One week into their 2025-26 season, Red Wings forging identity and growing from learning moments

DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings are exactly one week into their 2025-26 campaign, and because they know every 82-game NHL slate is a marathon of peaks and valleys, they’re determined to maintain the right frame of mind as their Centennial season progresses.

“You look at the good things and try to learn from all of the mistakes that you make throughout the games,” Emmitt Finnie said after Thursday afternoon’s practice at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center. “It’s a long season, so we can celebrate this a little bit. But, we’re looking forward to tomorrow.”

Prioritizing the day-to-day has helped the Red Wings stay level-headed and respond quite well to last Thursday’s 6-1 Opening-Night loss to the Montreal Canadiens, recording three straight wins -- the latest a 4-1 victory over the two-time defending Stanley-Cup champion Florida Panthers on Wednesday.

Although it’s a small sample size, head coach Todd McLellan is encouraged by the way Detroit has been playing to a team identity so far this season.

“Six points is six points,” McLellan said. “It really doesn’t matter where it comes from, but when we looked at what was in front of us when we were starting, we knew we’d have our work cut out for us. That doesn’t change tomorrow night. Obviously, Tampa is a very good hockey club and then Edmonton [on Sunday afternoon]…you can just keep on going. Wins aside, how we’ve been able to play a certain type of game is satisfying. Really, you can see when we don’t play that game what the results are, so we’re able to sell to the players a little bit more an identity, and they’re able to buy into it because when they’re not doing it, it’s a little ragged and we don’t quite look how we want to look.”

Contributions are coming from up and down the Red Wings’ lineup, with returning players helping maintain the standard, new faces producing and rookies being entrusted with more responsibilities.

Consider Axel Sandin-Pellikka, who is averaging over 20 minutes of ice time per game this season, as an example of a player who is still getting his bearings in the NHL but is already impressing his head coach and teammates.

“He played seven exhibition games,” McLellan said about the 20-year-old defenseman. “We knew of Axe, of course, but we didn’t really know Axe as a player. But during those seven games, he just elevated his play to the point where we trust him here, trust him there, trust him here. He’s now 11 games into his season – that’s a pretty good load for him already in a month. During those 11, the appreciation factor for him has gone up night after night after night, so we feel comfortable.”

Like Sandin-Pellikka, Finnie and Michael Brandsegg-Nygård are also developing and rising in real time. According to McLellan, how Detroit’s coaching staff utilizes learning moments varies depending on whether it’s a less or more experienced skater.

“You have to know your audience,” McLellan said. “Water off their back, I think I’ve used this example with my two boys, like my older one and the younger one are just treated differently. The exact same accomplishment, failure or whatever it might be, they just handle it differently. We have to get to know our roster real quick so that we can address the good and the bad, but still try and help the player be effective while they’re doing it.”