Detroit Red Wings: Patience proving to be a virtue with Jonatan Berggren

The Detroit Red Wings played the long game with Jonatan Berggren. It’s been quite some time since he was drafted back in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. The former second-rounder from Sweden took his time to get to Detroit.

Surely, no one is complaining. The Detroit Red Wings chose to let the 22-year-old winger take his time on the road to Detroit & the NHL, which has paid off to this point. It’s early, as he made his debut in 2022-23 and continues to stick with the team, but he’s looking mighty good.

There have been many desirable moments from Berggren as he continues to work towards becoming a true mainstay with the Red Wings organization. The young forward has undergone years of player development, from his time in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) to his journey to North America.

Detroit Red Wings forward Jonatan Berggren continues to impress.

Making the jump can be tough for some, and Berggren seemed to take it in stride. He had a masterful performance for the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2021-22, leaving some to question why he was not called up to join the Red Wings organization.

Last season, Berggren logged 70 games, scoring 21 goals and adding 43 assists for a total of 64 points for the Griffins. He was exceptional. He may not have made the NHL club in 2022-23 out of training camp, but after just seven games, he had four goals and three assists for seven total points.

After earning his call-up, Berggren logged 24 games for the Detroit Red Wings. He has six goals and eight assists for 14 total points. He may not be blowing things away and have himself in a position to win the Calder Trophy, but no one was expecting him to.

The point is that the patience to keep him in Grand Rapids to work with the Red Wings development staff and prepare him for the NHL has been paying dividends. He’s looked green out there at times but has also handled the adjustment to the NHL splendidly.

Berggren has shown the ability to handle special teams’ duties on the power play and has shown offensive tools that will be exciting. He’s got play-maker tendencies and has shown that off while wearing a Red Wings uniform.

He does a good job finding the open man and having a lot of poise for a player in his rookie year. There’s a country mile of difference between him and Lucas Raymond, but Berggren has stepped right up into his NHL role like Raymond did during his rookie campaign.

It’s been great to see Berggren fit right in with the Red Wings’ offense in 2022-23. Patience has paid dividends with Berggren.