After a blowout win against the Dallas Stars prospects on Saturday night, the Detroit Red Wings prospects skated back into Frisco and lost a heart-breaker. But we don't need to call it that. Not at this stage.
Instead, the Wings were fortunate enough to go through a much-needed learning experience. That experience? Don't get complacent. They dominated the Stars on Saturday and looked good through much of the second game before a late, tie-breaking goal ended their hopes of a weekend sweep.
But hey, I'd rather them learn this lesson now instead of when they're on NHL ice. There will be other lessons to learn then, so let's get the minor issues out of the way first. And the first one is, never let up on an opponent. Ever. Even if you have a three-goal lead, keep pouring it on. This is one step away from the big club, not a league where everyone gets the same amount of playing time.
With that, I'd like to see these prospects, especially those who built momentum like Nate Danielson and Amadeus Lombardi, to turn things up another notch when they're in camp and get a chance to dress for one or a few preseason games.
Detroit Red Wings prospects won and learned this weekend against Dallas
On Saturday, it was all Wings until the Stars scored a couple times to make the final tally look more respectable. It showed us that this prospect pool lived to its billing, but Sunday's loss proved they're far from perfect and they got a lot of work to do.
Losing this one's something I'd call more bittersweet than anything else. Yeah, you want to see your team, and your prospects pool, win. But you also want to see them challenged and served a dose of reality every now and again.
One that drives home the point that, on any given night, a weaker opponent can sneak up on you and steal a game. And if it happens enough throughout the season, then you're looking at that as the potential difference between a playoff appearance or extending the drought.
As far as tonight's loss goes, there's a lot to reflect on. You don't want to be that team losing games against those you know you should beat, and that was the case tonight. So move on, fix the error, and get ready to correct it when the slate of preseason games begin and definitely in the regular season.
Whether these players are with the big club, playing in Grand Rapids, or elsewhere. Because it's not the last time they'll get a challenge like this.