2025 Development Camp helped guide Red Wings’ young talent ‘in the right way’

DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings’ 2025 Development Camp -- which saw 31 players go through four jam-packed days of on-ice sessions, off-ice workouts and educational presentations at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center -- officially wrapped up last Thursday.

And what a productive Development Camp it was.

“We all know these kids are young and have to get stronger in different areas, but it’s also great for them,” Assistant Director of Player Development Dan Cleary said of the Red Wings’ annual Development Camp last Thursday. “I’ve noticed their personality has changed after their first [Development Camp]. Then they come back, they’re more comfortable…It’s great for these guys to get to know each other, see what it’s all about, be around LCA, this incredible facility. We have such great people here -- trainers, therapists. It’s a good experience for them, but it’s not an evaluation…So many different aspects and people that makes this go smoothly.”

Each attendee arrives at Development Camp with different levels of comfortability and experience but ultimately leaves Detroit with more knowledge than they had at the start of the week.

Take goalie prospect Trey Augustine, for example. This year marked Augustine’s third Development Camp with the Red Wings since being selected No. 41 overall in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, and the 20-year-old feels he has grown as a player since his first.

“Obviously, you get more comfortable being around longer,” Augustine said last Thursday. “First year, it’s a lot more special because you don’t know what to expect. But obviously coming into this year, you kind of know your way around and know everyone. For me, it’s not the start of the season but it’s kind of getting there. This is a hard week of training and it kind of gets you in the mindset for the rest of the summer -- that it’s time to really start picking it up, ramping up the skates and workouts.”

Then, there are prospects like forward Carter Bear and Eddie Genborg, Detroit’s first two picks (No. 13 overall and No. 44 overall, respectively) from this year’s NHL Draft, each of whom got their first real taste of what it feels like to wear the Winged Wheel on the ice.

“For both of us, I think it’s a pretty cool experience just being around a pro environment,” Bear said last Thursday. “Learning from the staff and the older guys that have been here for a few years and learning off them.”

Forward prospect Michael Brandsegg-Nygård also said he enjoyed spending time with the Red Wings Player Development staff throughout the week.

“It’s always fun to meet the people that work here,” said Brandsegg-Nygård, who Detroit took at No. 15 overall in the 2024 NHL Draft. “A lot of the staff are just really fun to talk to, so I have a lot of fun.”

Each year, a lot of hard work behind the scenes goes into making Detroit’s Development Camp as successful as it is. Cleary said that’s because everyone involved in the process wants to help the attendees succeed in the present and the future.

“The on-ice technical part, the skating is so important,” Cleary said. “All these kids need to work on their skating and their stride. And then the off-ice gym portion, getting stronger. As long as they leave here knowing, okay, here are the things I got to work on and then go and execute it in the summer…[Team Dietitian] Lisa McDowell is such a great resource for them that they can always reach out.

“We have many different people in many areas that help these kids. At the end of the day, that’s what Development Camp is really all about. It’s just to help and guide them in the right way.”