Ahead of today’s 2026 prospect tournament finale against the Columbus Blue Jackets (2 PM EDT start, streamed on DetroitRedWings.com), DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills looks back at the comments made by Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan Watson and forward Jesse Kiiskinen after Saturday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
For Watson and his players, the tournament is more than simply an opportunity to “get their legs under them” again:
The way Grand Rapids Griffins head coach Dan Watson sees it, what the Detroit Red Wings’ up-and-comers absorb off the ice during the 2026 NHL Prospect Tournament at BELFOR Training Center inside Little Caesars Arena is just as beneficial as what happens on it.
“That’s part of the experience of the Prospect Tournament — get all the young prospects together, get a feel for each other,” Watson said following Detroit’s 4-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday night. “Get their game under their belt before they get into main camp, start to build some chemistry and build some of that culture within the locker room here. We’ve already started that with this group, so it’s exciting for these guys to come over, learn new things and figure out what the pro hockey lifestyle is going to be.”
Forward Jesse Kiiskinen, for example, has enjoyed acclimating to the organizational culture. That’s been an ongoing process for the 21-year-old, one that started near the end of the 2025-26 season, when Kiiskinen joined Grand Rapids and made his American Hockey League debut on April 11.
“It’s a big part of this tournament, just off-ice stuff,” Kiiskinen said. “Getting used to how things work here, what kind of people are here, getting to know the new guys. It’s a lot to learn in a little bit of time, especially figuring out how we come together as a team. This has been really good.”
According to Watson, he wants Kiiskinen and the rest of the young group to “feel comfortable with the player they already are” throughout this four-team tournament.
“We want to play with a little bit of structure, that’s for sure,” Watson said. “It’s also an opportunity for these guys to learn what they’re going to learn next week in main camp too. They get a head start on that. With that said, they’re here for a reason. We don’t want to take away how they play, who they are. We want them to go show their best selves. You can’t handcuff them. We’re going to let them make mistakes. That’s what this tournament is about, and how do they correct those mistakes? How do they get back and how do they defend? What’s their work ethic like? So, there’s structure involved.”
Continued; with a shorter preseason (4 games in 1 week instead of 8 games over the course of 2 weeks), both the Red Wings and Griffins will be scrambling a bit to evaluate their players…And someone like Kiiskinen is hoping to make a favorable impression as soon as possible. So far, so good.
