Preview: Young players will be in spotlight as Red Wings take on Sabres

After five months, the Detroit Red Wings make their return to Little Caesars Arena on Thursday night, facing the Buffalo Sabres in their second preseason game, coming off a 4-3 shootout win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.
Though the Red Wings will be without some of their stars - namely Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi - there's still a lot to look out for when the puck drops at 7:30 (DetroitRedWings.com). In particular, the preseason debuts of Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond.
The Red Wings' first round draft picks in 2019 and 2020, respectively, Seider and Raymond both come into the preseason looking to secure roster spots. Seider, though, looks much more likely to be with the team on Opening Night - at this point, anything less would qualify as a surprise.

"He's as prepared as any young player I think at his age coming in," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said early in training camp. "That preparation through the (German League) into the American League into the (Swedish Hockey League) last year. Like for a kid his age, he's probably as prepared as anybody could be. And he's excelled at really each level, which is critical."
During training camp, Seider was paired with veteran defenseman Nick Leddy, and during the Red and White scrimmage, he featured on both the power play and penalty kill units. At 6-foot-4 and nearly 200 pounds, Seider's physical ability makes him an imposing defender.
"When he's engaged in people he's a really, really good defender," Blashill said. "But you have to work and think ahead to put yourself in position, so that you're in the proper position to have really good gaps so you can get engaged in that guy quicker. I just think it's without the puck. And those are just learning things for young defensemen."

Offensively, Blashill said, Seider still needs to learn to think through plays before he gets the puck on his stick. He's able to draw defenders to him because of his size, but Blashill wants to see him move the puck quicker at times.
"Sometimes the right play is just, move it right away," Blashill said. "Just right away, knowing where you're going, let's play fast, let's get it moving, then you jump on the play."
"Just being a guy on the ice in all situations," Seider said during training camp, when asked what he wanted to show. "Moving the puck well, defend really, really well, I think that's what matters the most I would say in the first couple games, being really solid defensively and then offense will come automatically."
As for Raymond, the Swedish winger has more of an uphill climb to make the team - Blashill said during camp that he would need to be one of the better players on the ice throughout preseason to do so. But a quick glance at the roster for Thursday's game shows that Raymond will have a chance, as he'll likely get top-six minutes against Buffalo.
"He feels confident," Pius Suter, a potential linemate on Thursday, said during camp. "Yeah, confident. You can tell making those plays to the middle, getting a guy on his back. Looked pretty good to me."
Raymond also featured on the power play unit during last Sunday's scrimmage, with Blashill saying he can be of help there.
Still, both Blashill and executive vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman have been consistent in saying that, to make the Red Wings, Raymond - as well as any other young prospect - needs to do more than just prove he can play at an NHL level.
"To make the 23-man roster, well one they're young kids so I have no interest in seeing them in the stands in Detroit," Yzerman said before camp opened. "So they're really gonna be in the top 12 and even go as far as to say the top nine, which is a big ask. Because I want them playing meaningful minutes and being contributors."