Red Wings Return To Traverse City For 2017 Development Camp And Training Camp Events
DETROIT – Detroit Red Wings Executive Vice President and General Manager Ken Holland today announced that the Red Wings will return to Centre Ice Arena in Traverse City, Mich., to host their annual Development Camp, NHL Prospect Tournament and Training Camp, as well as the 19th Annual Training Camp Golf Classic at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Acme, Mich.
DEVELOPMENT CAMP
The Red Wings will hold their 2017 Development Camp at Centre Ice Arena from July 7-11. The camp is comprised of drafted or signed Red Wings prospects, and will include several of the team's 11 potential selections from this month's 2017 NHL Entry Draft, which will be held on Friday, June 23 and Saturday, June 24 at the United Center in Chicago, in addition to undrafted free agents. Attendees receive daily on-ice instruction and skill development from a team of coaches within the organization, take part in NHL-level off-ice workouts and attend classes designed to help players make smooth transitions to the life of a professional hockey player, while receiving feedback from Red Wings coaches and management.
A full schedule and complete roster will be announced at a later date. All practice sessions are open to the public. Tickets are available in-person only at Centre Ice Arena for $5 per day on each day of the event.
NHL PROSPECT TOURNAMENT
The NHL Prospect Tournament returns to Traverse City for the 19th season, running from Friday, Sept. 8 through Tuesday, Sept. 12. The eight-team field consists of prospects from the Red Wings, the defending-champion Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues.
Over the tournament's history, 500 skaters and 52 goaltenders have moved on to play in at least one NHL game, including 26 of the 35 players who played for the Red Wings in 2016-17: Justin Abdelkader, Andreas Athanasiou, Tyler Bertuzzi, Mitch Callahan, Jared Coreau, Jonathan Ericsson, Darren Helm, Jimmy Howard, Tomas Jurco, Niklas Kronwall, Dylan Larkin, Brian Lashoff, Anthony Mantha, Alexey Marchenko, Petr Mrazek, Tomas Nosek, Gustav Nyquist, Xavier Ouellet, Dan Renouf, Robbie Russo, Riley Sheahan, Brendan Smith, Ryan Sproul, Evgeny Svechnikov, Tomas Tatar and Henrik Zetterberg.
The tournament will be divided into two four-team divisions, and teams will play each team in their division in a round-robin format before a crossover on the final day of the tournament. The first-place finishers in each division will meet for the Matthew Wuest Memorial Cup on Tuesday, Sept. 12. The tournament's championship trophy was renamed in 2015 to honor Wuest, known for his work on the website CapGeek.com as well as his exclusive coverage and statistical archiving of the NHL Prospect Tournament on RedWingsCentral.com, spanning back to the inaugural tournament in 1998. Wuest passed away in March 2015 after succumbing to a two-year battle with colon cancer.
TRAINING CAMP GOLF CLASSIC
The Red Wings will open their annual NHL Training Camp with the 19th Training Camp Golf Classic, presented by Eitel Dahm Motor Group, on Thursday, Sept. 14, at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa. Proceeds from the tournament benefit Involved Citizens Enterprises (I.C.E.), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization providing affordable skating programs to Northern Michigan.
Golf participants will enjoy a pre-round lunch before teaming up with a member of the Red Wings roster, coaching staff or management team for a 1:00 p.m. shotgun start on one of the resort's pristine golf courses. Following the round, attendees will have dinner at the resort at a table with their Red Wings teammate and have the opportunity to bid on unique auction packages, including two opportunities to travel with the Red Wings on Red Bird III to road games during the 2017-18 preseason. The silent and live auctions will also include sports memorabilia, vacation packages and much more.
RED WINGS TRAINING CAMP
The 2017-18 Red Wings hit the ice for the first time the morning of Friday, Sept. 15, and continue daily through Monday, Sept. 18. Red Wings players, prospects and tryouts will be divided into teams that will practice and scrimmage throughout camp, leading up to the annual Red and White Game on Sept. 18 at 12 p.m. A full camp roster and the complete training camp schedule will be announced at a later date.
The Training Camp Alumni and Celebrity Game will also return for a fifth consecutive season, taking place on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 7:00 p.m. Last year's game included numerous Red Wings front office staff and coaches, including general manager Ken Holland and head coach Jeff Blashill; former players such as Dino Ciccarelli, Kris Draper, Jiri Fischer, Joe Kocur, Kirk Maltby and Darren McCarty; and Red Wings television color analyst Mickey Redmond.
NEW ONLINE TICKET SALES
Advance tickets for all September Red Wings events are available exclusively online this season at www.centreice.org/drwtickets, starting on Monday, July 10, and will also be sold first-come, first-served at the arena entrance on the day of each event. Ticket prices are as follows:
• NHL Prospect Tournament (Sept. 8-12): $10 per day (general admission)
• Training Camp Practice (Friday, Sept. 15): $10 standing-room, $15 reserved seating or mezzanine
• Training Camp Practice (Saturday, Sept. 16): $10 standing-room, $20 reserved seating or mezzanine
• Training Camp Practice (Sunday, Sept. 17): $10 standing-room, $20 reserved seating or mezzanine
• Alumni and Celebrity Game (Saturday, Sept. 16): $20 standing-room, $30 reserved seating or mezzanine
• Red and White Game (Monday, Sept. 18): $20 standing-room, $30 reserved seating or mezzanine
Select 2017 training camp merchandise will also be available for purchase in the arena store on the upper level behind the concession stand. For additional information, please call (231) 933-7465 or visit www.centreice.org.
