Development camp wrapped with important knowledge gleaned both for Detroit Red Wings prospects and hockey operations personnel.
"It’s always beneficial, especially bringing in the new draft picks," assistant director of player development Dan Cleary said Friday. "To be able to get these kids over, it’s awesome. For me and everybody involved, just to get to know each other — I’ve enjoyed it. It was great to meet some of these new fresh faces. I got to learn some new nicknames, things like that. I look forward to working with these kids as we go along into fall."
For the players, it's learning about all the off-ice aspects that go into being a better athlete, from nutrition to sleep habits.
"I just want to get stronger in the offseason," 2023 second-round pick Brady Cleveland said. "I want to work on my upper and lower body strength."
Learning how to do that is one of the key elements of the five-day event, which culminated with a 3-on-3 tournament.
"It was awesome," Cleary said. "I thought the kids were very respectful, they worked hard, they were attentive. They were awesome. Probably one of the best dev camps I’ve been a part of.
"They made friends, for sure. Hopefully future teammates. They definitely took away a lot from (team dietician) Lisa McDowell with the sleep and nutrition. I think the skating portion was great. They basically all go home with a plan of things to work on, especially the Europeans and the college kids that have to get out of here."
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Meet 'Taxi'
One such European is the Wings' top pick in 2024, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, who soon will head back to his native Norway, and eventually make his way to Sweden, where he'll play for Skellefteå in the Swedish Hockey League (he'll be teammates there will 2023 first-round pick Axel Sandin Pellikka).
"I learned his nickname is Taxi," Cleary said. "I thought that was a unique story."
From what Cleary was told, Brandsegg-Nygård's father's family ran a taxi company back in Norway and his dad, Kjell Richard Nygård — who played in Norway's top league and on the national team — would be dropped off at practices so often in a taxi that his teammates started calling him just that.
"When they saw his son, they said, 'Little City Cab, Little Taxi," Cleary said. "So I asked him, 'Can I call you Taxi?' He said, 'Sure.' So that’s going to be his nickname."
Brandsegg-Nygård isn't an economy-size taxi, though: At 18 years old, he's already 6 foot 1 and 207 pounds.
"He’s going from Allsvenskan to the SHL, that’s a jump for sure," Cleary said. "But with his size and his weight, he’ll be able to handle himself and protect himself in the corners, hang on to the puck a little better. I think the transition will be easier with him having a frame to him."
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From Czechia in a hurry
Ondrej Becher, drafted in the third round (No. 80) last weekend, wasn't in Las Vegas for the draft.
"I was back home in Czechia, was watching on TV with my family," Becher said of how he found out. That began a whirlwind 24 hours.
"It was very fast," he said. "I got drafted, it was evening in Czechia, and next morning, I have my flights. So it was really quick."
Becher is a late-bloomer, a 20-year-old coming off a breakout season with Prince George in the Western Hockey League, where he posted 96 points in 58 games. Becher said he isn't sure yet where he will play next season.
The last word
During the camp, general manager Steve Yzerman watched from the players lounge, comfortably ensconced above one of the end zones. When he was drafted in 1983, there was no development camp — and even if there were, the nutrition information might not have stuck.
"I'm not sure I would have heeded or paid attention to it," Yzerman said, laughing.
In today's pro sports, it's invaluable. "Things have evolved and changed so much," Yzerman said. "From nutrition to the skills instructors, the skating instructors, the performance science part of sports. Kids have so much more information and education to them, and we're hoping they kind of soak it in. For the most part, I find the young kids today are really into the gadgets and all the science and find it interesting. Some of the older players are buying into it as well. It's all designed to make them better hockey players."
