Detroit, MI
5 Storylines to Watch During Lions’ Mandatory Minicamp
For the first time this offseason, the Detroit Lions will conduct mandatory team workouts.
From June 4-6, the Lions will host their mandatory minicamp at their Allen Park facility. The team will be out in full force, as many veterans who sat out the optional period will be required to participate. As a result, it will offer a full look at what the Lions have to offer.
For Dan Campbell’s group, it is a chance for the team to take its first steps toward their hopes of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.
Here are five storylines to follow throughout the Lions’ three-day mandatory minicamp.
Open opportunities
The Lions won’t have their roster in full force for mandatory minicamp, as some players will sit out while rehabbing injuries. Namely, the safety position could have an interesting look with Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph sidelined.
As a result, some unheralded players could get a bigger look during the three-day event. Players such as Brandon Joseph and undrafted rookies Loren Strickland and Chelen Garnes could be the beneficiaries and spend some time on elevated defensive units.
No roster spots will be won in June, but players can certainly begin to form impressions on the coaching staff with a strong performance during minicamp.
Jamo’s growth
Campbell spoke about Jameson Williams being the team’s most improved player ahead of the start of OTAs. Yet, he has had up-and-down performances during the two open sessions of OTAs.
With minicamp offering the opportunity for reporters to get a thorough look at the practices, this upcoming week should create a strong look at what Williams has to offer for the Lions in 2024. Is he going to simply be a deep threat? Or will he have more to offer for the offense.
Williams should statistically improve on last year’s numbers, but the opportunity is available for him to be a big time contributor for the offense. He can take more steps in the right direction with a strong performance at minicamp.
Extended look at Hendon Hooker
Much like Williams, Hendon Hooker is a player who has garnered a lot of attention throughout the offseason. After missing most of his rookie year to rehab a torn ACL, Hooker is getting his first taste of a full NFL offseason.
He has been spotty in open practices to this point, so the three-day evaluation period should allow for more concrete observations as to his status. The Lions will give Hooker opportunities to claim the backup job, but he must perform in order to earn it.
Hooker has a ways to go before training camp, so minicamp should provide the baseline for his development heading into the final week of OTAs.
Cornerback rotations
The Lions have a revamped cornerback room, and as a result they have several ways they could combine their pieces. Carlton Davis appears to be the number one option, but the team has several ways it could go.
This is a luxury that defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn has not had since coming to Detroit. It will be intriguing to see how the Lions mix and match their options including Davis, rookies Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw, Emmanuel Moseley and free agent Amik Robertson.
Additionally, incumbents Kindle Vildor, Khalil Dorsey and Steven Gilmore will also be fighting for reps. It should be a very competitive three days for this position group.
Undrafted standouts
One storyline to follow throughout the offseason pertains to the undrafted rookies. In each of Campbell’s first three seasons, at least one undrafted rookie has made the final roster out of camp. As a result, the odds are with someone within this year’s crop making the team.
Could it be kicker James Turner defeating Michael Badgley in the kicking competition? Or one of three undrafted centers edging out a young offensive lineman for a depth spot? There’s also plenty of intriguing defensive players.
One other player to keep an eye on is Illinois’ Isaiah Williams. The undrafted wideout profiles as a slot receiver, but could also be of impact in the return game with the new kickoff rules.
Detroit, MI
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Detroit, MI
Secret Cinematheque launching Thursday with mystery Michigan movie
The surprise selection will be unveiled when the lights go down at Motor City Cinematheque’s new public program.
A movie with very strong Michigan connections will play Thursday night at the Farmington Civic Theater.
There’s only one hitch: Viewers won’t know what it is until the lights go down and the movie starts.
The evening will act as the kickoff of Secret Cinematheque, a new mystery movie program from Motor City Cinematheque, a nonprofit organization launched in 2025 that is dedicated to enriching film culture in Metro Detroit.
Motor City Cinematheque was founded by Kevin Maher, a veteran of several Hollywood studios who has been involved with nonprofit film exhibition for around a decade, and John Monaghan, a former Detroit Free Press film and theater critic and a former programmer at Detroit’s Redford Theatre.
The Secret Cinematheque programming, which will be held at the Farmington Civic the second Thursday of every month, is one of several film-related initiatives being launched by MCC.
Other programs include an exhibition of experimental 16mm short films at Detroit’s Galerie Camille on May 7; September’s Noir City Detroit festival at the Redford Theatre; an ongoing partnership with the Black Canon, Ali J. Wheeler and Alima Wheeler Trapp’s vast archive of important and influential films representing decades of Black culture; and a new twice-monthly podcast, “One Film Leads to Another,” which is centered on tracing contemporary film’s roots in classic cinema.
“For us, it’s all about getting people into a theater and watching a movie together, and then talking about it in a group setting,” says Maher. “Watching something communally adds another dimension to the experience, even if you’ve seen the movie before.”
That community aspect is at the heart of the Motor City Cinematheque’s mission. Maher compares it to church; there’s the service, and then there’s the greeting line afterward. “That’s the part that builds community,” he says, of the post-ceremony ritual. “And without that interaction, it’s not complete.”
Maher says his film preferences tend to run more populist, and Monaghan’s more toward the obscure. The melding of their tastes will result in a unique blend of programming, he says. The Secret Cinematheque series will also draw guest contributors from area film personalities.
As for this week’s Detroit-themed Secret Cinematheque offering — clues have been offered up on the Motor City Cinematheque and the Farmington Civic’s Instagram pages — “it’s one of those films that’s worth celebrating about Detroit,” Maher says.
No spoilers. See you at the movies.
agraham@detroitnews.com
Motor City Cinematheque presents Secret Cinematheque
7:30 p.m. Thursday
Farmington Civic Theater, 33332 Grand River Ave., Farmington
$5.75
thefct.com
Detroit, MI
NHL roundup: Zach Werenski says slumping Blue Jackets ‘still in it’
Detroit Red Wings lost, 5-4, to Minnesota Wild in NHL action at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday.
The Red Wings rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the third period but lost, 5-4, to the Wild at Little Caesars Arena.
A pair of struggling Eastern Conference teams in desperate need of a win will square off at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tuesday night.
The Columbus Blue Jackets have lost six straight games while the Detroit Red Wings have dropped six of their last eight. Both clubs are trying to revive their fading playoff hopes.
Columbus (38-27-12, 88 points) lost at home to the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 on Saturday. The frustrated Blue Jackets held a team meeting following the defeat.
“I’ll just keep our conversation in here because we’re a better team than what we’ve shown and just talked about it,” Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski (Grosse Pointe) said. “We’re not eliminated. We’re still in it and I believe in this group. I believe we can get it done and it’s just doing it.
“I mean, we did it for two months. The last two weeks obviously haven’t gone our way, but it’s in the room and it’s on us to just pull it out and get it done.”
Columbus’ offense has stalled during the slide, scoring a total of 10 goals.
“We create the second most chances on the forecheck in the entire league,” Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness said. “Yet we want to get inside the blue line and make cute little plays against good teams that aren’t working. And they’re not working. So, I have to get after them. They’ve got to change their mindset.”
Werenski believes the team needs a singular mindset on Tuesday.
“We can’t worry about what other teams do or whoever we have after Detroit,” he said. “Our focus just has to be on Detroit, and after that we’ll figure it out.”
The Red Wings (40-29-8, 88 points) rallied from a 4-1 third-period deficit to tie Minnesota on Sunday. But Patrick Kane, who scored the tying goal, took a damaging tripping penalty which led to Kirill Kaprisov’s game-winner for the Wild with 1:51 remaining.
“We get the comeback and take a penalty 150 feet from our net not even in the play. It hurts,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said.
Detroit has five games remaining and might need to win them all to end a nine- year playoff drought.
“(We need to) play like we did in the third period more of the game,” Red Wings center J.T. Compher said. “We gave ourselves a chance. If we start better, it makes a little easier on us. The way we played in the third, we have to play for the rest of the games remaining.”
Detroit won its first meeting with Columbus this season on Alex DeBrincat’s overtime goal on Nov. 22. The Blue Jackets pulled out a 6-5 shootout victory in the second matchup on Dec. 4.
Draisaitl may not be ready for playoff opener
Out with a lower-body injury since March 15, Edmonton Oilers star forward Leon Draisaitl might miss the beginning of the Stanley Cup playoffs, coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters on Monday.
“Leon is going to be on the ice this week and I don’t anticipate him playing any games in the regular season, and in the playoffs, sometime in the first round if things go well,” Knoblauch said.
“I’m not ruling that out (first game of the playoffs), but I would just anticipate sometime in the first (round). There’s a period of time we anticipated his return and we said it was going to be right around the end of the regular season, at the start of playoffs.”
Despite missing the last nine games, Draisaitl entered Monday as the NHL’s fifth-leading scorer this season, posting 97 points (35 goals, 62 assists) in 65 games.
With five games left in the regular season, the Oilers (39-29-9, 87 points) are tied atop the Pacific Division with the Anaheim Ducks entering the week, and begin a three-game road trip Tuesday in Utah against the Mammoth. Edmonton closes the regular season on April 16, two days before the start of the postseason.
A three-time All-Star, Draisaitl has been a beast in the past two postseasons, helping Edmonton advance to the Stanley Cup Final in 2024 and 2025, losing to the Florida Panthers both times. In the 2025 playoffs, he compiled 33 points (11 goals, 22 assists), following a 31-point postseason (10 goals, 21 assists) the previous spring.
Fellow Oilers forward Zach Hyman, who is out with an undisclosed injury, will likely miss the road trip, which includes games at the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings. The 33-year-old has 51 points (31 goals, 20 assists) in 57 games this season.
“Hyman, I would think he’s going to play one if not two games before the end of this season,” Knoblauch said. “So, this week he’s out and not playing.”
Last season, Draisaitl missed the final seven games with an undisclosed injury, but returned for the opener of the postseason to help lead Edmonton back to the Cup Final.
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