It was great to see Justin Abdelkader get his first regular season goal as a Red Wing. It came Saturday, October 17th at the Joe vs Colorado, with Darren Helm drawing an assist. Till that point all of Abdelkader's goals in the NHL came in the playoffs - and they were big ones - against the Penguins in last years Stanely Cup Finals.

However for Abdelkader, Helm and strapping young defenseman Jonathon Ericsson (who already has a couple of goals this season) this, their first full year in the NHL,  will be a challenge.

Head coach, Mike Babcock, made the point - and it's a good one - that these guys preformed well in the playoffs and everyone was touting their glory. He went on to say that the playoffs are a time when everybody is sky high and getting yourself up for games is easy. You can feed off of the intensity and adrenaline.

Now these kids have to go through an entire NHL regular season. The practices, the games, the travel.... They have to fight through the grueling grind, the aches and pains, the highs and lows and find a way to play at a high level, consistently, day in and day out. That's what it takes to be a good pro player.

This is going to be a test. Not a test these talented, hungry, dedicated youngsters can't handle, but a test nonetheless, one that they will learn and grow from. It is also one that will see the rest of the Wings go up and down with them along the way this season.

It is going to be a challenging year for the entire team and specifically for these three budding stars as the games roll on. Certainly there will be growing pains but the payoff will marvelous in the long run. Hopefully that payoff comes sooner rather than later.

The pre-season wasn't kind to the Red Wings.  At one point they had lost 5 in a row, finishing with a 4-5 record before the puck dropped for real overseas on Friday afternoon.

When the real season started everyone expected this team to rise to the occasion and pull out at least one, if not two wins, against their Central Division rivals, the St. Louis Blues.

The team was headed to Sweden - homeland of Nicklas Lidstrom, Tomas Holmstrom, Henrik Zetterberg, Niklas Kronwall, Jonathan Ericsson, Johan Franzen, and Andres Lilja - and all the talk in Traverse City during training camp centered around the excitement the team felt about making this once-in-a-lifetime trip, and how they were all going to band together to win one for the Swedes.  Everyone was suppose to lift their games to help the hometown heroes get a win in Stockholm, and make all right with the world...but that's not what went down.

Instead they gave up 9 goals in two games.  Jonathan Ericsson was injured, and they came limping home with more questions than answers as to how the new era, new look Red Wings would bounce back after that disastrous Game 7 Stanley Cup Finals loss at the Joe.

The home opener takes place this Thursday and although it's here in Hockeytown, it won't be any easier.  They take on the pre-season division favorites from Chicago. This is a team that can't wait to kick the Wings while their down and send the message that they're the 'new kids on the block'.

A pair of losses and an injury to a key young defenseman, in Sweden, is not the start anyone in Detroit expected to see.  Now let's just hope that things don't get worse before they get better for the defending Western Conference Champions as this new season gets underway - ready or not.

Editor's Note:  Trevor Thompson's Red Wings blog for the 2009-10 season will return soon!   Meanwhile, be sure and catch Red Wings Premiere Week on FOX Sports Detroit, Oct. 1-10, including the Red Wings Season Preview; a replay of the Steve Yzerman Banner Raising Ceremony, regular season games against the Blues (in Sweden), Blackhawks and Capitals; pre- and postgame coverage on Red Wings Live; and the debut of our new weekly show, "Wingspan."