When the Red Wings opened training camp about 10 days ago, Mason Appleton was one of the names plenty of people were ready to cross off the board.
That looked reasonable at the time. The veteran forward knew it, too. But instead of shrinking from the pressure, Appleton used it.
“I think I didn’t love parts of the back half of my year, and I think it kind of resembled our team’s game as well,” Appleton said. “So you go into a summer kind of pissed off, and the summer feels long.
“You dwell on it for a little bit, and then you turn the page, and you look at yourself in the mirror and what you got to do and how you got to be better for this team and for yourself.
“So that’s what I did. And, you know, I came to camp with a good jump and very motivated.”
That mindset has shown up in preseason. Appleton has brought real value as a bottom-six winger, while the player who looked poised to take his spot, rookie Carter Mazur, has not given the team enough to force the issue.
There’s no mystery about why so many fans want more youth on the roster. The Red Wings have missed the playoffs for 10 years, and after that kind of drought, change naturally feels overdue.
But change only works if it’s earned.
The organization has been criticized before for leaning too hard on veterans instead of giving younger players a real shot. Still, the answer isn’t to hand out jobs simply because a player is younger.
“The veterans that are here and were here last year, they have a spot until somebody takes that spot,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said. “I’m sure there’s debate: why keep that guy, why keep this guy?”
In this camp, some players have made that argument clearly. Defenseman Anton Johansson and winger Michael Brandsegg-Nygard have done enough to look like roster candidates. Others, including Mazur and defenseman William Wallinder, have had a tougher time building that case.
Appleton has taken the opposite route: he’s fought to keep his place, and he’s embraced that fight.
“He’s got a chip on his shoulder,” McLellan said. “He wants to prove, not to me or you or anybody else.
“He wants to prove to his teammates that he’s the player we believe in.”
In Other News...
Flames Already Have A New Blue Line Question After Camp
The Red Wings added another layer to their blue line plans by claiming defenseman Andreas Englund off waivers from Calgary, giving them a veteran depth piece as camp moves into its final stretch. Englund, 30, signed a one-year deal with the Flames, but his time there ended quickly after he was outplayed in camp, and Detroit now gets a player with NHL experience across several teams at a position where extra bodies can matter.
For the Red Wings, the move fits into a broader defensive picture that still has one important unfinished piece. They are working to finalize a deal with restricted free agent Simon Edvinsson, and until that is settled, there is still some uncertainty about how the back end will line up when the roster takes shape for real. Englund does not change the headline as much as he adds insurance, but in September, that kind of insurance can be useful. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Final Preseason Game Will Force Tough Roster Calls
The final preseason game against the Columbus Blue Jackets is arriving at the right time for the Red Wings, because the roster picture is getting crowded in the areas that matter most. Detroit has already begun sorting through a group that includes Axel Sandin-Pellikka, Anton Johansson, Carter Mazur and Mason Appleton, while the goaltending tandem of John Gibson and Daniil Tarasov looks set heading into the regular season.
What remains unsettled is the kind of late-stage trimming that can reshape the back end of the roster and the forward mix all at once. The Red Wings still need to make more cuts to get under the required limits, and the final defense spot is part of the problem, with several young blue-liners still in the mix and at least one candidate working through an injury, leaving the front office with a few difficult decisions to settle before opening night. [Read more 🡒]
Dylan Larkin Just Became Detroits Biggest Opening Night Decision
The Red Wings are down to their final preseason game, and the focus in camp has shifted from evaluation to decisions. Interim general manager Shawn Horcoff has made it clear the club wants to be aggressive as it sorts out the roster, with several young players still under consideration for roles this season and every opening-night call carrying a little extra weight.
Amid that backdrop, Dylan Larkin has become the biggest name hanging over the process. Hockey insider Elliotte Friedman reported that the list of teams on Larkins acceptable trade radar has grown to eight, with clubs such as the Avalanche, Capitals, Lightning and Stars among them, adding another layer of intrigue to a situation the Red Wings cannot ignore as they try to balance present-tense roster building with the kind of move that could reshape the lineup. [Read more 🡒]