used him as an example<\/a> of a player unafraid of making a mistake, saying, \u201cHe\u2019s been full-on gas.\u201d That resulted in him getting an early camp look on Detroit\u2019s top line with Larkin and Raymond, the team\u2019s two top forwards.<\/p>\nThe Red Wings\u2019 coaching staff put Finnie in all kinds of different roles and situations throughout camp and used him in seven of the eight preseason games. While he didn\u2019t always score, he showed in that span that he wasn\u2019t out of place \u2014 and in particular that his speed, smarts and willingness to go to the tough areas of the ice could complement Larkin and Raymond.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think for any line he would play on, his feet just win pucks,\u201d Larkin said. \u201cHe beats people to pucks with his feet, and he\u2019s got sense to know what he wants to do with it next. Throughout the preseason, he created so much for us because he got first touch and got it to us, and then he went and got open.\u201d<\/p>\n
Time will tell how long Finnie\u2019s look with Larkin and Raymond lasts at a position that feels like it could be ripe for experimentation even as the season begins. Veteran winger James van Riemsdyk missed much of camp and could eventually be a candidate to see time there. Copp and Elmer S\u00f6derblom also had looks on that top line at points this preseason.<\/p>\n
But at least as of Monday, it certainly looks like Finnie could get the first crack \u2014 surprising perhaps everyone but himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always been a confident person and feel like I could play at this level,\u201d Finnie said. \u201cSo, seeing myself here definitely wasn\u2019t surprising. But it feels good to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Finnie, as a seventh-round pick, was at times overlooked on his way to this point, Brandsegg-Nyg\u00e5rd and Sandin-Pellikka have gotten much more spotlight. Sandin-Pellikka in particular may be the most anticipated prospect in the Red Wings\u2019 current farm system.<\/p>\n
But because of their age, the Red Wings\u2019 slow-moving M.O. with prospects, and the fact that both were coming over from the SHL where they played on a larger ice sheet with more time and space, both were expected to need at least some time to marinate in Grand Rapids before making a serious run at the roster.<\/p>\n
That changed, though, as the preseason went along, and both players just kept proving their readiness.<\/p>\n
The appeal for Sandin-Pellikka lies largely in his brain, with excellent vision to go with deception and a deft ability to walk the blue line. It remains to be seen what his defending looks like against full lineups of fully motivated NHL players, especially if he does start out in a top-four role. But Sandin-Pellikka certainly competes to hold his own defensively, and the impact he can make for the Red Wings with the puck can be significant.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs camp went on, he felt better and better with pucks, held onto them longer, made good, smart plays \u2014 whether it was on the power play, breakout or wherever,\u201d McLellan said. \u201cSo we saw him continue to grow that part of his game, and work on the other part.\u201d<\/p>\n
As recently as a week ago, I thought Albert Johansson \u2014 who was a standout through training camp \u2014 was a shoo-in to play with Edvinsson on Detroit\u2019s second pair. But if it is Sandin-Pellikka instead, that pairing would come with a whole lot of puck-moving and poise, and could also allow Johansson to drive a potential third pair. Again, it\u2019s too soon to say how the Red Wings will line up Thursday night, but having Sandin-Pellikka certainly makes their blue line a lot more interesting.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a heady player,\u201d McLellan said. \u201cHe\u2019s got good eyes, good vision, anticipation skills. I\u2019ve used the terms \u2018chess\u2019 and \u2018checkers,\u2019 he can play chess every now and then on the ice, and that\u2019s a valuable thing to have. We believe he\u2019s only going to get better, as well. We\u2019re seeing him evolve right in front of our eyes, but we think over time he\u2019ll get better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brandsegg-Nyg\u00e5rd, meanwhile, had the loudest preseason showing of all of them. He scored four goals and put up seven points, tying for the league lead in both categories \u2014 albeit in more games (seven) than every other player he was tied with.<\/p>\n
But it was also his heaviness and competitiveness that drew appreciation from the coaching staff, and the spot he\u2019s been skating in practice next to Copp and Compher would certainly put him in position to grind while delivering offense, too.<\/p>\n
![\"Michael](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-2238667184-scaled.jpg\")
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\n Michael Brandsegg-Nyg\u00e5rd\u2019s grinding play and booming shot caught the Red Wings\u2019 attention. (Gregory Shamus \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think about the goals he\u2019s scored throughout camp, he\u2019s been able to score from distance because he\u2019s got such a heavy shot,\u201d McLellan said. \u201cYet he\u2019s (also) found his way into the dirty areas, and he doesn\u2019t leave. He stays in there until the play dies. So that\u2019s a sign of a fearless player, in my opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of all the ways the Red Wings have needed to improve in recent years, getting more hard offense from right around the net, amid traffic, is certainly one of the most important. Detroit has been able to produce rush offense and score on the power play, but those greasy goals from the blue paint have sometimes eluded them. It could be one reason they\u2019ve struggled in late-season games, as teams begin to gear up for the playoffs.<\/p>\n
Brandsegg-Nyg\u00e5rd, if he sticks, should help address that as a thick-framed player who can both rip the puck and box out defenders.<\/p>\n
Of course, just making the initial 23-man roster \u2014 or even the opening-night lineup \u2014 doesn\u2019t guarantee anything beyond that.<\/p>\n
Three years ago, winger Elmer S\u00f6derblom was the surprise story of training camp, making the opening-night lineup as a 21-year-old sixth-round pick and even scoring the first goal of the Red Wings\u2019 season. But by year\u2019s end, he played just 21 games in Detroit and 20 with Grand Rapids, and then spent the entire 2023-24 season in the AHL.<\/p>\n
Development is not always linear, and expectations for these young players should be set accordingly.<\/p>\n
Despite being waived, Holl and Gustafsson could still very easily factor in for the Red Wings at some point this season \u2014 whether due to injury or by winning their own jobs back.<\/p>\n
Gustafsson was even on the initial 23-man roster after clearing waivers, with veteran James van Riemsdyk designated \u201cnon-roster\u201d after missing significant time in camp due to a family matter. The veteran forward is certainly expected to be back in this lineup at some point \u2014 perhaps even soon \u2014 and that should be enough to keep the forwards on their toes. So should the presence of Jonatan Berggren, who skated as an extra Monday but certainly has the ability to step into the lineup at a moment\u2019s notice.<\/p>\n
But those realities also shouldn\u2019t take away from the excitement of what the three have accomplished over the last three weeks. They turned long shots into roster spots and have exceeded virtually all expectations.<\/p>\n
And it could be just the kind of boost the Red Wings need going into an all-important season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s energizing, it\u2019s invigorating,\u201d McLellan said. \u201cBut make no doubt about it, if we\u2019re relying on three 20-year-olds to take us to the wonderland right off the bat, that\u2019s really unfair. The rest of the group has to play their part in it as well. But it is energizing right now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Three weeks ago, the Detroit Red Wings began a training camp rife with intrigue. A team desperate to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":206876,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[1786,385,99],"class_list":["post-206875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-detroit-red-wings","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206875\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/206876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Emmitt](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27230191-scaled.jpg\")
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