DETROIT - David Pope didn't mind being one of the oldest prospects during Detroit Red Wings development camp.

The 24-year-old left wing, described as a late-bloomer, benefitted from four years at Nebraska-Omaha and likely will need some time with the Grand Rapids Griffins before bringing his wicked shot to the NHL.

"(College) was definitely the right route for me," Pope said. "I needed a little bit more time to kind of figure out my game and grow into my body and get a lot stronger. Now I have my degree (in Kinesiology) and it's all about hockey.

"I think the time in the NCAA kind of helps you hone-in your skills and develop your game, not only on the ice but how to be a professional as well."

The Red Wings selected Pope (6-3, 198) in the fourth round in 2013 (109th overall). He blossomed the past two years in college. As a senior, he picked up 20 goals and 41 points in 35 games.

Michael Rasmussen and Filip Zadina, the club's past two No. 1 picks, appear to have the edge over other forward prospects in the competition for roster spots.

Pope said he needs to improve his skating, not technique, but stamina. He will continue working with skating coach Stacy Barber this summer.

"I'm one of those kids who just developed a little bit later," Pope said. "I think a lot of it was just growing into my body. When you start to get a little bit of that man strength, everything kind of comes together from there."

Pope describes himself as a goal-scorer.

"I know where to go and I can shoot off the pass pretty good, which I think is how most goals are scored in the NHL now," Pope said. "To be effective at that level, I just need to be able to accelerate and be hard on pucks and get open. The NHL guys are good enough to find you."

He loves to work on his shot, even after practices, when he has someone to pass him the puck. A quick-release one-timer from close range, that's his game. A left-handed shooter, he prefers playing on his off-wing, enabling him to open up more.

"Dave can score, you can tell he's a shooter," Red Wings director of player development Shawn Horcoff said. "He's not a guy who's going to lug the puck through the neutral zone and be creative, he's going to give it to skill and get open, and when he does get it he's going to shoot it. He's going to get a lot of pucks to the net.

"He's another guy that's found a lot of refocus in his off-ice habits and his off-ice training in the last few summers and it's starting pay off for him."

Pope likens his quick release to that of James Neal.

"I try to play like James Neal a little bit," Pope said. "I'm a huge fan of his. He gets the puck off quick, shoots from anywhere. I'm not quite as physical as he is, but that's something I'd like to work on."

He's always prided himself in his shot. As early as age 5, he was shooting pucks every morning before school.

"I actually played defense growing up but then I wanted to be more of a scorer because I liked it so much, especially at forward," Pope said.

"Big thing for me right now is on the rush, trying to get off the wall and make it tougher for defensemen to kind of squeeze me out," Pope said. "That's one thing I've learned last year that I'm trying to work on still this year."

One of the biggest adjustments, other than playing against men, is a pro schedule, AHL and NHL, that features twice as many games as he played in college.

"I've heard it's a lot harder for some people and I've heard a lot of guys like it a lot more because there's less practices and more games," Pope said. "In college, sometimes practices are harder than the games. It'll just kind of be a feeling-out process and something I'll learn on the way."