3 Position Battles to Watch in Red Wings Training Camp

A new season is dawning across the NHL. With new seasons come new beginnings, opportunities for players to defy the odds.

At Red Wings training camp, which starts Thursday, a number of players will try to earn greater roles, more starts and even an NHL roster spot to begin with. While preseason games will likely play a factor in these decisions too, training camp sets the tone for many position battles.

As Detroit begins its training camp, here are three position battles to pay attention to as the season begins.

Rookie Forwards

This position battle is as much about the very existence of an available roster spot as it is a battle between three talented young forwards. Marco Kasper, Carter Mazur and Nate Danielson have all shown NHL readiness, and all three are believed to be entering training camp with the goal of earning a roster spot.

The problem is, there may not be a true roster spot to earn. Unless something changes, the Red Wings are set to roster three goaltenders and eight defensemen, meaning that the bare minimum 12 forwards will make it onto the opening night roster. With 11 proven NHL players, as well as the nearly guaranteed roster spot for Jonatan Berggren due to his waiver status, all 12 are spoken for.

Now, just because 12 players are projected to earn roster spots doesn’t mean they are absolutely going to be on the opening night roster. If one of Kasper, Mazur or Danielson really proves they are ready for the NHL, then Detroit would find itself with an enviable dilemma to move someone out to make space. Again, these three aren’t just battling each other for the roster spot — they’re also battling the status quo of the Red Wings’ current roster construction.

There’s also a chance that injuries take players out of the Red Wings lineup, creating space for any of these three prospects to get into NHL games. A strong training camp might assert a sort of hierarchy among who gets first dibs on such an opportunity, although regular season play in the AHL might be a considered data point, too.

As the youngest of the trio and with the least pro experience, Danielson is probably the dark horse in this position battle. He had a strong training camp last year, but it didn’t make sense to rush him along with junior eligibility. Now, he’s in sort of a similar spot where it’s likely easier to just let him experience a full pro season in the AHL instead of expecting him to learn the pro rhythms at the NHL level.

Mazur and Kasper, on the other hand, have steeped in the AHL for a season and come in after being twin forces for the Griffins in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Both are scrappy, defensive-mindful players. When asked about their abilities Tuesday, Yzerman gave glowing reviews.

“Both of those kids have shown us that they're really committed. They're really driven,” Yzerman said. “You'll see, if you get a chance to see Carter in training camp, he's worked very hard, physically getting stronger, and that was really an important thing for him. But they're smart hockey players, and they're really competitive and that really showed in the playoffs.”

Who’s going to crack the opening night roster between Kasper, Mazur and Danielson? Maybe none of them. But heading into training camp, all three are going to try to force a decision. It’s one that could really shape how Detroit’s roster turns out.

Starting Goaltender

The Red Wings’ goalie room has been covered extensively (excessively, even) this offseason, but the claim to a starting job will begin in training camp. Between Cam Talbot, Alex Lyon and Ville Husso here are three goaltenders who will compete for the starting job to begin the season — four goalies if you consider Jack Campbell a contender, too. And as one of the most important positions on the ice, this battle shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Before training camp, the hierarchy appears to start with Talbot and end with Husso, with Lyon somewhere in the middle. Talbot is a proven starter coming off a strong season with the Los Angeles Kings in which he was an NHL All-Star. His 2.50 goals against average ranked sixth among starting goaltenders, and his .913 save percentage ranked seventh. In advanced analytics, Moneypuck credited him with 10.7 goals saved above expected, ranking eighth among starters. The question is whether he can replicate this success behind a worse defensive team in Detroit.

[Read More: Breaking Down the Red Wings' Organizational Goalie Depth ahead of Training Camp]

Lyon is the incumbent starter, having played 44 games last season. He was adequate, with a 3.05 goals against average and a .904 save percentage. He saved 2.1 goals above expected, ranking 18th among goalies who faced his volume or greater. For a goalie who began the season as a third-stringer before forcing himself onto the roster through superb play, Lyon’s season was about as good as anyone could ask. But, he showed flaws toward the end, likely due to overuse. He lost 10 straight games from March to April, watching Detroit’s playoff hopes slip in the process. Entering this season more prepared for a high volume role, he could continue to deliver as the starter, but the addition of Talbot is a move to give him both competition and support.

Finally, Husso is a bit of an enigma in that he spent most of last season hurt with two lower body injuries. He is back to full health, as Yzerman confirmed Tuesday, but his overall ability — and, more importantly, durability — are a major question. To illustrate how important these training camps can be, Husso appeared to be the Red Wings’ starter heading into last season’s training camp, and now he’s facing an uphill climb for the same status.

“If we have to, we’ll manage with three goaltenders,” Yzerman said. “But again, everybody's healthy today; it's just that Ville hasn't played in quite a while, so we gotta see how he does, and then potentially make any decisions with our roster. If we can carry the three goaltenders, if everybody's healthy, we'll have to make a decision on carrying three or make a move, but we'll wait and see how things play out.”

How this position battle shakes out could not only affect the goalie room, but also the available roster spots for players competing for other spots on the roster. This training camp will allow Detroit to see its three goalies in action, then evaluate the position and its stability from there.

Third Pairing Defense

This position battle is more so about the hierarchy of a group than one particular spot. Of the eight defensemen expected to play on the Red Wings roster this season, only six or — on rare occasion — seven can play each night. Some defensemen are going to have to sit out at times this season. One can be certain that none of them want to.

Of the eight defensemen, some are clearly going to be lineup regulars. Moritz Seider, when he signs an extension, will be on the top pairing, likely with Ben Chiarot or perhaps Simon Edvinsson. Outside of those two potential counterparts, it’s likely that power play specialist Erik Gustafsson will be in the lineup to run the man advantage in some capacity.

The final two spots come down to some combination of Olli Maatta, Jeff Petry, Justin Holl and Albert Johansson. The former two were lineup regulars last season, while Holl spent most of the season as a healthy scratch. Johansson cannot be sent down to Grand Rapids without going through waivers, where another team might claim him for free.

Who has the edge for a spot on what will, in all likelihood, be the bottom pairing? That’s one of the questions this training camp will seek to answer. Maatta and Petry appear to be favorites given their regularity in last season’s lineup. Maatta anchored last season’s third pairing, while Petry played most of the season on the second. A demotion out of the lineup would probably take some development — either themselves losing a step with age, or other players like Holl and Johansson proving their claim to those spots.

In the case of Holl, he’s probably this team’s seventh defenseman as it currently stands. He spent more time as a healthy scratch last season than he did in the actual lineup, but Yzerman kept him around for a reason. He’s one of just three right-handed defensemen among the eight projected NHLers, so that’s a bit of an edge.

Finally, Yzerman said Tuesday that while Johansson may be on the final roster due to his waiver eligibility, the defenseman will have to earn his way into actual games. That process commences at training camp, where all eyes will be on him and how he might factor in at the NHL level.

“Watching him in junior, watching him at the pro level in Sweden, and then in the American Hockey League, he's adjusted at every level,” Yzerman said of Johansson. “So I'm pretty optimistic that he'll be a good, solid defender for us. And it's up to him to outplay one of the other guys, or wait until he gets his opportunity and impress well to stay in the lineup.”

[Read More: 5 Takeaways from Steve Yzerman’s Pre-Training Camp Availability]

This position battle can be broken down into its individual parts, but the actual decision may very well come down to how pieces fit together more so than the merits of each individual. If one of the contenders thrives alongside a certain defense partner, or vice versa, then that defenseman might have a better chance to earn a roster spot.

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