Picture it: Friday, October 2, 2026, Little Caesars Arena for the Detroit Red Wings home opener.
Rather than a typical goalie skating on to the ice, eyes seemingly deceive viewers as a lone buck steps on to the ice. The young man skates around on his own for a bit. Broadcasters point out, it’s a rookie lap.
For the first time in over a century of play, a rookie took his rookie lap while in the Winged Wheel. However small the gesture might seem, it illustrates something profound about this new-age of Red Wings players. In a way, it’s freeing for an organization that is often behind the curve. It’s so concerned with maintaining traditions and reliving the past that it forgets it must keep moving forward.
These new rookies are breaking the mold in Hockeytown
The leader of this new wave, even if he’s just played his third game in the NHL, is credited with the first rookie lap in Red Wings history.
Anton Johansson is making waves with the Detroit, and his historic rookie lap is just one of many examples.
#RedWings Anton Johansson, making his NHL debut tonight, does the rookie lap before warmups. pic.twitter.com/feNXljNFDQ
— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) October 2, 2026
Before we get too far along, we have to take a moment and appreciate the current leaders of this Wings’ team that made a rookie lap even possible. Johansson requested the approval of Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond before he went out for his rookie lap.
Color me old, but they still seem young in the grand scheme of their NHL career. Yet, they are making decisions for their team. Their coaching staff supports it, as do guys like Alex DeBrincat.
Who can say if these changes will be for the better? (I certainly can!)
While Johansson is still searching for his first NHL point, two other young players already earned theirs.
Carter Mazur is just a guy everyone roots for. A great personality, hard worker, and as dedicated to the Wings organization as any player, he’s someone that everyone wants to see succeed. The 10 games in his NHL career haven’t gone according to plan, and at times have been as challenging to a new NHL career as fans have witnessed.
Mazur plays with a bit of plucky attitude in his game, while offering a balanced two-way game.
Despite this, Mazur has persevered through the dark times to finally earn his first NHL point—an assist on a DeBrincat goal in Tuesday night’s matchup against the Ottawa Senators.
Another Detroit rookie earned his first NHL point and skated in his rookie lap Tuesday night. A Swede night for the young man.
Lead 'em out, Wally☝️ pic.twitter.com/4Bttax5SfP
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 6, 2026
After six long years from being drafted in 2020, William Wallinder’s patience and determination have paid off.
Wallinder is an excellent skater with the potential to drive and create offense.
With these new rookies creating names for themselves, Red Wings fans and teammates get a front row seat to the future of the sport (and their team).
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