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.

Givani Smith

Smith is another prospect that has spent quite a lot of time in Grand Rapids. But unlike Hirose, Smith has made more appearances than just the first few games of the season. Smith has played 15 games with the Red Wings, scoring a goal and three assists with limited ice time. The highlight was the Gordie Howe Hat Trick in which Smith had a fight, a goal and an assist.

Smith is almost the opposite player that Hirose is. Where Hirose lacks on his defensive game, Smith excels. He can shut down opposing lines and act as the perfect fourth line grinder an NHL team, although his offensive game leaves something to be desired. With the amount of free agents Detroit has this season, Smith is the most likely candidate currently in Grand Rapids to fill a roster spot, as his lack of mistakes, defensive abilities and physicality are all good fits in the system Jeff Blashill runs.

Moritz Seider

There isn’t much to say about Seider that has not already been said. Seider has absolutely dominated the Swedish Hockey League this year. Elite Prospects recently gave Seider their 2021 SHL junior player of the year award, reinforcing the narrative of Seider’s domination.

Seider grew leaps and bounds in his development with Rogle BK, showcasing his physicality and heavily improving his offensive game. He notched 28 points in 41 games played (7 goals 21 assists), leading all under 20 defenseman in the league (By the way, in second is another Detroit prospect, Albert Johansson). But if you try to take away Seider’s offensive game, he’ll just knock you to your feet. Nearly every player that dared to test him ended up sideways on the ice.

There is certainly a level gap between the NHL and the SHL, but with the complete dominance Seider showed in his time with Rogle BK, there should not be any concern about translation of skill. Seider is Detroit’s most pro-ready prospect, and will almost certainly become a mainstay on the Red Wing’s roster, probably on day one.