just the facts” recap…
The Detroit Red Wings closed out the 2026 NHL Prospects Tournament on a winning note, defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets in comeback fashion by a 3-2 final score in overtime.
Forward Justice Christensen, who signed with the American Hockey League affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins after playing the last four years with the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders, scored twice, including the overtime game-winning tally.
The scoring was opened Columbus in the second period after a disputed tally from Josh Eernisse; while the Red Wings argued that goaltender Trey Augustine was interfered with, the tally stood.
Christensen scored his first of two goals on the afternoon not long afterwards, firing a slap shot past Blue Jackets goaltender Nolan Lalonde from the top of the faceoff circle while on the power-play.
Columbus restored their one goal lead thanks to Jordan Dumais. However, with Augustine on the bench, Noah Dower Nilsson cleaned up a rebound in front of the net and deposited a backhander past Lalonde, knotting the score at 2-2.
In overtime, it was Christensen converting on a give-and-go rush with Sutter Muzzatti for the game-winning tally.
The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan spoke with Christensen and Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan Watson, who coached the prospects to a 2-and-1 record while playing 3 games over the course of 4 days and evenings:
“It was awesome,” Christensen said. “I was happy to find the back of the net and get the one in overtime. It felt good for sure. I wanted to utilize my shot (during the tournament), which I was able to do.”
Noah Dower Nilsson scored with a minute left in regulation to force overtime. Goaltender Trey Augustine stopped 21-of-23 shots he faced.
Griffins coach Dan Watson, who ran the Wings’ bench in this tournament, was pleased with the Wings’ competitiveness.
“I was happy our guys stuck together and we were able to get two of the three wins,” Watson said. “They should be proud of the work they put in. We had six-on-five experience all three games so we had some practice with that and we were able to capitalize in two of the wins. The experiences for these guys, and guys who were put in those roles, they were able to contribute and get the job done, so good for them. The entire tournament was well put-together and the competitiveness of the games and the intensity increased every game.”
The three-game tournament was a good way for prospects such as forward Nate Danielson, aiming for an NHL roster spot in the next two weeks in training camp, to knock the summer rust off. Danielson is coming off a stress-fracture injury that shortened last season for him. Danielson said he’s feeling no issues from the injury.
“It was kind of the idea to get to play these (games) and get my legs under me,” Danielson said. “It was frustrating last year, and now with the shorter camp, just important to get some games before camp starts.”
Danielson also spoke with MLive’s Ansar Khan regarding his situation as vying for a roster spot on the Red Wings’ NHL team…
“I’m confident in myself and I just want to go out there and play my game and not really I don’t really worry about all that other stuff,” Danielson said. “Just kind of focus on myself and whatever happens, happens.”
Danielson had two goals and seven points in 28 games with the Red Wings in addition to three goals and 15 points in 18 games with the Griffins. The organization sees him as a responsible defensive player who has more offense in him.
“His vision, the way he thinks the game, he’s very responsible, maybe sometimes too responsible, and that sometimes can hurt you,” Griffins coach Dan Watson said. “But I just think his willingness to go to the net, to create some more offense around the net, that’s what we asked him to do last year, and he started to do that with us before he got injured. Hopefully he’s been able to get stronger and have that ability to do that.”
Said Danielson: “I feel like finishing is definitely one thing that I kind of need to bear down on. I felt like last year I lacked that at times.”
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Watson said Danielson will be mentally stronger from the experience.
“Going through an injury like that, missing the better part of the last half of the season, to get through that and come out stronger, I think that’s going to help him,” Watson said. “Don’t worry about his play. That’s going to take care of itself. He knew what he needed to work on come summertime. But I just think the mental toughness side of it, which is a big part of the game right now, he’s going to be on the better side of that.”
Coach Watson told Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff that leadership is a key aspect of the prospects’ games which Watson’s evaluating as both their coach for the tournament and as a potential employer of the players as the bench boss in Grand Rapids:
“They’ve got to be leaders,” Watson said. “I think that’s the biggest thing. They’re thrust into these leadership positions now. Even Anton [Johansson], this is his first prospect tournament, but he’s still looked upon as a guy who knows what we as a staff want, what the organization wants, because he’s been around it.
“So these guys are leaned upon heavily to make sure that the guys know the schedule, that they’re on time for everything. They understand the systems. They understand the structure we want to play with and how we want to play, the sort of mentality side of it.
“And you can already see they’re taking that leadership seriously. And I think it’s good for their growth and their development in those types of roles, besides just putting on weight.”
It may be just a rookie tourney, but for Watson, it’s also a scouting session. Several of these players will be populating the Grand Rapids roster this season.
“I’m in evaluation mode, I will say that for sure,” Watson said. “I’m looking to see what their skill sets are, maybe what roles they can fill. Everyone’s got to fill a role in GR, and I’m just trying to see where everyone’s going to fit and what they can bring to our team.”
Watson, who revealed to Duff that both Will Murphy and Luka Arkko were unable to play during the tournament due to injuries, gave Noah Dower-Nilsson a thumbs-up:
“I think he’s extremely skilled,” Griffins coach Dan Watson said. “The one thing we haven’t seen enough out of him is a shot. He can shoot the puck. But what I like is he’s a reliable player. He will create offense, and I think for him, it’s just making sure that he keeps that competitive edge, that intensity all the time. That’s going to make him a better player.”
Watson also discussed Justice Christensen, who’s signed to an AHL deal…
“He’s got a great shot,” Griffins coach Dan Watson said. “We saw that for his first goal. He can skate well. And he won a race for the second goal. He kind of does a little bit of everything. And so we’re excited for him. We’re excited to see how he translates into professional hockey.”
And Trey Augustine earned a thumbs-up…
Augustine made 21 saves for his second victory over the tournament. “Two really good showings, and I think the pace of the games, the quality shots that he saw weren’t great defensively at times,” Watson said. “So he had to make some big saves.”
From a coach who expects the players to understand that the game is different coming out of Major Junior and college hockey, again, per Duff:
“When they get inside the locker room, they’re playing now with guys who are married, who have kids, who depend on everyone in that locker room playing well and being a part of it and being dedicated and committed,” Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan Watson said. “These young guys see real quick that it matters. Everything they do matters.”
Watson continued:
“There’s no classes for him now, so once we leave the rink, he’s got a full day ahead of him to figure out what to do with,” Watson said. “I think a lot of guys, they underestimate that side of it. Going back to your apartment, it’s a little bit different. You’re not going back to a dorm or a house to hang out with the guys. You’re on your own a little bit at times. And that’s a big adjustment.
“It’s mentally, too. I think of the recovery side of it. If you look at our schedule right now, we’ve got five three-in-threes 3 throughout the season. Whether he plays a Friday or Sunday, whether he gets a Saturday game, there’s a lot of travel, and then we play. So there’s a lot of things that go into it, and then just the amount of ice time that we get. There are goalie sessions every single practice day for 30 minutes. There’s a ton of ice that he’s going to have to get used to, but also have the ability to recover and learn from that.”
Multimedia: The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a clip of an interview with Nate Danielson…
The Detroit News’s David Guralnick posted a 24-image gallery and a 1:08 clip of game action.
