Detroit Red Wings: Jake Walman looking to capitalize on breakout season

The Detroit Red Wings are getting ready to ramp up for the 2023-24 season, which means that they will be hitting the ice again. It’s a revamped roster and revamped defense core after an off-season where the team made some moves.

However, the Detroit Red Wings saw plenty of encouraging things from Jake Walman in 2022-23 as he settled in on the defense core. He did well in Detroit last season, having quite the breakout performance during his second season in Hockeytown.

For the Red Wings, it was good to see Walman settle in. He found a way to lock down a role in the teams’ defense core and ended up playing so well that he earned himself a contract extension to stick with the Red Wings organization moving forward.

There’s plenty to like from Walman, who settled into the defense core and climbed onto the top pairing to earn his spot alongside Moritz Seider. The two made for a great pairing and helped the Red Wings defense core succeed during the 2022-23 season, garnering some attention from the Red Wings faithful on their chemistry as a defense pair.

Detroit Red Wings defender Jake Walman aiming to back up ’22-23 performance.

Given some of the off-season additions in veterans Shayne Gostisbehere and Jeff Petry, things could change around. However, Walman did a good job establishing himself with Seider. The two made a great duo and really started to find their way playing alongside each other in 2022-23.

Walman had himself a year. He set career highs with his performance last season. The 27-year-old defenseman played in 63 games for the Red Wings, where he scored nine goals, added nine assists, and accumulated 18 total points.

While he may not be heading toward a Norris Trophy-caliber season or ending up in some majorly productive position, but there’s still plenty to like. Walman proved he was an asset and really did make some leaps with his performance in 2022-23.

There’s hope that Walman can come in this season and continue to be that asset for Detroit, slotting in as an offensive defenseman who can be dynamic and hopefully still get some time along Seider to produce that same duo the Red Wings debuted last season.

With the 2023-24 season on the horizon, Walman is looking to solidify his role in Detroit and prove he can be solid. That starts with him backing up the breakout season with another outstanding performance during this upcoming season.