Ahead of their annual trip up to Traverse City, Michigan, the Red Wings announced Wednesday afternoon the full roster of players participating in Detroit’s training camp starting Thursday.
With a busy offseason, there is a healthy amount of competition all over the lineup. Headlined by 26-year-old captain Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi, and 2021 rookie sensations Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond, all of whom are coming off big seasons. Michigan-native Andrew Copp signed a five-year deal on day one of the free agent period opening and will miss the entirety of training camp recovering from offseason abdominal surgery but will look to slot in behind Dylan Larkin at center.
David Perron and Ben Chiarot will likely slot in at the top of Detroit’s lineup while also bringing an important veteran presence, which was needed after the departures of Marc Staal, Sam Gagner, and Danny DeKeyser. Forwards Jakub Vrana, Filip Zadina, and Dominik Kubalik will be looking for a spot in Detroit’s top-six, and all have the ability to put the puck in the back of the net. Appearing in only 37 games since being acquired by Detroit, Vrana has scored at a ridiculous rate, posting 21 goals and 30 points. Looking to be fully healthy next season, Vrana could be a potential 30-plus scorer.
On the backend behind Moritz Seider and Ben Chiarot, Filip Hronek and newcomer Olli Maatta will likely fill the remaining spots in Detroit’s top four. Returners Jordan Oesterle and Gustav Lindstrom will compete with Robert Hagg and potentially two top prospects for the remaining two spots. Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson both wrapped up playing for Detroit’s Prospect tournament team and will be looking to build off of strong SHL campaigns and push for a spot on the opening night lineup.
Other prospects, such as Jonatan Berggren, Elmer Soderblom, Donovan Sebrango, and Eemil Viro, will also attempt to put their best foot forward and carry momentum into their AHL seasons.
Returning goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic and newcomer Ville Husso will be looking to earn the starter role once the regular season starts. Nedeljkovic appeared in 59 games last season, posting a 20-24-9 record and a .901 save percentage. In St. Louis, last season Husso went 25-7-6 and recorded a .919 save percentage.
With plenty of new faces added from either free agency or prospects making the jump, this is the start to what should be a promising season in Detroit.
