The NHL season is right around the corner, which means the Detroit Red Wingsโ annual prospect tournament is here. The tournament runs Sept. 12-15 at the BELFOR Training Center inside Little Caesars Arena, and Detroitโs kids will be up against prospects from the Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, and Pittsburgh Penguins. This will be the first time in nearly thirty years that the Red Wings will not be traveling to Traverse City, Mich., for their prospect tourney and training camp, and will instead stay down in Detroit to perform their wind-up for this upcoming NHL season. Detroit released the 24-player roster and the full schedule earlier this month, and DSN broke down the group when it dropped. Here is who is actually worth watching.
Forwards at the Red Wings Prospect Tournament
- #11 Kienan Draper- Right Wing
- #29 Nate Danielson- Center
- #38 Sutter Muzzatti- Center
- #41 Carter Bear- Left Wing
- #48 Thรฉo Rochette- Center
- #63 Cooper Dennis- Right Wing (Free Agent Invitee)
- #64 Michal Svrcek- Left Wing
- #70 Dylan James- Left Wing
- #74 Noah Dower Nilsson- Left Wing
- #79 Jesse Kiiskinen- Right Wing
- #81 Adam Levac- Center
- #82 Michael Dec- Right Wing (Free Agent Invitee)
- #85 Haeden Ellis- Right Wing (Free Agent Invitee)
- #94 Luka Arkko- Left Wing
There is a handful of forward prospects that Wings fans should be interested in seeing outside of Nate Danielson. Fans saw flashes of Danielsonโs potential last year when he suited up for 28 games wearing the winged wheel, posting a season stat line of 2 goals and 5 assists for 7 points. That run ended early: a lower-body injury on Feb. 18 shut him down for the rest of the season, after he had also put up 15 points in 18 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins.
We can start right at the top of this list with Kienan Draper, son of former Detroit Red Wing Kris Draper. Kienan is looking to put on an impressive tournament after his last year at the University of Michigan, where he put up 5 goals and 13 assists for 18 points in 40 collegiate games while serving as an alternate captain for the Wolverines. He is no longer a college kid, either. Draper signed a two-year deal with Grand Rapids in April, so this is his first camp as a professional.
After Kienan, we can work our way down the list to winger Carter Bear, who was drafted 13th overall in the 2025 NHL Draft. Bear has been playing for the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League, posting back-to-back seasons over 75 points. He put up 77 points (36 goals, 41 assists) in 53 games last season while leading Everett in goals and finishing at plus-45, then helped push the Silvertips to the WHL Championship.
Two Dark Horses to Crack the Roster
I have two dark horse candidates to crack the Wings roster if they put on an impressive performance during the prospect tournament and training camp. The first is Sutter Muzzatti, a 6-foot-6, 241-pound center and Okemos, Mich., native who was acquired from the Nashville Predators for future considerations on Aug. 20 and signed to a two-year entry-level contract. He played last year with the University of Notre Dame, where he posted 13 goals and 19 assists for 32 points in 37 games, second on the team in scoring. With his size and skill, he could benefit the Wings as a bottom-six forward on opening night.
The other dark horse that could sneak onto the roster is Thรฉo Rochette, a center who played last season in the National League in Switzerland, where he produced 22 goals and 21 assists for 43 points in 46 games for Lausanne HC. He was named to the leagueโs All-Star team, led his club in scoring, and signed his entry-level deal with Detroit in June. A player coming off a season against grown professionals is exactly the profile that tends to survive a camp cut.
Defensemen: Johansson and Truscott Headline a Thin Group
- #42 Anton Johansson
- #46 Myles Brosnan
- #62 Jacob Truscott
- #83 Justice Christensen
- #86 Brady Ness (Free Agent Invitee)
- #87 Carter Hicks (Free Agent Invitee)
- #89 Will Murphy
- #97 Leo Laschon (Free Agent Invitee)
The Wings are bringing eight defensemen to this tournament, and this D-core is headlined by Anton Johansson, a fourth-round pick (105th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft, and Jacob Truscott, who split time between the Grand Rapids Griffins and Toledo Walleye, both Wings affiliates in the minors. Three of the eight are free agent invitees, which tells you how thin the position is. It will be interesting to see what defensive pairings the Wings roll with, and whether they can shut down the opposing offenses. The blue line is the biggest question mark heading into the week.
Goalies: Trey Augustine Gets His Runway
- #31 Trey Augustine
- #68 Michal Orsulak
The Wings are only running with two goaltenders during this tournament. The first is Trey Augustine, whom the Wings selected 41st in the 2023 NHL Draft. The hype around Augustine is real: he came off a huge season with Michigan State, going 24-9-1 with a .929 save percentage and a 2.11 goals-against average, and won the Mike Richter Award as the top goaltender in NCAA Division I menโs hockey. His cup of coffee in Grand Rapids did not go as well, suiting up for the Griffins in two losses with an .878 save percentage and a 3.39 goals-against average. He can use this tournament to right the ship.
The second goaltender is Michal Orsulak, freshly off being drafted by the Wings 79th overall in this past NHL Draft. Orsulak spent last year in the Western Hockey League with the Prince Albert Raiders, going 28-4-3-1 with a .907 save percentage and a 2.22 goals-against average over 36 games, the best GAA in the WHL, and was named a finalist for WHL Goaltender of the Year. Both goalies got their runway when Detroit shipped Sebastian Cossa to the Utah Mammoth for the 23rd overall pick at this past draft, which the Wings turned into forward J.P. Hurlbert.
Red Wings Prospect Tournament Schedule
| Saturday, Sept. 12 | Home | Away | |
| 3:00 PM | Columbus | VS. | Pittsburgh |
| 6:30 PM | Detroit | VS. | Dallas |
| Sunday, Sept. 13 | Home | Away | |
| 3:30 PM | Dallas | VS. | Columbus |
| 7:00 PM | Detroit | VS. | Pittsburgh |
| Tuesday, Sept. 15 | Home | Away | |
| 10:30 AM | Dallas | VS. | Pittsburgh |
| 2:00 PM | Detroit | VS. | Columbus |
All games are at the BELFOR Training Center, and the Red Wingsโ three games stream free on DetroitRedWings.com for viewers in Michigan and Lucas County, Ohio. Main training camp opens Sept. 17, and under the new collective bargaining agreement the veterans only get 13 days of it, so the sample these kids put together over these three games is a bigger share of the evaluation than it used to be. Here is what else is worth tracking heading into camp.
