Red Wings excited for Centennial season to get underway

DETROIT – Following two-plus weeks of healthy competition and careful evaluation, the Detroit Red Wings announced their first 23-man NHL roster for the 2025-26 campaign on Monday afternoon.

And those 23 skaters, in addition to James van Riemsdyk, who is currently designated as injured/non-roster, have been hard at work this week, taking advantage of multiple practice days together at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center before Thursday’s regular-season opener against the visiting Montreal Canadiens.

But now, according to head coach Todd McLellan, his players are chomping at the bit and ready to get the real thing going.

“I think we’re antsy,” McLellan said after Wednesday’s practice. “You should never say this, but I think the guys are sick and tired of practicing after Training Camp and everything. They want to get going, and we do as well. We need some evidence now. We need to catch them doing things right and wrong. Where do we need to take our game? What do we need to work on? They need to experience the intensity of a real game. There’s no doubt about it.”

It's been a day-after-day building process up to this point for the Red Wings, starting with Training Camp in mid-September then a busy eight-game exhibition schedule. And when the puck finally drops on Opening Night, goalie John Gibson said it’s going to be about carrying everything they’ve been emphasizing this fall into their play on the ice.

“We just need to keep doing what we’ve been doing, making sure everything is ready to go and that we’re firing on all cylinders,” goalie John Gibson said. “You want to get off to a hot start and hit the ground running.”

Gibson, while new to the organization, is one of several veterans on Detroit’s active roster, which also features three rookies: forward prospects Michael Brandsegg-Nygård and Emmitt Finnie in addition to defense prospect Axel Sandin-Pellikka.

Patrick Kane, who has 18 NHL seasons under his belt, said he’s excited for Brandsegg-Nygård, Finnie and Sandin-Pellikka.

“First off, they’re rewarded for how well they played in camp, which I think is a great thing,” Kane said. “It makes Training Camp meaningful. There’s reason we’re scrimmaging, playing games and trying to prove our worth. Also, to have some youth around here, some of that youthful excitement and energy is great to have around the room. I’m really happy for all three of those guys. They’re definitely deserving of having a spot.”

Along with continuing to develop their leadership skills as time progresses, McLellan wants the trio of 20-year-olds to keep trusting their game because that’s how they got this far.

“We don’t want to be creating more anxiety for them,” McLellan said. “They know what’s ahead of them. They’re probably as excited as they could be. If I was going to tell them anything, ‘Just go play. Play your heart out. If a mistake occurs, we can live with that. That’s what we coach for. We’ll help you fix it. You have teammates around you that will protect you in certain situations from mistakes.’”

In news coming out of Tuesday’s practice, McLellan announced the appointment of Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider as alternate captains of the Red Wings for the upcoming season.

“It’s a huge honor,” Seider said. “Obviously, it comes with a little bit of responsibility. We have great leaders in our locker room. Very honored and proud, but we aren’t the only guys here. We have a great team behind us, and I’m just proud that we’re in a locker room with a lot of great leaders. We have that shared responsibility.”

And as far as post-practice updates on Wednesday, McLellan said Gibson will start and van Riemsdyk will be unavailable against the Canadiens.

“Closer and looking better,” McLellan said about van Riemsdyk’s return timetable. “Certainly, he’s not going to play [on Thursday], but we play Saturday. I think that would be a good option for him if everything goes well. Getting updates from our training staff about him physically, but also from our sports science department that monitors his workload and all that type of stuff. He’s starting to push numbers that are realistic for game situations.”