Notebook: Odds and Ends from the First Half of Red Wings Training Camp

The Detroit Red Wings’ training camp is already halfway over.

As the Red Wings enter the second half of training camp, here is a collection of notes from the first half that didn’t make it into THN Detroit’s daily coverage. These notes include topics of roster moves, international hopes and more.

Patrick Kane Eyeing Olympic Spot in the Future

The 2026 Winter Olympics might be more than a year away, but Patrick Kane has his sights set on making the team. Even if he’s keeping his focus on training camp and preparing for a good regular season, the thought of making Team USA is still apparent.

“It’s kind of in the back of your mind a little bit, but I don’t think it’s anything you’re really thinking about right now,” Kane said Thursday. “You think about getting ready for the season, having a good camp and being as ready as possible for the start of the regular season.”

Because of the exclusion of NHL players in the past three Olympics, Kane hasn’t taken the ice for the Americans since 2014 at Sochi. He also played in the 2010 Vancouver Games. In 12 career Olympic games, Kane has tallied nine points.

Kane is humble about his chances to make the 2026 team. At 35 — 37 when the Olympics begin — he’s not getting younger while playing a game that’s driven by speed and quickness. Even if he is Patrick Kane, arguably the most talented American hockey player to ever play, he doesn’t feel he’s a shoo-in.

“There’s a lot of good players, a lot of good forwards — (Dylan Larkin) and (Alex) DeBrincat included for the U.S. team — so we’ll see what happens,” Kane said. “It’s a privilege and an honor to play for Team USA. You want to be on those teams, but I guess we’ll see how it all shakes out and it would be an honor to represent (my) country, especially in those big tournaments like the Four Nations and the Olympics where you’re playing best on best. But like I said, just kind of in the back of your mind right now.”

These next few months of the season will be crucial for the American coaching staff — led by Penguins coach Mike Sullivan — to scout out the potential pieces of their roster. So even if the roster isn’t totally being decided right out of training camp, these early regular season games will be ones that the coaching staff considers.

For what it’s worth, some of Kane’s teammates believe he should be a lock for the roster, if not for his career achievements then for his remaining offensive skill, most notably his creative playmaking. Larkin went so far as to say Kane should captain the USA team, which is high praise coming from the guy wearing the Red Wings’ “C.”

“I know he’s motivated for more,” Larkin said Thursday. “He loves hockey, he loves the game. He’s motivated to make the U.S. team — I’m sure of that. I haven’t talked to him about that, but someone like him deserves to be on that team and probably be the captain of that team.”

Red Wings PTO Players Could Add Grit to Protect Skill Players

The training camp line of Austin Watson, Nate Danielson and Isaac Ratcliffe combine for 90 hockey fights in their careers. And while Danielson — who hasn’t dropped the gloves in junior or pro — isn’t really pulling his weight in that statistic, this line is an example of an area Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde thinks the team needs to address: toughness — or more specifically, protection.

“When done the right way, I think it’s extremely valuable,” Lalonde said Friday. “Obviously we have some skill, we would like that skill to be comfortable the way they play, and that can look different at times. So, of course, we would love that element if it’s the right fit.”

The need to bring in grit is apparent. Last season, some skill players were hurt by opponents who took liberties, including Larkin, who was scarily knocked out on the ice by a Mathieu Joseph cross-check. A player like Watson and Ratcliffe can tamp down those kinds of plays because opponents know the retribution they will deliver if opponents cross the line.

Watson especially has a lot of experience with players on the Red Wings roster. He played in Ottawa with DeBrincat, as well as Tampa Bay with new signee Tyler Motte. He has looked like the more complete player in camp thus far, and Lalonde made sure to note that he was a former first round pick. DeBrincat especially praised Watson’s ability to crunch opposing defensemen to create space for his teammates.

“He goes in there hard, ready to get the puck back and he fights too,” DeBrincat said Friday. “I think that’s a big thing, I don’t think he backs down from anyone. So he’d be a great addition to this team. He’s a great locker room guy and a great player. I think he kind of knows his role and plays that role to a T and really works hard every day to help the team win.”

Now, the Red Wings aren’t penciling enforcers into the lineup just yet. Both Watson and Ratcliffe are signed to professional tryouts to prove they can hang with the level of hockey Detroit is looking for. And with a complete 23 roster spots all but claimed by returners, free agent signees and promoted prospects, there really isn’t a spot to house a tough guy. But that doesn’t preclude a possible AHL assignment for Watson or Ratcliffe, with call-ups for particularly nasty games.

The medical risk of head injuries taken on by these players shouldn’t be taken lightly, it’s a fact of life in the NHL that teams still want heavyweights to utilize when things get hairy. The Red Wings have two experienced role players to look at in this training camp.

Red Wings Won’t See Seider in Traverse City

Because of his delays in signing his new seven year, $59.85 million contract, Moritz Seider couldn’t travel to Detroit until Saturday, and the Red Wings are meeting him at home once training camp ends. The news was first reported by Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.

It’s not a massive problem that Seider isn’t at training camp. Detroit knows his role as the No. 1 defenseman and he knows how to deliver. But missing training camp does cost Seider some time to work out changes to structure and tactics with lots of practice reps.

In training camp thus far, Seider’s absence has been a big opportunity for Justin Holl to show what he can do as he fills in for him beside Ben Chiarot. As the supposed seventh defenseman on the NHL roster, Holl is trying to earn a greater role than the one that saw him spend half the season as a healthy scratch last year. His performance has been a mixed bag thus far, but so long as he’s getting reps with a top four player like Chiarot, he is in a more favorable position than he ended last season.

Filling in from the bottom, the Red Wings have also placed Brogan Rafferty next to Albert Johansson, the presumed eighth and rookie defenseman. This comes after the organization signed NHL experienced left-hand defenseman William Lagesson in the offseason, who has spent more time in camp next to Grand Rapids captain Josiah Didier. This probably has more to do with handedness, as the right-handed Rafferty slots in better next to the left-handed Johansson. But for a player who was called up so many times last season without an NHL game appearance, being ranked so high on the right side depth chart might be an avenue to NHL games in the future.

Red Wings Looking for Simplicity from Johansson

Albert Johansson is going to make the NHL roster this season because his waiver eligibility would otherwise allow a team to claim him if he were sent down. Whether or not he gets into games is a different story — as general manager Steve Yzerman explained Tuesday before camp. In terms of what they want to see from Johansson right now, his coaches feel that less is more.

“Simple game. Being able to move a puck,” Lalonde said Thursday. “He showed it in practice today. He had a couple eye-popping, breakout type plays in some very tight situations, but to be able to defend, it’s a little heavier at this level than it was last year.”

Johansson has never played in an NHL game, a product of both the depth chart and the NHL blue line’s unusual health last season. In Grand Rapids, he was a dependable two-way defender who teammates consistently praised. He made the simple play — the right play — and didn’t risk too much. Lalonde feels that Johansson’s best path to playing as a rookie is for that simplicity to build trust through the way it shows dependability.

“(I was) really impressed with him as a player last year,” Lalonde explained. “I was able to see him quite a bit down the stretch last year and we feel he’s ready to help us. He’s gonna have to go earn it. I want to see it in camp. But I just want a simple game out of him. Being able to transport a puck for us, being able to defend, and he did that at a pretty consistent level in Grand Rapids, and we want to see it at our level.”

Preseason games will do a lot for Johansson to show how he stacks up against NHL competition. Getting the opportunity to play with different defense partners could help out as well. Johansson has skated with Rafferty a lot in training camp, the continuation of their time as a defense pairing in Grand Rapids oftentimes last season. Shining in a role beside an NHLer — an Olli Maatta or a Ben Chiarot, for example — could produce some positive tape. But as Lalonde laid out, Johansson will want that tape to show the kind of simplicity that can gain the trust of his coaches.

Also from THN Detroit

Teach a Man to Fish: How Jeff Petry’s Impact on Red Wings Extends Past His Own Play

“If He Earns More Minutes, He’ll Get More Minutes”: Red Wings Ready for Big Year from Edvinsson

“He’s Taught Me So Much”: Alex DeBrincat Excited for Patrick Kane’s Second Year in Detroit

With Playoff Hopes in Mind, Red Wings Enter Season Anew

Red Wings Training Camp Day One in Review

Kane Enters Year Two in Detroit “Motivated for More”

By Addressing Defensive Shortcomings, Jonatan Berggren Looks to Prove NHL Belonging

Breaking: Seider Signs New Deal to Remain in Detroit for Seven More Seasons

“I Know I Have a Next Level”: Dylan Larkin Eyeing Healthy Season