Believe it or not, the Wings open training camp in a little over a month, September 12th in Traverse City to be exact. Now when they do open plenty of eyes are going to be on the position battle happening among the defensemen.
Despite getting a pretty good-sized contract during the off-season, expect Jonathan Ericsson to be among the defensemen fighting for a top four position. According to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press Red Wings fans should expect a battle between Ericsson, Ian White and Brendan Smith who’s going to be given every opportunity in training camp to earn a spot on the team.
If Smith comes out looking strong in training camp I don’t believe the Wings will hesitate to give the 22-year old a top four spot, especially considering the offensive upside he brings to the table. If this were the case the Wings would be forced to bump Ericsson down to the third defensive pairing.
Source: ESPN, Detroit Free Press
