Red Wings Training Camp Day Two Notebook

Though head coach Derek Lalonde went out of his way to commend his team's pace on day one of training camp, there was a sense that the speed of Red Wings camp ratcheted up further on day two from Centre Ice Arena in Traverse City.

Where camp's opening day revolved around systems, the second day saw a more skating-intensive practice from the Red Wings.  Many different drills required players to fly up and down the ice with a focus on tracking, players took lots of live reps both off the rush and in in-zone play, and many drills demanded three or four different plays from each group before it completed a single rep.  Players also spent more time on small area games, competing against one another in 2-on-2s and 3-on-3s in an artificially compressed sub-section of the offensive zone.

That increased competition engaged the Centre Ice Arena crowd, which came to life throughout the day's practices.  One rousing sequence of offensive zone play from a combination of Detroit's top line and defense pair brought the crowd to its feet for a moment, as the Red Wings danced their way around the zone before Dylan Larkin tapped in a goal at the back post.

As Lalonde promised at his media availability the day prior, Detroit toggled its lines from day one to day two.  The most notable swap was David Perron replacing Lucas Raymond beside Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Larkin, with Raymond joining Robby Fabbri and J.T. Compher instead.

Lalonde expressed both surprise and pleasure at the "pop and chemistry" he saw between Fabbri and Raymond, who looked dynamic together in transition, while also showing a burgeoning mutual understanding when it came to O-zone play.  

Once again, it's early, so there's no reason to read too much into training camp line combinations.  Still, it's exciting to see Detroit with multiple options for aligning what promises to be a formidable attack; that hasn't been a possibility for some time in Hockeytown.

From an injury/absence perspective, the same two Red Wings who were unavailable day one also missed day two.  Carter Mazur continues to recover from a lower body injury, while Ben Chiarot continues to attend to a family matter away from the team.

Lalonde also mentioned that tomorrow's practice will focus on special teams, with an eye toward Sunday's Red-White scrimmage.

DeBrincat Speaks

Alex DeBrincat spoke with reporters for the first time in camp after his morning practice.  He discussed the "dream come true" that is suiting up for his hometown team, the process for developing chemistry in a new environment, and goals for the coming season.

"Growing up for me, they were making the playoffs every year, it was so fun to root for them, and they were winning Stanley Cups," DeBrincat said of the Red Wing teams he cheered for throughout his childhood.  "That was definitely a dream of mine—to play here, and I'm just grateful it happened and hopeful to get back to that stage of winning."

When asked how he would describe his own profile as a player, DeBrincat offered ""I just try to go out there and create as much as I can. I like to get in the mix in the corners, I like to get pucks back. Last year, I didn't have the best two-way game I think, but in past years, I've been a pretty good two-way forward...That creates so many more chances for me and my line-mates."

He acknowledged that developing a sense of comfort alongside new teammates doesn't happen overnight but added that he believes things are off to a fast start with Dylan Larkin.

"Over time, you learn where guys like to be on the ice and where they're the most deadly from," DeBrincat said.  "I think if we can just read off each other, it makes the game a lot easier, and that definitely comes over time.  [Larkin's] definitely got a lot of speed and can move up the middle, and that opens up a lot of room for his line-mates.  He's definitely fun to play with."

"A lot of [developing chemistry] is just playing together," he continued. "The more we do those low area games and see where guys kinda like to hang out. For me, I'm always trying to study that a bit more and trying to read off players. When you haven't played with someone, it's a little bit harder to find those spots, those soft areas. But even a couple practices, it comes pretty easy. Moving forward, it should be a lot easier."

When asked whether his experience jumping from Chicago to Ottawa last summer might help ease his transition to Detroit, DeBrincat expressed that he believed it would.

"Last year was maybe a little bit harder of a transition," said the winger.  "I was in Chicago for a while and played the same way pretty much all those years.  Then last year was different systems, different all that.  I think last year is definitely gonna help me this year.  Obviously, when you go into a new group, I'm pretty shy in general, so sometimes it's tough to get in there and feel comfortable right away.  I feel like the guys have done a great job for me, and it's been a fun camp so far."

After a question about the physical nature of the first two days of practice, DeBrincat highlighted the importance of establishing a standard of intensity that the Red Wings can carry into the regular season.

"You wanna play hard and get pucks back when you need it," he said. "I think that competitive edge during training camp is gonna carry right into the season. The hard work has to start here or else it's probably not gonna start. We really need to grind during camp, and it will become a lot easier during the year."

When asked what he views as the most important thing for the Red Wings to take away from camp, 

"We need to pin down our systems and work on that and then it becomes second nature to everyone.  It's just predictable out there and everyone knows what we're doing.  And also the work ethic—everyone working hard, competing.  We're all competing for jobs here, and once that level is to a certain point, it becomes easier and easier to compete at that same level every day.  That carries into games, and we want to be the hardest working team out there."

Sprong Flashes

Whether it was the purple hue of his visor, the thunderous power behind his shot, or the volume of scoring chances he seemed to generate, there was no shortage of reasons to notice Daniel Sprong on his second official day as a Red Wing.

Playing on a line with Jonatan Berggren and Joe Veleno, Sprong earned plaudits from his coach for his performance.

Berggren's aptitude as a playmaker makes him a natural fit alongside Sprong, while for Veleno, playing with Berggren and Sprong constitutes an opportunity to play.a more offensive game than he might be able to on the Red Wings' fourth line.  If that trio does find a groove once the regular season begins, it could also free up Detroit to move one of Andrew Copp or J.T. Compher to the wing.  Once again, there is a sense of added depth over the offseason affording the Red Wings more options for deploying their top talent.

A year ago in Seattle, Sprong played a limited third line role but that didn't stop him from being a volume goalscorer.  Despite playing under 12 minutes a night, Sprong managed to chip in 21 goals for the Kraken, and he ranked 15th in the league in goals per 60 minutes of ice time at 1.67.

When asked whether Sprong will likely occupy a similar role in Detroit or move up the line-up, Lalonde said "I think he can complement anyone throughout our lineup. He seems comfortable in that type of role [as a 3rd line scorer]. He doesn't need a ton to score; he's a shooter. We want him shooting from everywhere, we want him trying to score from every situation. That's his strength. He's had a really good camp also...We're gonna have a ton of different looks, but I really feel he could complement anybody in our top 12."

Even if it's his shot that catches the most eyeballs, Sprong's vision was also impressive throughout Friday's practice. Scouts sometimes talk about a "five foot player" or "ten foot player" who's field of vision is restricted to five or ten feet in front of them. Sprong, by contrast, is a player who can deliver passes and find open ice all over the offensive zone. 

Though Sprong is new to Detroit, David Perron is familiar with the Amsterdam-born winger from their days together in Pittsburgh as well as offseason skates together in Montreal.

"I played with him in a 3-on-3 league this summer, and any moment, he can shoot from the corner, shoot from the blue line, shoot from the dots," Perron said of Sprong.  "I think he's in range all the time to score.  He's got a really quick release, sneaky shot.  For him, if he focuses on all the details that coaches like, that coaches see him do every single night to give him more opportunities, that's where he's going to be able to take one more step...As a young guy, it feels sometimes like when you focus more on the defensive side, the structure and all that, you kind of feel like you give away offense.  But in the end you don't, because the coaches will end up giving you more on the other side in the long run, and that's what you should focus on."

Youngsters Progress

A central story of any NHL training camp is bound to be the quest of that team's top prospects to crack the big league roster, and the Red Wings are no exception.

Players like Simon Edvinsson and Marco Kasper entered camp with the objective of playing their way into Detroit Red Wing rather than Grand Rapids Griffin uniforms to open the season.  If he were healthy, Carter Mazur would find himself in the same position.

Given that improved depth has been a major talking point in the first two days of camp, it's worth noting that none of that trio will have any easy time cracking the Red Wings night one line-up, which figures to leave even a few established pros as healthy scratches.

When asked about what it takes for a young player to make that final push toward NHL readiness, Lalonde said, "It probably is different for different players.  You want them pushing, [but] in an ideal world, you don't want to rush those guys in.  A lot of Detroit's previous success when they were winning Stanley Cups was their ability to have everyone develop at a little more methodical pace.  We foresee the same for those type of players.  We want them pushing for a spot on our NHL team, you need that push from the bottom and from the young guys.  But at the same time, you don't want to rush them into it.  There's a balance there, and I do think it's different hurdles for each individual."

More than once this offseason, Steve Yzerman has cited Raymond as an exemplar of a young player who wasn't projected to play NHL minutes when camp opened but forced his way into that position with his performance.

When asked to reflect on that process from two seasons ago, Raymond said, "It's tough.  You're not going to be given a spot, you have to earn a spot, and I think that's the most important thing.  It's a great experience, and it's tough.  All of a sudden you have to take an NHL player's job, and he's not going to give it to you.  It's a tough spot but also very valuable and for sure will grow you as a player.  I think it's just about working hard every single day, trying to improve yourself and develop."