Detroit — The kids made it.
The Red Wings got down to their 23-man opening night roster Monday, with forwards Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Emmitt Finnie, plus defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka, all surviving the final cut.
The Red Wings assigned defenseman Justin Holl to the minor-league affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins. Both Holl and defenseman Erik Gustafsson were waived Sunday and cleared waivers, giving the Wings the option to send either to Grand Rapids.
The Wings kept Gustafsson on Thursday’s opening night regular season roster.
The Wings also placed forward James van Riemsdyk temporarily on the non-roster list. van Riemsdyk arrived in Detroit last week after spending most of the preseason with his family after the birth of their twin boys. van Riemsdyk may not physically ready, yet, to play Thursday.
Coach Todd McLellan hinted after Monday’s practice the three rookies had done all they could to earn roster spots.
“They were here at practice (Monday), so that’s a real good sign for them,” McLellan said. “We skated with 23 players, so that’s obviously a real good sign for them. Everything they’ve done to this point has led to them getting to this day. We’ll take it day by day but again, at practice today, they were attentive, alert and they executed.
“They had a sense of belonging and the group embraced them.”
Gustafsson and Holl are two popular and likeable veteran teammates. At this time of year, it’s never easy to see popular teammates get waived, and in Holl’s case, get removed from the roster.
“It’s not easy for the group today because a couple of their good teammates, good friends, weren’t here,” McLellan said. “That unfortunately is the crappy part of the business, but yet the evolution of the business.”
The professionalism the young players have displayed, said captain Dylan Larkin, is a major reason they’ve seamlessly been accepted.
“I’ve been very impressed by the way they’ve played and the way they are,” Larkin said. “They’ve been really well-accepted in our room. We lost two great locker room guys in Gus and Hollsie, and we’ll see what happens, but they (young players) are going to be a big part of our team.
“They’re great guys and for three of them to come in and win jobs and be so well-received in the locker room, it speaks to show how guys believe in them. I’m excited for them and for our team because of them.”
The emergence of Finnie, Sandin-Pellikka and Brandsegg-Nygard has invigorated the locker room.
A lineup that was already trending younger is likely getting a little more youthful and receives the jolt and excitement that young players bring to a locker room.
“It’s energizing,” McLellan said. “Every one of those 40 guys, us and Montreal (Thursday’s opponent), they all played their first game at some point, somewhere and the nervousness, you can reflect back. Larkin is reflecting back to what it was like when I stepped on the ice for the first time. It’s energizing. But make no doubt about it, if we’re relying on three 20-year-olds to take us to the wonderland right off the bat, that’s really unfair.”
The Wings went through one of their more physical practices since the start of training camp in mid-September, with three days until the start of the regular season.
There was more contact and work along the boards, as coaches ramped up the intensity.
“Our team’s heartbeat, if you will, got reset,” McLellan said. “We played Saturday. We all had a day off Sunday. Throughout camp, gas tanks were burned out here and empty there (because of different lineups) and your heartbeat isn’t together. Now our heartbeat is together and today we discussed having a bit of a grind day.
“We hadn’t had that for a while.”
Whether the Wings will have van Riemsdyk in the lineup for Thursday’s season opener remains to be seen. While van Riemsdyk is getting closer to getting in game condition, McLellan isn’t sure of his availability yet.
“I can’t answer that question,” McLellan said of whether van Riemsdyk will be in Thursday’s lineup. “He got involved physically (Monday). The first few days, in pregame skates, everybody gets off and it’s him and three guys who are working (out) and you don’t really get what you need there. Today’s practice was geared toward a pretty good working day. A lot of grind stuff, and full-ice stuff, along the boards and the corners, and it was his first taste of it.
“We’ll see where it goes.”
RED WINGS ROSTER
Forwards (13): Mason Appleton, Jonatan Berggren, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, J.T. Compher, Andrew Copp, Alex DeBrincat, Emmitt Finnie, Marco Kasper, Patrick Kane, Dylan Larkin, Michael Rasmussen, Lucas Raymond, Elmer Soderblom.
Defense (8): Jacob Bernard-Docker, Ben Chiarot, Simon Edvinsson, Erik Gustafsson, Albert Johansson, Travis Hamonic, Axel Sandin-Pellikka, Moritz Seider.
Goaltenders (2): John Gibson, Cam Talbot.
Injured non-roster: Shai Buium, Nate Danielson.
Non-roster: James van Riemsdyk
tkulfan@detroitnews.com
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