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 NHL Prospect Tournament and Training Camp, as well as the 20th Annual Training Camp Golf Classic at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Acme, Mich.
2018 NHL Prospect Tournament and Training Camp set for Traverse City
20th Annual Prospect Tournament set for Sept. 7-11; Training Camp will run Sept. 14-18
NHL PROSPECT TOURNAMENT
The NHL Prospect Tournament returns to Traverse City for its 20th season, running from Friday, Sept. 7 through Tuesday, Sept. 11. The eight-team field consists of prospects from the Red Wings, the defending-champion Chicago Blackhawks, Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues.
Over the tournament's history, nearly 600 players have moved on to play in at least one NHL game, including 21 of the 30 players who played for the Red Wings in 2017-18: Justin Abdelkader, Andreas Athanasiou, Tyler Bertuzzi, Jared Coreau, Jonathan Ericsson, Martin Frk, Darren Helm, Joe Hicketts, Jimmy Howard, Niklas Kronwall, Dylan Larkin, Brian Lashoff, Anthony Mantha, Petr Mrazek, Gustav Nyquist, Xavier Ouellet, Riley Sheahan, Evgeny Svechnikov, Tomas Tatar, Dominic Turgeon 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. 11. 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 20th Training Camp Golf Classic, presented by Eitel Dahm Motor Group, on Thursday, Sept. 13, 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 the opportunity to travel with the Red Wings on Red Bird III to a select road game during the 2018-19 preseason. The silent and live auctions will also include sports memorabilia, vacation packages and much more.
RED WINGS TRAINING CAMP
The 2018-19 Red Wings hit the ice for the first time the morning of Friday, Sept. 14, and continue daily through Tuesday, Sept. 18. Red Wings players, prospects and tryouts will be divided into teams that will practice and scrimmage throughout camp, including the annual Red and White Game on Sunday, Sept. 16 at 12 p.m. Following the Red and White game, the team will remain in Traverse City and hold practices on Sept. 17-18 prior to breaking camp for Detroit to begin their preseason schedule at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday, Sept. 19 vs. Pittsburgh. A full camp roster and the complete training camp schedule will be announced at a later date.
RED WINGS ALUMNI VS. GUNS-N-HOSES
The Training Camp Alumni and Celebrity Game will also return for a sixth-consecutive season on Saturday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. in a new format from past seasons. This year, a team of Red Wings alumni will face off against Guns-n-Hoses, a team consisting of players from local Traverse City police and fire departments. Guns-n-Hoses is a non-profit organization created to assist individuals and families in need in the Grand Traverse community.
Red Wings alumni and celebrities slated to participate include three members of "The Grind Line" in Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby and Darren McCarty; Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Mark Howe; Red Wings player development staff Shawn Horcoff and Dan Cleary; and 2008 Stanley Cup champion and Traverse City resident Dallas Drake. A full roster will be announced at a later date.
TICKETS FOR ALL EVENTS ON SALE JULY 24
Advance tickets for all September Red Wings events are available exclusively online this season at
www.centreice.org/drwtickets
, starting on Tuesday, July 24 at 10 a.m., and will also be sold first-come, first-served at the arena entrance on the day of each event. Ticket prices are as follows:
Select 2018 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
.
