The Detroit Red Wings have been without a few of their forwards lately. Due to injuries up the middle with their centermen, the Red Wings have had to improvise. J.T. Compher may be back, but Dylan Larkin is not back with the team.
This has left the Detroit Red Wings scrambling to find replacement forwards. Forward David Perron is suspended, leaving room for forwards to step in. One of those forwards is Jonatan Berggren, who was recalled when the Red Wings went without a couple of their big guns.
Berggren has been exceptional. He has been able to step right in with the forward core and has looked quite good, even when the Red Wings have been a bit spastic with their performance. Berggren has been able to step up and get the job done.
After all, he was an NHL player last season but was the odd man out this year, being relegated to the AHL to join the Grand Rapids Griffins. The former second-rounder has come a long way, and now he looks like a truly beneficial part of the organization.
Detroit Red Wings forward Jonatan Berggren looked good in his short stint.
In 2022-23, Berggren played in 67 games, where he scored 15 goals and added 13 assists for 28 total points. He established himself with the Red Wings last season and started to show that he can hang at the NHL level.
The Red Wings did not bring him back in 2023-24, keeping him in Grand Rapids to get going on the season. With Grand Rapids this season, Berggren has played in 16 games with five goals and ten assists for 15 total points.
He’s been back and forth a few times due to injuries, getting a few chances with the Red Wings, where he has played in seven games. He has two goals and two assists for four total points in the campaign.
Berggren has only averaged south of 10:00 minutes on the season, which is not much, but lately, he has been making the most of his ice time. In the last few games, he has created some scoring chances and played well overall.
Berggren had three points over his last three games and continued to find ways to get the job done. While he was returned back to the minors, his stint in Detroit was solid for the team. It had to be good to see Berggren get back into the mix with the NHL club.
If he can continue to play as well as he has been, the Red Wings may have to call him back up and continue to give him another chance.