The Red Wings are barely into the preseason, but the first real clues about opening night are already on the board.
Detroit opens the 2026-27 preseason tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and with training camp shortened and the preseason trimmed down, there isn’t much runway for major experiments. That leaves the Red Wings in a familiar spot: projecting, guessing, and reading between the lines.
One of the clearest hints came from Ansar Khan of MLive, who shared Detroit’s first practice group on Saturday. It looked like this:
DeBrincat-Copp-Raymond
Finnie-Kasper-Arvidsson
Rasmussen-Compher-Kolesar/Appleton
Mazur-Danielson-MBN
Edvinsson-Seider
Chiarot-ASP
Johansson-Faulk
Bryson-JBD
Wallinder
Gibson and Tarasov
Barring Dylan Larkin’s return from injury, that group is about as close to an opening night lineup as the Red Wings can reasonably show right now.
That doesn’t make it official, of course. There’s still time for things to shift before October 2.
Larkin could come back from injury. He could also be traded before opening night, though that remains unlikely.
Injuries, uneven play and roster movement can change everything in a hurry, so any projection at this stage deserves a healthy dose of caution.
Still, this is the kind of look teams give when they’re trying to tell you something without actually saying it.
The most obvious takeaway is the influx of prospects. Seeing Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Nate Danielson in the mix is a reminder that Detroit may be leaning harder on youth than it would prefer.
That’s exciting from a talent standpoint. It’s also impossible to ignore the center situation, with Andrew Copp listed as the top-line center in this look.
That creates more questions than comfort.
Maybe it’s just preseason juggling. Maybe the picture changes fast. But for now, this is the kind of alignment that deserves a close watch.
The shortened preseason also ties into the NHL’s new CBA, which adds another wrinkle for prospects. Players with more than 100 games of NHL experience can only appear in two preseason games, and that opens the door for younger players to get more chances to make an impression.
That matters for Detroit, where opportunity is clearly available. In the past, players like Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond used training camp to force their way into bigger roles. This year could offer a similar opening for the next wave.
And the Red Wings need it. This roster is thin enough that it has to find scoring, physicality and an identity wherever it can.
Last season, a lack of depth helped sink the team’s playoff hopes. This time, Detroit has a chance to flip that weakness into something useful if its young players can grab hold of it.
In Other News...
Dylan Larkin Drama Just Got More Complicated For The Red Wings
Dylan Larkins situation with the Red Wings has lingered deep into the offseason, and now theres another layer to monitor as camp approaches. Nearly three months after submitting a trade request, the Detroit captain remains on the roster, leaving the club to balance a delicate offseason storyline around one of its most important players while trying to keep attention on the start of training camp.
Interim GM Shawn Horcoff confirmed Larkin is dealing with an upper-body injury suffered during off-ice training, and the team plans to update his recovery timeline. Meanwhile, the trade chatter around Larkin has only grown more complicated, with Pierre McGuire saying Detroit would seek Michael Hage in any deal for him, a steep ask that some around the league view as a non-starter. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Rookies Just Got A Bigger Chance To Force The Issue
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The goaltending picture also has a little extra intrigue after Mason Kucenski was seen at the teams public training camp practice, suggesting he may be in line to serve as the emergency backup option. No official signing has been announced yet, but it is another reminder that the Wings are still filling in details while camp takes shape, even as wider hockey changes, from altered NHL rules to the PWHLs arrival in Detroit, keep adding to the backdrop around the team. [Read more 🡒]
Theo Rochette Is Giving The Red Wings A Center Decision To Make
Theo Rochette arrived in Detroit as a European free agent after four seasons in Switzerland, bringing with him some real pedigree and a fresh layer of intrigue for a club still sorting out its center depth. The Red Wings have taken a long look at the 25-year-old after his silver-medal run at the IIHF World Championship, and his early path through camp has been enough to move him from the AHL side into the conversation with the NHL group.
Todd McLellan has already shown plenty of trust in Rochette, and the early buzz around camp has been about more than just a player getting a trial run. His skating and hockey sense have helped him stand out at a position where Detroit could use more answers, and the fact that he has been skating with the NHL players in camp suggests this is more than a courtesy look. If he keeps pushing, the Red Wings may have a real roster decision to make before the season opens. [Read more 🡒]