TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- The Traverse City Prospects tournament isn't solely for early-round draft picks hoping to leave an impressionable mark prior to training camp.

There are several players participating from each of the eight teams who happen to be here on a tryout basis with dreams of grabbing some of the spotlight and earning much more than a cup of coffee during the five-day tournament.

St. Louis Blues right wing Jacob Doty, an undrafted 6-foot-3, 223-pound enforcer, did his best to open some eyes on Thursday when he went toe-to-toe with Dallas Stars defenseman Jamie Oleksiak (6-7, 254) midway through the second period. There's no denying the fact that Oleksiak, who was selected in the first round (No. 14) of the 2011 NHL Draft, will one day be patrolling the Stars blue line.

Doty, however, has to take a different approach.

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- Carolina Hurricanes top prospect Elias Lindholm hopes to return to the lineup on Friday when his team battles the Columbus Blue Jackets in the second game of the Traverse City Prospects tournament here at Centre ICE Arena.

The Hurricanes coaching staff decided to sit the organization's 2013 first-round (No. 5) draft pick on Thursday as a precaution during a 4-3 victory over the New York Rangers.

In July, Lindholm sustained a shoulder injury after being knocked into the boards at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C., during the team's development camp. Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford labeled the injury a deep bruise.

Justin Bailey was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the second round (No. 52) of the 2013 NHL Draft at Prudential Center. In his first season with the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League last season, Bailey struck for 17 goals, 36 points and a plus-22 rating. The Williamsville, N.Y., native has offered to maintain a blog and provide added insight for NHL.com this week during the Traverse City Prospects Tournament in Michigan.

Hi everyone!

The guys met up in Buffalo on Tuesday and got a good night's sleep there and got to Traverse City on [Wednesday], had a good practice and you could tell right from the practice that the tempo is definitely high and fast-paced.

There are a couple of things I want to prove. There's some other teams here that didn't pick me in the Draft and it's always good when you see a ton of guys watching the games. It's good to maybe put some doubt in their head on why they didn't take me. But, besides that, when given the opportunity from Buffalo, I think it's just to show I'm the player they wanted and to show my offensive and physical side and being able to use all the tools I have. I want to show them my best game and keep progressing as the year goes on.

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- One of the premier prospect tournaments is set to begin Thursday here at Center ICE Arena.

The Traverse City Prospects Tournament, which runs through Monday, includes top prospects from the Dallas Stars, Buffalo Sabres , Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues and host Detroit Red Wings.

Practice sessions and tournament games will be held on location at David's Rink and Huntington Rink. Tickets are available for $10 per day at www.CenterIce.org or at the arena doors prior to each day's first game. Morning practice sessions are open to the public and free of charge. The tournament consists of four games on Thursday, Friday and Sunday, and wraps up with the championship round on Monday.

Buffalo, Carolina, Columbus and New York will compete in the Ted Lindsay Division. The Gordie Howe Division will feature Dallas, Detroit, Minnesota and St. Louis.

It has been such a great summer for Corey Crawford that he could hardly be blamed if he didn't want it to end.

Crawford began the day he earned celebrating with the Stanley Cup in his hometown by agreeing to a six-year contract extension Monday with the Chicago Blackhawks. The deal, which begins when his current pact expires after the 2013-14 season, is reportedly worth $36 million.

For the second time in 36 months, Duncan Keith brought the Stanley Cup back to Penticton, B.C.

The Chicago Blackhawks defenseman shared part of his day with the Cup with the community, just as he did during the summer of 2010 after he and his teammates ended a 49-year championship drought.

He spent part of his day smiling his way through hundreds of photos with local fans.

Carter Seabrook waited his whole life -- 14 days -- for his first visit with the Stanley Cup.

Carter's dad, Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook, spent his day with the trophy Friday, and Carter, born Aug. 16, was front and center in several pictures.

Seamus Malone is in his second season with the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League. The 5-foot-10, 165-pound left wing was part of NHL Central Scouting's Futures List as a player to watch for the 2014 NHL Draft from the USHL. Regarded as a skilled forward, Malone had six goals, 27 points and a plus-12 rating in 50 games for the Fighting Saints in 2012-13. Committed to the University of Wisconsin in the fall of 2015, Malone has offered to maintain a blog during his team's stay in Omsk, Russia, while competing in the 2013 Junior Club World Cup that runs Aug. 25-31.

Hello all!

Friday was an off-day for us after an exciting last few days of hockey. Saturday afternoon we will be playing in the bronze-medal game, and today we got on the ice for a skate, went souvenir shopping and enjoyed a nice meal. While we wish we were playing for the gold medal on Saturday, our goal coming to Russia was to take home a medal and we have a shot to do that. While we are not guaranteed that, we know the task at hand and are going to do all we can to make that happen.

My last blog was right before the game against the hometown Omsk Hawks. That game was one of the craziest games I have ever been a part of. We found out earlier in the day that all we needed was a regulation win over Omsk and we would move on to the semifinals, and our team really stepped up.

A small town welcomed a big visitor Thursday.

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Sheldon Brookbank led a parade in his hometown of Lanigan, Saskatchewan during his time with the Stanley Cup.

"It really means a lot to know that there's people pulling for you back home and they've always been there," Brookbank told CJME Radio. "I can't say enough about this town, I just love it here."