The Red Wings had three prospects make an extra stay in Detroit after their own prospect development camp earlier this summer. JP Hurlbert, Victor Plante, and Brent Solomon were all invited to participate in the World Junior Summer Showcase for Team USA.
However, when it came time for the US to whittle down their 47 player roster, it was only Plante, the Red Wings most recent second round pick, who played in Team USA’s final two games. Perhaps that shouldn’t be a surprise, though, considering the young forward had had a three assist performance while playing with one of the top centers in next year’s draft, Sammy Nelson in USA White’s game against Team Sweden on July 27.
There’s still a lot of time between now and December, but his performance across the last week should help Plante’s chances for an invite for the IIHF’s World Junior Championship. Though, whether or not Hurlbert, Plante, and Solomon will make the next roster and help the US Team to win another gold medal at the international juniors tourney will depend on how they perform in the coming months.
In any case, Plante has seemingly established himself as another savvy draft pick by former GM Steve Yzerman, though only time will truly tell how he will manage to work down the development path. Joining last year’s Hobey Baker winner, older brother and fellow Red Wings prospect Max Plante at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, Victor should be in line for quite an interesting season.
The Red Wings prospect list doesn’t have a ton of flashy pieces, but it does seem to have plenty of players with the motor to make the NHL, including the two brothers. Whoever becomes Detroit’s next GM will have plenty of young players to work with in the coming years.
Red Wings Extra
The Red Wings Schedule was released several days ago now, along with the events calendar for the upcoming season, giving Hockeytown fans a look into what to expect when it comes to free memorabilia and theme nights from the team after the cost of admission with a ticket.
Highlights from the coming year include the return of the gravy boat zamboni (Nov. 21), a Halloween themed night for their game against St. Louis, and a Moritz Seider-themed stein giveaway scheduled for Jan. 23.
While the schedule has been released, tickets for individual games and theme nights are set to be released for sale on Aug. 4.