DETROIT – The Red Wings announced today the itinerary for the third annual community relations tour, which will take place on Thursday, Sept. 16, as two groups of Red Wings players make numerous stops at elementary schools, hospitals and medical centers throughout the state en route to training camp in Traverse City.

Forwards Justin Abdelkader and Drew Miller return to East Lansing as the opening stop of the western leg of the tour to visit Sparrow Hospital Children’s Center where the two Michigan State alumni were heavily involved as students and remain committed to the fight against pediatric cancer as professional athletes today.

Captain Nicklas Lidstrom, Tomas Holmstrom and Patrick Eaves will visit the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans – a 758-bed nursing home for veterans – to honor and recognize the many sacrifices made by the veterans in attendance. The West Tour will conclude with a homecoming celebration at Churchill Elementary School as Abdelkader returns to his former elementary school located just outside Muskegon along with his four other teammates.

The East Tour will take Todd Bertuzzi, Darren Helm, Jimmy Howard and Mike Modano to the largest elementary school in Flint, Potter Elementary School, where the Wings will participate in a school rally with approximately 550 students, answering students’ questions and taking a class photo with each grade. The Red Wings will then visit with military veterans at the Aleda E. Lutz VA Medical Center in Saginaw that afternoon.

The 2009 tour took the Red Wings to the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Northern Trails 5/6 School in Grand Rapids, John D. Dingell VA Medical Center in Detroit and Central Middle School in Midland before starting training camp in Traverse City.

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EAST TOUR – Todd Bertuzzi, Darren Helm, Jimmy Howard and Mike Modano

9 –10:30 a.m. -- Potter Elementary School
                          2500 N Averill Ave.
                          Flint, MI 48506

11:30 – 1 p.m. -- Aleda E. Lutz VA Medical Center
                           1500 Weiss Street
                           Saginaw, MI  48602

WEST TOUR – Justin Abdelkader, Patrick Eaves, Tomas Holmstrom, Nicklas Lidstrom and Drew Miller

9–10:30 a.m. -- Sparrow Hospital Children’s Center (Abdelkader and Miller)
                         1215 E. Michigan Avenue
                         Lansing, MI 48912

10–11 a.m. -- Grand Rapids Home for Veterans (Lidstrom, Holmstrom and Eaves)
                      3000 Monroe, N.E.
                      Grand Rapids, Michigan 49505

12 –1:30 p.m. -- Churchill Elementary School (Abdelkader, Eaves, Holmstrom, Lidstrom, Miller)
                          961 Porter Road
                          Norton Shores, MI 49441

* THESE EVENTS ARE CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC