Detroit City Wire

The Detroit Red Wings are set to face the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday night, marking the second-to-last preseason game for both teams before the start of the 2025-26 NHL season. The game will begin at 7 p.m. and can be streamed on DetroitRedWings.com and through the Red Wings Mobile App.

James van Riemsdyk, who joined his first practice with the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center on Wednesday, spoke about the team’s mood as preseason nears its end. “You can definitely feel that excitement in the air,” van Riemsdyk said. “Guys seem like they’re rearing to go. I know that this time of the preseason especially can start to feel a little bit long. You start to get ready to go for the real, live action to start. You can feel that energy and enthusiasm to start going, but looking at the team, it’s going to be exciting. Lots of things to like about it. Now, it’s up to us to go out there, put it all together and see what we can do.”

The Red Wings come off a 3-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Tuesday night and have only two exhibition games left before their regular season opener against the Montreal Canadiens at Little Caesars Arena next week.

Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan commented on Tuesday's victory: “[Tuesday’s win] was important for a number of different reasons,” McLellan said. “We had some conversations with some players. Larkin not being one of them, although he really stepped up and provided good leadership. He made sure this game was important for everybody involved and I thought he played like that, so that was tremendous to have your captain do that. And then some of the players that had some ugly nights prior, we laid a roadmap out for them – where they were situated – and they responded with some good games.”

Van Riemsdyk discussed his approach as he adjusts to his new team: “That’s something I’ve prided myself on over the course of my career, is just being someone who is very meticulous about routine and preparation,” van Riemsdyk said. “First and foremost was taking care of everything with my family, but you realize there are things you can kind of do to keep yourself ready and prepared. Obviously, you’re jumping in for Day 1 live in an NHL Training Camp. You’re going to expect some rustiness, but it’s good to get the first practice out of the way. Excited to get started with the team.”

McLellan confirmed that van Riemsdyk will not play in Thursday's game against Toronto and indicated his return would depend on how things progress over the next week or so. “He’s been skating, but no where near what we’ve been doing,” McLellan said about van Riemsdyk. “We’re aware of what he’s done. We have a good idea of what he needs to do. It’s just that we’re not sure how long that’s going to take. He’s a veteran player and he’s probably in really good condition, so it’s going to take a little time.”

Defenseman Simon Edvinsson will make his preseason debut after recovering from a lower-body injury sustained earlier in training camp.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been playing hockey,” Edvinsson said. “I had a good conversation with the coaches. I wanted to get in, get the timing and everything all around. Of course, it’s going to be a little bit rusty at the start but hopefully not that much. I’m just going to go from there and take steps every shift.”