Out of the 24 players on the roster, only seven were drafted by the Red Wings, while 11 are free agents looking to impress and earn an invite to the main training camp. Some notable free agents include forwards Borya Valis, Charlie Paquette, Dylan Edwards, and Chase Lefebvre, and defensemen like Matthew Virgilio, Bauer Dumanski, and Blake Smith.
Several of these players were part of the Red Wings' July development camp. Valis and Dumanski, for instance, were teammates of Red Wings draftee
Ondrej Becher in the WHL last season. Meanwhile, Virgilio played alongside another Red Wings pick, goaltender
Landon Miller, with the OHL's Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.
Players like Paquette, with a strong hockey lineage, and Edwards, who overcame being cut by the Erie Otters, have stories of resilience. Lefebvre, from GM Steve Yzerman's former OHL club, the Peterborough Petes, plays a hard-working, fast-skating game. Brayden Edwards, Van Mulligen, Smith, and Sandhu are all players looking to show their skills to secure a spot in the Red Wings' system.