After a disappointing draft lottery result, the Detroit Red Wings have some good news to share; they have officially signed Filip Larsson to a three-year entry-level contract that will begin in the 2019-2020 season.
The Detroit Red Wings drafted Larsson with the 167th pick in 2016, and he will start next season with the Grand Rapids Griffins. He spent this 2018-2019 season playing college hockey with the University of Denver Pioneers posting a 13-6-3 record with an1.95 goals-against average (GAA) and a 0.932 Save Percentage (SV%). The 1.95 GAA was 11th best in the NCAA and 3rd among NCAA freshman.
The .932 SV% was 6th in the NCAA and 2nd among NCAA freshman. During the Pioneers postseason, Larsson started 6 out of 7 games while posting a 4-2 record with a 1.12 GAA and .962 SV%. The Pioneers, unfortunately, lost in overtime in the Frozen Four semifinal game to the University of Massachusetts Minutemen 4-3.
This year Larsson was named the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s (NCHC) goalie of the week twice, a finalist for the conference’s goalie of the year award and named the NCHC goalie of the month in December.
Before his freshman year in Denver, he spent the 2017-2018 season playing for the Tri-City Storm in the USHL. During his one and only season on the Tri-City Storm Larsson was named the USHL Goaltender of the Year and a member of the First All-Star Team. He also posted a .941 SV% which is the highest save percentage in league history.
In an article written by Ansar Khan of mlive.com Detroit Red Wings assistant general manager Ryan Martin talks about Larsson;
"“We consider him one of our best goalie prospects in the organization. He took a less-than-traditional route. We drafted him from Sweden but he’s a guy that, after we drafted him, played one year over there and then came over to play in the USHL, which normally isn’t the route some of these guys take and therefore showed up on the radar of U.S. colleges.” As for his strengths Martin said “He’s got a real strong technical base. I think the strength of his game are his feet, his edges. He’s a really good skater. He’s grown a couple of inches in the last year, so I consider him above average size. Real calm demeanor.”"
Goalies are usually wildcards in terms of how long it takes them to develop. I think this signing is a clear indication that the Wings are confident where Larsson is and feel like he is ready to take the next step. He has put up great numbers and adapted well to the North American game since he has come over from Europe.
This contract sheds a little light on the goaltending situation of the future. Jimmy Howard just signed a one-year deal before the end of the season, and Jonathan Bernier still has two more years on his contract. I predict that Larsson will need a couple of years to catch up to the speed of the professional game and will have a legitimate shot at becoming a full-time Detroit Red Wings netminder by 2021-2022.