Carter Bear’s first training camp with the Detroit Red Wings is proving to be a mixed bag.

Every so often, there are glimpses of the gifts that made the Red Wings select him in the first round of the 2025 NHL entry draft.

“You could see why he was drafted where he was drafted, in my opinion,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said. “I thought in those really tight areas and the ability to get the shot off and make tight plays (it showed).”

At the same time, there is ample evidence that Bear, 18, is also a boy skating among men. At six feet and 179 pounds, he appears frail in comparison to veteran players. He seems tentative, uncertain, often about a half-step behind the play in his decision-making process.

Carter Bear, the saddest puppy in the litter, pic.twitter.com/BSoV2mKjR6

— 🩷🧡 (@sufferingsergei) September 23, 2025

“I think Tangs (assistant coach Alex Tanguay) describes him like he’s an outstanding player but still a bit of a boy,” McLellan said.

Giving attribution for some of the rust on Bear’s game to his inexperience in pro hockey is fair.

“The long stuff, he’s going to get used to,” McLellan said. “The game is faster. It’s heavier.”

Injury Recovery Slows the Adaptability of Red Wings’ Top Pick

It’s also worth keeping in mind that it’s been a trying stretch of time for the player Detroit chose 13th overall in the draft. Bear was dealing with one of the scarier injuries that can befall an athlete, a damaged Achilles.

It’s been a long recovery process for the kid.

“He’s just spent the summer basically of rehab,” McLellan said. “So a summer of rehab and a summer of training are two different things.”

Me watching Carter Bear that first period: #LGRW pic.twitter.com/uVSsjRqKn9

— Red Wings Prospects (@LGRWProspects) September 23, 2025

The best thing for all involved will be for Bear to go back to play for the WHL Everett Silvertips and return next fall a year older, a year wiser, more mature, and physically stronger.

“He might leave this year and come back, and we’ll be going, ‘That’s the same Bear?’” McLellan said. “It happened with guys in Edmonton. Connor McDavid, he left, he came back, and we’re going, ‘Holy, who is this guy?’

“They just mature and they grow up and they start to shave and they do all those things. They just become men. And Carter will do that.”