Detroit Red Wings Prospects Land on ESPN Top 100 NHL Prospects List
By Daniel Garza
Five Detroit Red Wings prospects were named to the ESPN Top 100 National Hockey League prospects list for the 2017-18 season.
ESPN released their top 100 NHL prospects for the 2017-18 season on Wednesday. The five players named to the list ranged from this year’s draft to a few years back. Here are the five that were named.
- #96-Filip Hronek
- #90-Vili Saarijarvi
- #84-Joe Hicketts
- #72-Evgeny Svechnikov
- #60-Michael Rasmussen
Filip Hronek
The 2016 third-round pick is a talented defenseman who has already seen playing time with the Grand Rapids Griffins at just 19. Entering this season, the Czech player will be closely watched as he could have a big time season if all goes well. Hronek might be on the fast track to the NHL if he can deliver at the minor league level.
Vili Saarijarvi
An upcoming season in Grand Rapids will give the Red Wings organization a great look at how Saarijarvi is developing. The Finnish forward was a third-round 2015 pick and was injured for most of last season in the Ontario Hockey League.
Joe Hicketts
Hicketts made the jump to the American Hockey League last season and was a member of the Griffins Calder Cup winning team. In 73 games played he accumulated 37 points during the regular season. If he can put together a solid campaign this season then it might not be much longer till we see him in a Red Wings uniform.
Evgeny Svechnikov
After a strong finish to the 2016-17 season, it’s not surprising to see Svechnikov appear on this list. The 20-year-old had 51 points in 74 appearances in the regular season for the Griffins and added another 12 points during the playoff run.
Additionally, Svechnikov appeared in two games for the Wings towards the end of the regular season and netted a shootout winner in a game against the Ottawa Senators.
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Michael Rasmussen
The Red Wings 2017 first-round pick will look to have a big season wherever he ends up for the 2017-18 season. After a wrist injury hampered his season last year, he will have the opportunity to show the organization what he can do during the course of an entire season.
Fans will be watching closely to see what the big center can do in front of the net and what he can produce offensively.