Two of the three Red Wings Jeff Blashill is most excited to see in training camp may or may not be Red Wings this season. And they may or may not be
on the ice together for the first few days of camp, which starts Thursday in Traverse City.
19-year-old Lucas Raymond and 21-year-old Jonattan Berggren are dealing with a pair of "mild" injuries suffered in the Traverse City prospects tournament last weekend, Steve Yzerman announced Wednesday. Berggren (upper body) is day to day and will miss Detroit's first practice, Raymond (lower body) is being eased back onto the ice Thursday.
Once they're healthy, they'll have to pick up the pace.
"Both looked good in limited play in the tournament here," Yzerman said. Hopefully Jonattan isn’t out too long and Lucas is able to go with zero restrictions starting (Thursday) so they can get in here and perform well and get into the drills and show that they’re strong enough and can play fast enough. I know they can skate, we’ve watched them skate. But can you play at an NHL level, at the pace of the NHL game and adjust to the smaller ice surface? And every day that they’re here benefits that."
The Wings need more talent up front, and Raymond and Berggren have plenty to offer. Both have a chance to make Detroit's roster after strong seasons in the Swedish Hockey League. Raymond, the fourth overall pick in 2020, put up 18 points in 34 games before an arm injury ended his season. Berggren, a second-rounder in 2018, was even better: 45 points in 48 games.
But the SHL isn't the NHL. It's not as fast, it's not as skilled and maybe most of all, it's not as pressed for space. Time collapses in the NHL; Raymond and Berggren have to prove they can play with less of it.
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"I just haven’t seen those guys play live," Blashill said last month. "Watching on tape is one thing, it gives you a feel for things, but not like live in a North American setting where the ice sheet is different and the game’s a little bit different."
Given their smarts, Raymond and Berggren could probably hold their own in Detroit right now. They could probably get by in sheltered roles playing a handful of minutes each game. But that's the last thing Yzerman wants to do with two of his brightest prospects. He said to make the team out of camp, Raymond and Berggren "need to show that can keep up and be positive contributors to the team winning hockey games. It’s as simple as that."
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Neither one projects as a bottom-six forward. And right now, neither one fits the profile of a fourth-liner. Most spots are spoken for in the Wings' top six, which leaves the third line as the duo's clearest path from Traverse City to Detroit. By virtue of being a right-hand shot in a forward group full of lefties, Raymond might have the inside lane. For now.
"To make the 23-man roster, one, they’re young kids so I have no interest in sitting them in the stands in Detroit," Yzerman said. "So they’re really going to (have to) be in the top 12 and I might even go so far as to say the top nine, which is a big ask -- because I want them playing meaningful minutes and contributing."
It's a big ask indeed, but bigger ones await. Yzerman and the Wings envision Raymond and Berggren as a pair of top-six forwards for years to come. Their first challenge starts now, in Traverse City. If they answer it, their next one lies in Detroit.