DETROIT – The Red Wings’ front office must be delighted with a few of their younger prospects who had great individual weekends for their junior teams.

Four prospects earned First Star of the game recognition for their respective junior teams.

The Wings’ first two selections in the 2013 NHL draft, Anthony Mantha and Zach Nastasiuk, combined to produce eight goals and six assists in two games each.

Forwards Tyler Bertuzzi and Andreas Athanasiou also received First Star awards this weekend.

Last week, Mantha was named Canadian Hockey League player of the week. On Sunday, the Red Wings’ prospect was the First Star scoring two goals and adding two assists for Val'd-Or Foreurs as they crushed Cape Breton, 7-3, in a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League contest. He also had an assist in Friday’s 5-2 loss at Halifax

The Wings’ first-round draft pick last summer, Mantha exploded offensively last week, recording back-to-back five-point games in a pair of victories.

Mantha, 19, leads the QMJHL in scoring with 18 goals and 15 assists in 12 games.

On Monday, Nastasiuk, the Wings first of two second-round picks in June, was named Owen Sound’s player of the week for tallying seven points in two games over the weekend. Trailing 2-1 in Sarnia, Nastasiuk scored the tying and winning goals on Friday. The next night, the 6-foot-1 winger had two goals and two assists in a win over Kingston. He has seven goals and seven assists in 12 games.

Bertuzzi had a good weekend, collecting a goal and two assists as the Guelph Storm posted wins over Niagara (5-4) and Ottawa (7-3). Bertuzzi earned the No. 1 Star in Friday’s win over the IceDogs when he scored a goal and assisted on another. In 10 games this season, Bertuzzi, the Red Wings’ second-round pick in July, has three goals and eight assists.

Athanasiou scored the game-winner and assisted on two other goals for the Barrie Colts who claimed a 4-2 win over Plymouth on Saturday.

Follow Bill Roose on Twitter | @Bill_Roose





