Red Wings' Mitch Callahan: 'I don't want to play in the AHL next year'

Four seasons in the AHL is more than enough for Mitch Callahan.

The Detroit Red Wings prospect played in one NHL contest last season and has 237 career appearances with Detroit's AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. He's hoping to make enough of an impact at training camp to make the Red Wings' roster, or at least entice another team to claim him off waivers.

"As much as I love Grand Rapids, I don't want to play in the AHL next year," Callahan told Peter J. Wallner of MLive. "So I'm trying to do everything possible to play with (Detroit) or have a good enough camp for someone else to take me."

Callahan tore his ACL in February, prematurely ending his most productive AHL season to date. The 23-year-old recorded 38 points in 48 games before suffering the injury, but says he'll be ready - though a little rusty - in time for training camp in September.

"The only thing that will be tough is my conditioning because when you take five months off, it's hard to get back," he said. "I mean, it's hard when you take a couple of weeks off."