Last Thursday, the entire roster of the USA Hockey squad for the upcoming IIHF World Junior Championship took in the action at Little Caesars Arena between the Detroit Red Wings and Carolina Hurricanes.
Assuredly, all were dreaming of the day they could someday be skating in the NHL. For one of them, goaltender Trey Augustine, his dreamscape was a bit more specific. He can envision what it might be like to one day wear the winged wheel on that very same ice surface.
“It was cool,” admitted Augustine, who was Detroit’s 41st overall selection in the 2023 NHL entry draft. “We went a couple of weeks ago with some of my (Michigan State) teammates from East Lansing. Feels good to be around the rink and see some of the guys.”
The life of an NHL prospect, in contrast to that of an NHL draft prospect, is much different in its daily grind. Potential draftees are like actors persistently auditioning for a role over a 12-month period. Every day they have to be on, concerned about taking a misstep, perhaps being pigeonholed as something that in reality, they are not.
“A little less stress going on with all of the family, too,” Augustine admitted. “Now I can kind of focus on my daily process to get better.”
Augustine Working Toward Red Wings Future
He’s working every bit as hard to hone his craft as he did before, but for Augustine, now there is a specific purpose, a direction for his future that’s been outlined.
Already, in his first NCAA season with the Spartans, he’s seeing improvement coming in his game. Augustine is 11-3-2 with one shutout, a 2.97 GAA and .916 save percentage as a freshman at Michigan State.
“I think my rebound control has gotten a lot better,” Augustine said. “At the end of the day it’s kind of adapting to the taller guys and how wide they are in college hockey. So I feel like I’m ready for that, the traffic and stuff.
“I think my whole game has improved kind of slightly this year.”
Working toward building a future in pro hockey is Augustine’s long-term objective. Whenever there’s down time around campus, he and Michigan State teammate Red Savage, a 2021 Red Wings draftee (114th overall) do occasionally talk about being teammates for a long time into the future.
“Me and Red do a little bit,” Augustine acknowledged. “Obviously it would be pretty cool if we could reunite down the road.”
Four Red Wings Picks To World Juniors
Augustine will be playing in his second world junior tourney. He won a bronze medal last season, along with a gold medal at the world U18 championship.
“This is my fourth IIHF event in just over a year and a half,” Augustine said. “I feel I kind of know what to expect, so I’m ready to go. Obviously it’s a big honor to start for the US in the world juniors.”
Slated for Gothenburg, Sweden from Dec. 26-Jan. 5, the Red Wings will be well represented in the event. Defensemen Axel Sandin Pellikka (17th, 2023) and Anton Johansson (105th, 2022) are playing for the host nation. Center Nate Danielson (9th, 2023) will be skating with Canada.
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