The Detroit Red Wings sit at 13-11-2 as the calendar flips to December, sitting outside of the playoff picture in what would be the 10th straight year the team fails to qualify. The Wings have been rotating players in through the bottom six forward spots and flip-flopping between the six and seventh defenseman, looking for players to solidify those roles, making it a possibility we see more youth in Detroit this season.
The Wings have already seen Emmitt Finnie, Nate Danielson, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, and Axel Sandin-Pellikka all make their National Hockey League debuts this season, helping bring an influx of energy to this team.
Both Finnie and Sandin-Pellikka have played in all 26 games over the team's first two months, while Brandsegg-Nygård skated in nine games, recording one assist before being sent back to Grand Rapids to continue the 2024 first-round draft pick's development. Danielson played in his 11th game on Saturday in Boston, during the team’s 3-2 shootout loss.
Finnie, who was drafted in the seventh round in 2023, has scored five goals and added seven assists, often playing left wing on the Wings’ first line alongside Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond. Sandin-Pellikka was selected in the first round in 2023 and has posted two goals and four assists, while playing top four minutes on the back end, and quarterbacking either the first or second power play unit. Danielson, the ninth overall selection in 2023, was called up for his first NHL game on Nov. 9, against Chicago and has totalled one goal and three assists up to this point.
The Grand Rapids Griffins are off to a 16-1-0-1 start and are getting production from players who are vying to get the call to the NHL club. Here is a look at three players who could join the list of Finnie, Danielson, Brandsegg-Nygård and Sandin-Pellikka to make their NHL debuts in 2025-26.
Amadeus Lombardi
Selected in the fourth round in 2022, Lombardi has seen his production improve in each of his three full seasons in Grand Rapids. Over his first three pro years, the center has posted 26 points in 70 games, 40 points in 44 games and has recorded 14 points in 13 games before suffering an injury this season that has been deemed week-to-week.
If Lombardi can recover and pick up his play where he left off, and the Wings continue to struggle with production out of their bottom six forwards, Lombardi could force the Wings’ management's hand in becoming the fifth Red Wings rookie to make his debut with the big squad in 2025.
Combinations of Elmer Soderblom, one point in 13 games, James van Riemsdyk, four points in 20 games, and Jonatan Berggren, six points in 13 games, have been rotating in and out, struggling to find consistency in their games, leaving the door open for reinforcements if proven worthy.
William Wallinder
The former second-round draft pick in 2020, Wallinder is in his third professional season with the Griffins, seeing his game improve in each of his first two years. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound defenseman could join fellow Swedes Simon Edvinsson and Sandin-Pellikka on the Wings’ back end.
In his first season in Grand Rapids, Wallinder posted 15 points over 65 games, then added 19 points over 62 games in year two. In 2025, Wallinder has chipped in five assists over 18 games played.
Travis Hamonic has posted a minus-11 rating in his 16 games, Jacob Bernard-Docker has been consistently in and out of the lineup, appearing in 13 games, and Erik Gustafsson saw action in one game, all of whom haven’t performed well enough to run away with the opportunity, leaving the door open for Wallinder to get his shot.
Shai Buium
Buium has yet to play a game this season in Grand Rapids after being placed on injured non-roster list back on Oct. 2, for an injury that occured in the pre-season. Since being injured, there has yet to be a real update on the former University of Denver defenseman.
Buium, who was selected in the second round during the 2021 NHL draft, spent three years at the University of Denver, improving each year, before making a strong transition to the professional level, skating in 67 games and posting two goals and 23 assists in his first season with the Griffins.
If Buium can return to health and pick up the strong play he was showcasing in 2024, and the Wings continue to struggle defensively, the California native could see himself joining his brother Zeev Buium (who plays for Minnesota Wild) at the NHL level this season.