Counting the days until Eddie Genborg dons the Winged Wheel

Steve Yzerman definitely had a type when drafting players for the Detroit Red Wings. 

One can argue about many selections, but I have yet to question the competitive nature of drafted players in the Yzerman era. From his first selection in Moritz Seider to his most recent first round selection in J.P. Hulbert, there’s a consistent themes across each pick. This high level of competition could be great, or it might be a bit shortsighted in the possibility of leaving high-end talent on the board.

It’s led many public scouts to question if the Red Wings have any true game-breaking talents in their organization.

Clearly, Detroit doesn’t have a Lane Hutson, Wyatt Johnston or Nick Suzuki in their organization. But, for anyone thinking that Hockeytown doesn’t have any promising offensive talents outside of the first round, there are a handful that might challenge that notion. 

Eddie Genborg has everything the Red Wings lack

Drafted during the second round (44th overall) in the 2025 NHL Entry Level Draft, Genborg has been a pleasant surprise, to say the least.

Genborg’s Elite Prospects page lists him at 6’2” and 198 lbs, and it describes him as an energy, heavy hitting two-way forward. “He hustles hard and throws his weight around on the forecheck, controls the cycles by sealing off pucks and dealing with back pressure and finds ways to win body positioning in the net front," the Draft Guide reads.

Genborg has stood out for his physical play for Timrå IK in the SHL -- the team that retired Red Wings’ captain, Henrik Zetterberg played for in his Swedish hockey career.

Before joining Timrå IK, Genborg rose through the ranks of Linköping HC. In juniors, Genborg flashed a bit more offense than he has shown in the SHL, which is to be expected for a young forward. 

Moving to a new city and organization is challenging enough in its own right. Then, to add the difficulty of playing in one of the best hockey leagues in the world makes the task of scoring offense even more daunting. Fortunately for Wings fans, daunting isn’t part of Genborg’s DNA.

Genborg's tenacity his greatest strength

In his 2024-25 stint in the J20 division with Linköping, Genborg earned 34 total points (19 goals and 15 assists) in 28 games. At the World Juniors in the same year, he finished with three assists in seven games.

Last season with Timrå IK, he earned 25 points (nine goals and 16 assists) in 43 games played; a respectable number in his first season in the SHL. His most recent World Juniors performance saw an uptick in production, with eight points (three goals and five assists) across seven games. While his potential offense isn’t blazing hot, it’s an added bonus.

Genborg’s highlights include plenty of goals, but the eye-popping clips typically involve his physical play. That kind of skillset is a bit unique considering his place of origin. The prototypical (or stereotypical, depending on one’s perspective) Swede archetype is characterized by strong two-way play, effective skating and fantastic edge work. Physicality shows up here and here, but it’s not usually a focus (or it doesn’t seem to be as much of a focus as the North American-style play).

Of course, Tomas Holmström, Oskar Sundqvist, Peter Forsberg and even Rasmus Dahlin (at times) challenge this stereotype.

Genborg is just a newly added name to the mold breaking players we've seen from Sweden as of late. He loves the physical side of the game. He doesn’t care who a player is, what they’ve done or what’s going on. If a player is in his way of getting to the puck or the net, they are in his way. He requires a high form of payment as a result.

Genborg's discipline stands out

In the SHL, many of the physical play that goes unpunished in the NHL is penalized in the SHL. Even when the NHL does impose a consequence for the excess physical play, it’s often less substantial than the SHL. 

Impressively, Genborg has only earned 24 penalty minutes last season with Timrå IK even with Genborg’s physical play. For context, Joseph Veleno, not known to be physical or heavily penalized in the NHL, played for the Malmö Redhawks as part of the COVID 2020-21 season where he amassed 20 penalty minutes in 46 games played. For Genborg to be able to play with so much aggression in his game while not putting his team at a disadvantage is incredibly intriguing. 

When Genborg joined the Grand Rapids Griffins last season, which ended abruptly with an injury, he faced challenges. Starting in the bottom-six, he was just one of so many new faces that head coach Dan Watson had to strategically work into the Griffins’ lineup. 

While the AHL is focused on developing players, it’s also important to balance the development of young players with winning, while also keeping the respect of veteran players who have helped the team all the way.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how someone views it), Genborg didn’t make the best first impression as Genborg didn’t play the following game. The reset seemed to be just what he needed, though. In his next game with Grand Rapids, he went from starting in the bottom-six to the top line. There were the normal ebbs and flows of a young player in his first few games in the AHL.

Genborg seemed to thrive in the environment. He performed so well, I questioned if he would even need to return to the SHL for the following season.

However, his injury dampened the hope that Genborg might suit up in the Winged Wheel this season.  

A player not being able to even go for walks in the summer had to be an incredibly difficult experience. Instead wallowing in his sorrows of his own self pity, Genborg seems to have rebounded just fine. So far this season, he has scored two goals and two assists for a total of four points in eight games with four penalty minutes. 

Genborg will fit in with Detroit nicely

Once Genborg makes the transition to the Red Wings, he will be a fan favorite quickly. He embodies so much of what Detroit is currently lacking: physicality.

The Red Wings currently play an ineffective brand of hockey dressed up in the name of two-way play. It's a lot like trying to fit a 20 square pegs through round holes. 

Genborg provides a spark of hope that things can be different. He dares to play his game. It’s something that fellow young Red Wings prospects hope to do, too. If current Detroit Red Wings players can borrow some of Genborg’s thought process, too, who knows where they might go.

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