Detroit — With the buzz of the NHL Entry Draft still fresh in everyone’s minds, the Red Wings are about to educate all those kids — and draft picks from the past few years — about what it takes to become an NHL player.
The Wings hold their 2022 Development Camp, which returns to the BELFOR Training Center inside Little Caesars Arena from Sunday-Thursday.
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The camp begins on Sunday with on-ice testing, and features on-ice skill development and off-ice workouts each day, ending with a three-on-three tournament on Thursday.
The organization hasn’t held a development camp the past two years because of pandemic restrictions.
“We really like it,” general manager Steve Yzerman said of the opportunity to hold a camp. “The European kids and U.S. college kids, that’s the only time we really have to spend with them throughout the year. The European kids go home and play in their leagues and the NCAA kids go to college and you’re limited to your access to them.
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Mostly it’s a great chance to spend four or five days with them and they get to know us and vice versa.”
The camp will be split into two teams, Team Howe and Team Lindsay, and will feature daily on-ice instruction and skill development from the organization’s player development staff.
Players will take part in NHL-level off-ice workouts and attend presentations designed to help players transition to professional hockey.
“We get four or five days to spend with them, get to know them and, more so for the younger kids that maybe haven’t been a college program or a European pro league, they get a chance to come in and get a chance to spend time with and work with our skating people, our skills people and our fitness people and really make sure they’re on a good program, if they’re not already, for the offseason.
“We talk about strengths and weaknesses and things we really want them to focus on, and kind of set them for the rest of the summer. We may not see some of them in Detroit until the following development camp.”
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The week’s roster will be comprised primarily of players selected by the Wings over the last several NHL Drafts, as well as signed free-agent prospects and undrafted free-agent invitees from collegiate, junior or European leagues.
The Wings’ 2021-22 roster consisted of 13 players who had participated in at least one development camp since 2016, including Tyler Bertuzzi, Kyle Criscuolo, Taro Hirose, Filip Hronek, Dylan Larkin, Gustav Lindstrom, Chase Pearson, Michael Rasmussen, Dan Renouf, Moritz Seider, Givani Smith, Joe Veleno and Filip Zadina.
“(It) is going to be pretty special for a lot of these guys that had their names called,” said Kris Draper, the Wings’ director of amateur scouting. “And some of the guys we even drafted last year that didn’t have the opportunity.”
ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @tkulfan