Could Moritz Seider be Detroit’s Next Great Defenseman?

The Detroit Red Wings’ cornerstone defenseman, Moritz Seider, is all but a lock to make the roster when opening night arrives a week from today. Here’s a look at what Seider could be not only this season–but in the future.

Moritz Seider

Age: 20
Defenseman
Seasons with the Red Wings: First

Stats Snapshot (last season SHL with Rogle)
Games: 41
Goals: 7
Assists: 21
Points: 28

Last Season

Seider did just about everything any Red Wings fan could have hoped for. Dominant season in the SHL? Check. Voted best defenseman in the same league? Check. Grew his game while waiting to get his call to the Red Wings? Check.

Seider’s performance with Rogle not only kept them as one of the top clubs in the SHL, but it also helped guide them to the SHL Final, where they would eventually fall short. But seeing.a twenty-year-old defenseman not only hold his own, but lead his team while being considered one of the finest dmen in the entire league only ratcheted up the excitement to see him in Detroit.

The time, it appears, has arrived for Seider to make his debut in Hockeytown.

Best Case Scenario

He’s the Calder Trophy candidate many are hoping for, anchors the blue line with Nick Leddy, and grows into the force every Red Wings fan hoped for as he continued to perform well in every league he’s played in thus far. Steve Yzerman shocked everyone when he took him sixth overall. In the best case scenario, no one is shocked when Seider walks away with the Calder or places in the top three of voting.

Worst Case Scenario

He doesn’t quite show the talent Wings fans hoped for and struggles a bit in the NHL, perhaps even being sent back to Grand Rapids to figure things out–and ends up spending more time there than Wings fans would like. Again, this is the worst case scenario.

The Prediction Part

Seider will be just fine. This play, however, made some Wings fans nervous:

He’s 20 years old and Detroit fans are excited at the thought of both Seider and Lucas Raymond being on the roster this season. Perhaps at the same time. Seider will go through growing pains, and he’l make mistakes. It’s part of the process. But if everything continues to go in the path it has, expect Seider to make those leaps he did in every league he’s played in on his way to the NHL.

Not every Seider play will be a highlight reel reaction. Perhaps one of the more misleading aspects of social media is the fallacy that everything on a rising prospect is a highlight. Playing in what is considered the greatest league in the world, Seider will have his moments of humility. But here’s the thing: Yzerman went out and acquired Leddy to help his prized prospect along.

He’s not going into this alone. The veteran presence will help the youngster along, and he’ll also have Danny DeKeyser, and Marc Staal around, too.

If there’s anyone equipped to handle the expectations and who will use it to grow and then later on use it against his opponents, it’s him. He’s shown it before–whether with Mannheim or Rogle.

And he’ll do it again.

Trade Deadline Target Possibility Prediction: Not a chance

I think we can skip this one.

Bottom Line:

Outside of Dylan Larkin breaking camp back in 2015, only Seider and Raymond stand in recent memory as the most anticipated Red Wings prospects on the roster. The hype continues to grow, and that won’t stop as the season progresses. Seider’s play will be scrutinized and sometimes overanalyzed–as fans and pundits watch for him to emerge into that franchise defenseman so many are hoping he becomes.

The excitement is understandable, and it could be a lot of fun watching Seider’s career progress in Hockeytown.