from Ansar Khan of Mlive,

The Detroit Red Wings have several young players, forwards and defensemen, who will be competing for roster spots next fall.

Here is an early look at who’s in the mix and some projections of who’ll begin the season in Detroit and who’ll start with the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Madison Bowey, defense

Acquired from Washington in the Nick Jensen trade, Bowey got off to a rocky start but got better the more he played. He moves the puck well and has decent size (6-2, 198). He is not waiver-exempt, unlike most of the players on this list, so he would likely win any close battle for a job.

As it stands right now, the Red Wings will have Mike Green, Danny DeKeyser, Jonathan Ericsson, Trevor Daley, Bowey and in all likelihood Filip Hronek on the back end. Dennis Cholowski and Finnish League standout Oliwer Kaski, whom the Red Wings are expected to sign, will be in the mix. They were interested in signing Niklas Kronwall for one more year; he hasn’t decided. General manager Steve Yzerman might try to upgrade through free agency or a trade.

Projected start: Detroit

oe Hicketts, defense

He plays bigger than his size (5-8) with a terrific compete level, but his offensive upside is limited, and he hasn’t been strong enough defensively to earn an extended look in Detroit (16 games over the past two seasons). He’s a restricted free agent who no longer is exempt from waivers.

Projected start: Grand Rapids

Libor Sulak, defense

A good-sized (6-2, 207) player who skates well and likes to join the rush, he had a strong camp and played the first six games before being sent to Grand Rapids (five goals, nine assists in 61 games) to work on his defensive game. He’s a restricted free agent who might opt to return to Europe feeling he won’t get an opportunity in this organization.

Projected start: Europe

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