It hasn’t been the best tournament for the young Red Wings prospects, but there have been some notable names getting the spotlight.

Unfortunately, on the biggest stage for these young players, none of the prospects really made a name for themselves and improved their reputation. Some pessimistic fans would even say that they lowered their value and are now looking at it like the whole 2018 NHL Draft didn’t even happen.

But on the bright side, none of them were really supposed to be the stars of their team – that’s the only positive I can find from this.

Veleno started the tournament on the bottom line for Team Canada, having bonified U20 stars ahead of him in the center depth chart, he started on the left wing.

With two assists in five games, the Canadian forward from the QMJHL did what he could with the ice-time given. I wouldn’t look too in-depth on Veleno’s performance throughout the tournament, but at least he showed the world what he could do in a pre-tournament game against the Swiss.

It was a disappointing early exit for the Canadian team, but I’m sure if they made it further, Veleno would be credited for “offensive depth” and all those juicy words.

McIsaac’s tournament didn’t really demonstrate some of his offensive skill – netting one single assist in four games, but it certainly showcased his ability to be extremely physical.

Sometimes a little too physical.

He ended up being suspended one game for this hit against Czech forward and Nashville Predators prospect Jachym Kondelik. A pretty dirty hit that involved McIsaac leaping up into Kondelik’s head, connecting hard with his shoulder.

It probably doesn’t help that the linesman was inches away from the hit, almost getting hit himself.

Zadina was supposed to give that jolt to the Czech’s second line, a disappointing tournament saw the forward pelted with criticism. The same way that the World Juniors could massively improve a player’s reputation and status among prospects, it can also dampen the hype and want fans to yell at their front office over such a small sample size.

It definitely was not a stellar tournament from Zadina, but this is also a 19-year-old that has been playing in the AHL for a few months now. Having a solid professional season as well.

Only one single assist in five games this tournament, he can look back on this as a learning opportunity.

This is still the teenager playing one step away from the NHL, with 17 points in just 27 games. Just keep saying to yourself, “small sample size, small sample size, small sample size”.

Definitely a lesser-known Red Wings prospect that was at the U20 tournament this year, Malte Setkov might have had the best tournament of the four.

The Danish defenceman caught the brute of Team Canada in a 14-0 devastating loss, finishing the tournament with a plus/minus of -11. At least it shows that Setkov was getting plenty of ice-time against the opposition’s top forwards.

At 6’7″, the left-handed blueliner definitely had the height of a man against boys. He finished his campaign with one goal and one assist in five games, tying Veleno for the highest point total from a Wings prospect.

This fourth-round pick might just make the jump up some Wings prospect power rankings, but again, it’s small sample size.

Overall, it was a let-down of a tournament from the point-of-view for the Red Wings. Budding stars like Veleno and Zadina were let go earlier than expected, but at least the Wings have these prospects in this type of tournament to begin with.

Last year, Gustav Lindstrom was probably the biggest name at the tournament representing the Wings – what a long way the prospect pool has come. Only imagine if Jonatan Berggren was healthy enough to show some of his stickwork against weaker oppositions, maybe Sweden would eventually beat Switzerland and still be in the tournament.

It has been forgettable, but let’s not bash some teenager over four or five games.