Four Red Wings Prospects That Could Stick in Next Season’s Lineup

The Red Wing’s prospect pipeline is one of the deepest in the league, with talent developing in a variety of leagues.  Some of these prospects are extremely close to not only making the roster, but becoming a mainstay of the Detroit Red Wings.

In the 2020-21 season, we have seen Taro Hirose, Givani Smith, Evgeny Svechnikov and others head up to the main roster to fill injuries, but they did not become a permanent member of lineup. However, with the amount of talent brewing in the pipeline, a few of these players are bound to stick on the roster, along with some of the talent developing overseas.

So which players in the pipeline have the best shot at becoming a full time Red Wings next year?

#1: Taro Hirose

Hirose has been great in Grand Rapids this season. Averaging over a point per game, Hirose leads the team in assists and is second in points (4 goals and 14 assists). Hirose has been an elite playmaker with the Griffins, specializing on the team’s power play. His playmaking and special teams skills were the reason Detroit brought him up early in the season, spending six games as Red Wing. Although Hirose only notched two assists in his short stint on the main roster, he showed that he could transition his power play skills to the NHL, creating solid offensive series on the league’s worst power play.

Although Hirose could very well become a full time Red Wing next season, he still has aspects of his game to develop. His shot remains lackluster, and his offensive style of play does not necessarily fit into Jeff Blashill’s system. In other words, if Hirose wants to become a Red Wing next season, he needs to continue to develop his two way game.