Learning, building relationships was front and center for Red Wings prospects at 2026 Development Camp

DETROIT -- Getting a great look at the organization’s next wave of young talent, the Detroit Red Wings concluded their 2026 Development Camp at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center last Thursday.

“At the end of the day, it really is an educational camp where we try to give them everything we can and hopefully, they absorb as much as they can,” Red Wings Assistant Director of Player Development Dan Cleary said. “We have great people here. I just want to say how important it is to have the behind-the-scenes people that make this thing run very smoothly, and I can’t thank everybody enough.”

The Red Wings’ 2026 Development Camp roster consisted of 20 forwards, 11 defensemen and six goaltenders, including the seven new players the club took at the 2026 NHL Entry Draft at KeyBank Center last weekend. Additionally, all eight of the club’s picks from 2025, five from 2024, five from 2023 and two from 2022 were in attendance for the four-day event.

Sure, Development Camp has evolved over the years, but its purpose hasn’t changed: help these young skaters learn, grow and embrace what it means to be part of the organization.

“There’s a bunch of NHL and Detroit legends here that have way more experience than all of us,” Carter Bear said. “We got to listen to them, listen to what they say and what they want us to work on…I think it’s just unreal and pretty cool to have those people around the rink. Seeing what they did with the Detroit Red Wings back then and seeing them now is pretty special.”

The 19-year-old forward wasn’t able to take the ice ice during last summer’s Development Camp after sustaining an injury earlier that spring. But that's well behind him, as Bear is coming off a strong campaign with the Western Hockey League’s Everett Silvertips, where he recorded 77 points (36 goals, 41 assists) in 53 regular-season games and 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists) in 18 postseason contests.

“I don’t really like to put any excuse on it, but I just started playing and it kind of just went away from my mind,” Bear said. “I started feeling normal. It’s all healthy now for sure.”

Like Bear, Max Plante didn’t skate at last year’s Development Camp due to injury, but this time around he was good to go. The 20-year-old forward just put together a Hobey Baker Memorial-winning season at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, finishing with a team-leading 25 goals and 52 points in 40 contests.

“Going into the year, the goal was to try and get Duluth back to where we wanted to be,” Plante said. “Didn’t really have a ton of stuff going on last summer, just trying to get back healthy. It showed this year. We had a lot of success, our team did.”

For prospects like Rudy Guimond, for example, the opportunity to meet Red Wings alumni this week also carried special significance. The 21-year-old goaltender most recently earned Goaltender of the Year honors after posting a 40-7-3 record with a 2.27 goals-against average, .922 save percentage and three shutouts in 50 appearances with Moncton (QMJHL) this past season.  

“I met Jimmy Howard yesterday, and he was the reason I got into goaltending,” Guimond said. “He had these Vaughn pads with icebergs on them and as a kid, you kind of look at what you see, right? I thought it was really cool -- the gear and stuff -- and I wanted to get into goaltending. Obviously, my dad didn’t want to pay for custom stuff when I was that age, so I never got those Vaughn iceberg pads.”

There’s been plenty for first-time Development Camp attendees to take in, from meeting new faces to exploring a new city and experiencing what it’s like to train on and off the ice under the helpful watch of the Red Wings Player Development staff.

J.P. Hurlbert, who just recorded a 97-point (42 goals, 55 assists) season with the Western Hockey League’s Kamloops Blazers, said this week provided a clearer understanding of the level required to reach the NHL.

“It’s the best players in the world trying to fight for a limited amount of space,” the 18-year-old forward said. “We compete pretty hard here. Learning what I need to get better at, I think it’s everything to play in the NHL. I have high standards for myself, so I know what I’m capable of and to keep improving in all aspects of my game to make the NHL.”

Creating that kind of environment is exactly what Cleary and the Player Development staff strive to accomplish each summer, helping prospects build the foundation they need as they work towards their future goals.

“I thought [this year’s Development Camp] was great,” Cleary said. “That’s not because of me, but I have great people to work with. We’re very organized and they’re just excellent people. They’re smart. They’re hardworking. We all try to be like a family… Everybody is so important and has their own area, which makes everything run very smoothly.”

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