TRAVERSE CITY -- Daniel Larsson is ready to be the Detroit Red Wings goaltender of the future.
So much so, that he had his goalie mask repainted this summer with the Red Wings logo on one side and the famed octopus mascot on the other.
But he isn't the only player at Centre ICE this week for prospects camp with dreams of manning the pipes for Detroit one day.
Thomas McCollum was the Red Wings' first pick in June's NHL draft and also has high hopes as an 18-year-old prospect.
"It's real exciting to have two goalies of this caliber," Detroit goalie coach Jim Bedard said. "We've always had one here, but we have two guys that could be blue-chip prospects."
That doesn't mean there's a rivalry between the two, though.
"They've got a good relationship from the time they met each other in July at Joe Lewis," Bedard said. "They like each other off the ice, and I see a friendly competition. Both guys don't like to get scored on, which is good when you're a goalie."
"It's been fantastic," McCollum said. "We're kind of going through the same thing here, being our first time through. So we've bonded and try to help each other out and make each other better."
Larsson agreed.
"There's always competition to take every puck and be the better goalie," Larsson said. "But he's a really nice guy and we get along just fine."
While both arrived at Red Wings camp for the first time this year, their paths to this point have been drastically different.
Larsson, 22, has played for Djurgarden in the Swedish Elite League for two seasons. He broke through last year, took the starting job and led his team to the playoffs with six shutouts and a .921 save percentage. It was good enough to earn him the league's rookie of the year and top goaltender honors.
This year, Larsson will play his first season outside of his homeland.
"Daniel will get his feet wet in Grand Rapids, which is where Red Wings get hatched," Bedard said.
While Larsson has been to the U.S. and Canada for camps and tournaments, the transition for his first season away from Sweden will be made easier by a number of fellow countrymen in the Red Wings system.
"It's a little more fun not to be alone here," Larsson said. "There are friends here that speak your language."
For McCollum, not much will change this year. The New York native will go back for a third year with Guelph in the OHL, where he's already won 56 games with 10 shutouts.
"There's still a lot that can happen," McCollum said. "I'm just pushing to have a really strong season in Guelph this year and push to make the team in Grand Rapids next year."
Before that, though, he will finish out Detroit's camp in Traverse City and get a chance to practice with the defending Stanley Cup champions. Thus far, the two goalies have looked shapr. McCollum and Larsson teamed to produce a shutout in the Wings first prospects game Saturday, 4-0 over the New York Rangers. McCollum then turned aside 25 of 27 shots in a 5-2 win over Tampa Bay on Sunday.
"It's definitely a huge thrill to put on that jersey," McCollum said. "There's a rich history there and they've done a lot of great things recently, so it's a huge honor to be part of that."
No doubt, the current Red Wings will notice McCollum's size when they arrive at Centre ICE, as he's listed at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds.
"I think it's a huge advantage for me," McColllum said. "From the get-go, I take up more net than most goalies I go up against. Being bigger, I also have a bigger reach in my legs and my arms, so I try to use that to fill up space."
His size also meant that he didn't start out manning the pipes in junior hockey.
"I was a defenseman until I was 10 or 11," McCollum said. "In the middle of a game, our goalie just quit, so my teamed turned to me because I was always blocking shots as a defenseman. My parents were like 'oh no,' because they knew the price of goalie equipment. But it paid off."
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