TRAVERSE CITY -- For years, the Detroit Red Wings have banked on a stable of veteran players to help them contend for division, conference and Stanley Cup titles.
But now there's a bevy of young prospects knocking on the door, ready to contribute.
When the season starts next month, the Red Wings could have a number of fresh young faces on this year's opening-day roster.
"I'm really excited," Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "We have a chance to change 37 percent of the team this year (from last season's opening day roster). The last time we had big change like this coming in was when we brought in (Mikael) Samuelsson, (Andreas) Lilja, (Dan) Cleary, (Johan) Franzen and (Brett) Lebda after the lockout. Five of the 22 -- that was significant."
Babcock said this year's squad could include eight new faces. Among the young players competing for ice time are forwards Justin Abdelkader and Ville Leino, as well as defenseman Jonathan Ericsson.
All three players moved up from Grand Rapids to Detroit last year for the playoffs and made the most of their opportunities. Ericsson had four goals and four assists, Abdelkader two goals and an assist and Leino two assists. Leino contributed five goals and four assists in 13 regular season games.
"The thing with our young guys is that they just haven't played games in Grand Rapids, they've played in a lot of big games here against tough teams," Wings goalie Chris Osgood said. "They're used to the pace. Everybody talks about the guys we lost (in free agency). But with our young guys jumping in we're going to have almost the same team we had two years ago when we won (the Stanley Cup). I think we'll be even better with the younger players."
Leino was a key player in Sunday's scrimmage. He led his team to victory with two goals and two assists.
"It's all about confidence in hockey," Leino said. "I feel more confident now and I know what's coming up. I'm a little more secure than last year."
Captain Nicklas Lidstrom has taken note.
"What we saw from him last year is that he's got a scoring touch, that he's good at hanging on to the puck down low in the corners and coming out of the corners. He knows where to go," Lidstrom said. "He has a lot of skill. He's real quick and he can make plays."
Ericsson should have added confidence after his performance with Detroit last year.
"Last year helped him tremendously, what he did in the playoffs and in the regular season when he came up from the minors," Lidstrom said. "He had a real solid playoff experience. That's going to carryover and give him some confidence, knowing that he can play against the best."
Abdelkader is looking to turn a strong showing in training camp and the exhibition season into an opening-day spot.
"Playing 10 games in the playoffs, definitely it's a different feeling," Abdelkader said. "I think there's an opportunity there for me to possibly make the team this year."
Leino and Ericsson, now with Andreas Lilja on the injured list, have all but secured spots on the roster. Abdelkader is competing for one of the final forward slots.
Leino could play left wing on the third line with center Valtterri Filppula right wing Jason Williams. That line lit it up Sunday.
"Imagine if that's our third line," Babcock said. "That's a pretty good third line. It's probably no different than (Jiri) Hudler and Samuelsson (flanking Filppula) with Williams and Leino."
Grand Rapids Griffins coach Curt Fraser called Abdelkader "the real deal." He said the former Michigan State star will make it tough on the Wings to send him back to Grand Rapids.
Fraser added if Abdelkader ends up in Grand Rapids he'll continue to develop and be ready when an opportunity arises in Detroit.
"I think that's big when we can come up and fill the void," Abdelkader said. "There's always going to be injuries and we're just trying to make the most of our opportunities when we're up there. I think Grand Rapids prepared all of us for coming up and playing. It just shows the organization can bring up players through their farm system."
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