Blazers’ Finnie signs ELC with Detroit, will report to AHL affiliate
The Detroit Red Wings have signed Kamloops Blazers alternate captain Emmitt Finnie to a three-year, entry-level contract beginning in 2024-25, the NHL club announced Tuesday.
The 18-year-old will report to Detroit’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins on an amateur tryout for the rest of the 2023-24 season.
Finnie enjoyed a breakout season with Kamloops, leading Kamloops with 59 points and 40 assists and sitting second on the team with 19 goals.
His four shorthanded goals are tied for fourth-most in the league.
The 6-foot-1, 178-pound centreman earned Tempo WHL Player of the Week honours in February after racking up nine points (seven goals, two assists) in three games from February 9-10.
Finnie was selected by the Blazers in the fourth round, 82nd overall, in the 2020 WHL Prospects Draft. He’s played his entire major junior career with Kamloops, tallying 28 goals and 72 assists for 100 points in 174 games.
The Lethbridge, Alta. product also suited up for 14 games in the 2023 WHL Playoffs, where he racked up four goals, three assists and a +5 rating in 14 games. Finnie appeared in four games for Kamloops at the 2023 Memorial Cup.
The Red Wings selected Finnie in the seventh round, 201st overall, in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.
Finnie took part in his first NHL training camp with Detroit last September.