Red Wings draft picks get chance to learn about NHL life with development camp

Ted Kulfan
The Detroit News
Moritz Seider, of Mannheim, Germany, is the Detroit Red Wings' first round pick, 6th overall, of the 2019 NHL Draft in Vancouver.

Detroit — Talk about the whirlwind for the young players just selected in the NHL Entry Draft.

You’ve had a few days to enjoy the feeling of being picked by an NHL team — and now you’ll get an understanding of what it’ll take to get there.

A virtual draft will preclude the traditional donning-the-jersey ceremony, which Red Wings' 2019 first-round pick Moritz Seider took part in last year.

The Red Wings open development camp Tuesday at Little Caesars Arena, providing an education on NHL life to recent draft picks.

Ten of the Red Wings' 11 draft picks will attend, according to the team, including first-round pick Moritz Seider, as well as all 10 of the Wings' draft picks from 2018, and five from the 2017 class.

Three signed free agents played late last season with the Wings — forwards Taro Hirose and Ryan Kuffner, and goaltender Kaden Fulcher — also will be there, in addition to 17 free-agent prospects from the major junior, college and European ranks.

“We get to know the kids a little bit and try to set them up and educate them if they need it,” general manager Steve Yzerman said. “They all have varying experience as far as training and eating properly, so they are at different stages from different countries and backgrounds. We want to educate them on what they need to be doing on and off the ice this summer.

“For the ones we do get to bring back in September (junior league players), make sure they have a real good summer, and for the ones we don’t get back that are in college or have to play in Europe, make sure they understand what they need to do — the lifestyle and dedication, the work ethic, the training to get to the NHL.

“It’s a good week. Our camp will be more about education, instruction and development than conditioning.”

The camp, which runs from Tuesday through Saturday, will be split into two teams: Team Howe and Team Lindsay. There will be daily on-ice instruction and skill development from Wings player development coaches.

Players also take part in NHL-level off-ice workouts and attend presentations designed to help players transition to professional hockey.

Tyler Wright, the Wings’ director of amateur scouting, said the week is an outstanding “learning process” for both the players and the organization.

“I like the fact we have it right now (after the draft),” Wright said. “You test them, you get some baseline kind of value of where they’re at physically and what they need to work on, and you continue to test them as they (return).

“You don’t have to tell us how much work you’ve been doing, when you come back and do the tests we know how much work you’ve done.

“There’s no hiding in this day. Development is such a big process in the NHL level. You have to be able to draft right and be able to develop.”

The camp, which used to be held in Traverse City, will be housed for the second consecutive year at Little Caesars Arena — specifically, within the Belfor Training Center — where the young players experience the amenities offered to players at an NHL facility for an entire week.

The camp will conclude with a three-on-three tournament on Friday night and a Red & White game on Saturday afternoon.

Red Wings development camp

 ► When: Tuesday-Friday, with scrimmage Saturday.

Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit

Tickets: Free, and available in limited quantities on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, go the Wings’ website. Fans may reserve up to six tickets for each day.

Open workouts: On-ice workouts at Little Caesars Arena will be open to the public this week during the Red Wings’ development camp. Here is a schedule of on-ice workouts:

CAMP SCHEDULE

Tuesday

TEAM HOWE

10:20 – 11:20 a.m. – On-ice testing

11:45 – 12:45 p.m. – On-ice shooting

TEAM LINDSAY

1:15 – 2:15 p.m. – On-ice testing

2:45 – 3:45 p.m. – On-ice shooting

Wednesday

TEAM LINDSAY

8:30 – 9:30 a.m. – On-ice skill development (forwards/goaltenders)

9:45 – 10:45 a.m. – on-ice skill development (defensemen)

TEAM HOWE

11:30 – 12:30 p.m. – on-ice skill development (forwards/goaltenders)

12:45 – 1:45 p.m. – on-ice skill development (defensemen)

Thursday

TEAM HOWE

8:30 – 9:30 a.m. – on-ice skill development (forwards/goaltenders)

9:45 – 10:45 a.m. – on-ice skill development (defensemen)

TEAM LINDSAY

11:30 – 12:30 p.m. – on-ice skill development (forwards/goaltenders)

12:45 – 1:45 p.m. – on-ice skill development (defensemen)

Friday

TEAM HOWE

9:15 – 10:00 a.m. – on-ice skating (defensemen/goalies)

10:15 – 11:00 a.m. – on-ice skating (forwards)

TEAM LINDSAY

11:30 – 12:15 p.m. – on-ice skating (defensemen/goalies)

12:30 – 1:15 p.m. – on-ice skating (forwards)

BOTH TEAMS

6:00 – 6:20 p.m. – on-ice warm-up (all players)

6:30 – 6:50 p.m. – 3-on-3 tournament, Game No. 1

7:10 – 7:30 p.m. – 3-on-3 tournament, Game No. 2

7:40 – 8:00 p.m. – 3-on-3 tournament, consolation game

8:20 – 8:40 p.m. – 3-on-3 tournament, championship game

Saturday

BOTH TEAMS

11:30 – 11:45 a.m. – on-ice warm-up (all players)

12:00 p.m. – Red & White Game (three 20-minute periods)

ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com

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