Emmitt Finnie taking lessons learned at worlds into Red Wings season

DETROIT — A year later, opening night feels so much different for Emmitt Finnie.

A year ago, Finnie was a former seventh-round draft pick who shockingly made the Red Wings roster out of preseason. Nobody saw that development happening.

But Finnie, 21, went on to play all 82 games, score 13 goals and earned himself a place in the lineup going forward.

As the Wings prepared for the start of the 2026-27 season on Friday, Oct. 2, Finnie had a bit of a different mindset from a year ago.

“Definitely more comfortable,” said Finnie, remembering the feelings of opening night in 2025. “More confident going into the game, for sure. But the excitement, and that little nervous excitement is still there. I’m super excited to play and looking forward to all of it.”

The unexpected developments a year ago kept happening after the regular season. Finnie was added to the Team Canada roster for last spring’s world championships in Switzerland.

Being part of the Canadian team, Finnie was a teammate of Sidney Crosby, John Tavares, Ryan O’Reilly and Mark Scheifele among others, a veteran, star-studded roster that Finnie will not soon forget.

“That was very cool,” Finnie said. “Just being around some of those players you grew up idolizing, like Sidney Crosby. He was one of my favorite players growing up, and for Hockey Canada, he’s the name when you are growing up. Just getting to meet him and being around some of those other guys, there were a bunch of guys you grew up watching and one day dreaming of meeting them.”

Finnie was likely thought of as an extra forward to begin the tournament, but played his way into getting into six games with one goal and one assist in a checking role.

“I was just trying to take it all in,” said Finnie, who gleaned as much knowledge as he could from the veterans. “I got to know them pretty well. They were probably sick of me because I was bugging them a lot about equipment and a bunch of other stuff. But it was such a great learning experience for me.

“It helped my game just being around those guys and seeing how they played at a high level. I got to pick their brains and learned from them.”

Red Wings forward Emmitt Finnie’s improbable season keeps going at worlds

Coach Todd McLellan guided Canada to a gold medal at the world championships in 2015. McLellan knows the quality of the tournament, the level of talent competing, and how it can help a young player like Finnie.

“It can’t hurt him,” McLellan said. “He wanted to extend his season when we were done, and he went over and found a way to contribute to that team. While doing that, he was a sponge. It can be a little intimidating when you’re a first-year player and you walk into a room with Sid and some of those other guys. But I know Sid, in particular, he would handle that situation really well and make him (Finnie) feel good.”

Finnie feels he can make more of an impact on the penalty kill and defensively this season, while also contributing on the offensive end.

“I can improve in all areas of my game,” Finnie said. “I worked on my game in the summer and I feel like I’m in a good spot right now.”

How has the shortened training camp and only four preseason games impacted the first week of the NHL regular season?

A lot of goals, crazy, lopsided games, and erratic goaltending, to name a few things.

The sharpness and crisp play, arguably, isn’t quite there and the elite players are taking advantage of the situation.

But the short camp looks to be having an impact.

“I don’t know what else we could chalk it up to,” McLellan said. “Edmonton and Vancouver score 16 goals between them. We’ve seen 7-0 games, 8-4, maybe the goaltenders take a little longer (to get ready), like pitching (in baseball). Teams are apt to make a few more mistakes, and until they really get it dialed in, there’s a lot of talent in the league and they’re capitalizing on those mistakes.”

McLellan was asked about the start of another season, and especially with all the negative headlines swirling around the Wings, given the Dylan Larkin trade request, Simon Edvinssonbeing unsigned, and the front office uncertainty last summer.

McLellan looked past those items, a bit, and concentrated on being part of a historic NHL franchise.

“We’re the Detroit Red Wings and that means something,” McLellan said. “We’re an Original Six team. We have a lot of stuff going around us but we’re still the Detroit Red Wings, and if that doesn’t mean anything to me, or to the other players in the locker room, or the trainers or anybody else in the organization, then shame on them and they shouldn’t be part of it.

“Now, with that being said, we have work to do. We know who we are and we know what we have to do and things we need to overcome. But we are the Detroit Red Wings and that means something and that’s the way we’ll approach it all year.”

tkulfan@detroitnews.com

@tkulfan

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Emmitt Finnie taking lessons learned at worlds into Red Wings season