The Free Press’s Helene St. James wrote a morning-posted article which discusses the importance of the Red Wings’ 2023 Prospect Tournament, and prospect tournaments in general:
One of the signs that a young player is ready for the next level of hockey is to judge how he performs against his peers.
That’s an opportunity the likes of Marco Kasper and Elmer Söderblom will have over the coming days as they partake in the prospects tournament that precedes main training camp for the Detroit Red Wings in Traverse City.
Those two are among the dozens of draftees and invitees who will compete against three other NHL teams’ top young players while management and NHL coaching staffs watch from the stands. A standout performance could lead to a look next to a veteran once main camp begins Sept. 21.
The Wings have been holding these prospects tournaments for years, at times hosting as many as seven teams. But the events have become popular around the league — there are also prospects tournaments hosted by the Buffalo Sabres, the Florida Panthers and the Vegas Golden Knights, among others — and this year the Wings host the Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs for four straight days of round-robin action, with each team playing three games.
After that comes a three-day break, and then the veterans show up and other young players arrive.
Continued; nobody wins or loses a job on a team’s NHL roster during the prospect tournament, and it’s incredibly important to see whether a player who’s dominant during the tournament falters when main camp begins…
But this is an important evaluation tool for the four participating NHL teams’ coaches and scouting/front office personnel, and prospect tournaments help establish something of an initial pecking order for young players.
Coach Dan Watson will be eying potential contributors to his Grand Rapids Griffins team, as will Toledo Walleye coach Pat Mikesch, and, as St. James suggests, a fantastic prospect tournament can earn a player an excellent opportunity in training camp lineups.
Just as importantly, the try-outs are trying not only to impress their respective employers, but they’re also trying to impress some of the dozens of pro scouts who attend the Traverse City tournament, dangling AHL and European contracts. I’ve seen many a try-out who was “just okay” during the tournament land as a professional hockey player somewhere other than Detroit.
