A look at the future: Stars excited to dive into 2026 NHL Prospect Tournament

Having a big hand in starting the Detroit Red Wings prospect tournament more than two decades ago, Jim Nill knows how important it can be both to NHL teams and players.

At its height, the tournament hosted eight teams in Traverse City, Michigan and was viewed by some of the sport’s great administrators, scouts and media. In more recent years, teams splintered into their own factions and tried to look for “easier” ways to get the same experience. For the past two years, Dallas and Detroit prospects simply played two games against one another to try to fill the gap.

But this year, the exercise will return to four teams and will move to Detroit, starting on Saturday. Dallas, Detroit, Columbus and Pittsburgh will partake in a round robin tournament at the BELFOR Training Center inside Little Caesars Arena, solving more than just a few problems.

In addition to the fact that this gives Stars prospects the chance to see a bunch of great talent across the ice, it also gives them an extra game over what they received the two previous seasons. With the NHL switching to 84 games from 82 in the regular season, and chopping two games off the old preseason schedule, that’s massive for the young players.

“It just stands to reason that you’ll want to see your veterans more and sooner in a four-game preseason, so that means the opportunity for younger players could be limited,” said Nill, the Stars’ general manager and former assistant GM in Detroit. “The guess is our roster moves will be quicker and we’ll get to the NHL roster quicker, so this weekend will be crucial.”

Dallas plays Detroit on Saturday at 5:30 p.m., plays Columbus at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday and then takes on Pittsburgh Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. The prospects will then fly back to Texas to get ready for training camp, which starts Thursday in Frisco.

Dallas will have 57 players at training camp and 23 players will be going to Detroit as part of the prospect group. Some of the key players attending include Artem Shlaine, Justin Ertel, Dylan Hryckowian, Trey Taylor, Tristan Bertucci and Arno Tiefensee. Taylor (70 games) and Bertucci (63 games) were among the most trusted defensemen in the AHL, while Tiefensee played 20 games in goal for the Texas Stars. Dallas is also expected to unveil defenseman Jakub Vanecek, their second-round pick from the 2026 draft, as well as forward Ryan Brown. Picks from 2025, Cameron Schmidt and Brandon Gorzyneski, will be players to watch, along with 2024 first-rounder Emil Hemming.

Hemming, 20, might be the player who makes the most waves in the tournament for Dallas, as he had 63 points (26 goals, 37 assists) in 46 games with Barrie (OHL) last season and added 28 more (15 goals, 13 assists) in 21 playoff games. The Finland native could work himself into a good place, as the Stars might only carry 12 forwards to start the season due to cap concerns, meaning an AHL callup is likely sooner than later.

“We definitely have to be ready for anything this year,” Nill said. “So this is a good place to get started.”

Toby Petersen will coach the prospects. The former Stars player took over the Texas Stars bench last season after spending a few seasons in player development with Colorado. He helped Texas to a 37-29-6 record.

“It was a learning year, and this is part of it,” Petersen said in reference to the prospect tournament. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Petersen said he learned a lot about staying in the moment last season and will use that in the tournament.

“I honestly think we just worry about ourselves and what’s good for us, and that’s the right way to look at things,” Petersen said. “We did that last year. We prepared ourselves every day, we focused on what we needed right then, and then we reacted later.”

As for the players, Petersen said he knows they will enjoy the format.

“It’s a great opportunity,” he said. “You get out there with players from your own organization, many of them who you know, and you get a chance to be a team. You’re competing against your peers, and you find out pretty quickly just how fast the game is. I love it, and I’m looking forward to it.”

Nill said that these games can actually be more important for younger players than playing in NHL exhibition games, which can be more scattered.

“I’ve been around this so many times, and it really is intense competition,” Nill said. “I tell the players, and you can look in their eyes after the first period and see just what a surprise it is. All of these players want to win, they want to impress and they’ve been waiting all summer for this moment. It’s fun to watch.”