3 promising prospects who will help turn the Red Wings into annual playoff contenders
The Detroit Red Wings have an elite pool of prospects, and you can expect a few of them to climb into full-time roles at the NHL level next year.
The Detroit Red Wings aren’t just a good team this year with the players that they have; the prospects pool is so good that their top players in the system will open the door for this organization to sustain long-term success.
While Detroit has enjoyed a jump this season to the point they are in legitimate playoff contention, it’s still tough to see them going far in the postseason with their current lineup. Quite a few players who will be UFAs this offseason won’t be with the club moving forward, and for a good reason - they haven’t managed to take the Red Wings any higher than the final wild card spot 69 games into the year.
That said, expect a small influx of NHL-ready prospects to come in and take over, prospects who will be part of the team that will compete and become annual playoff contenders.
If general manager Steve Yzerman surprises us and brings back many of his pending UFAs, he’s hurting his team in the short and long term. But by phasing them out in favor of prospects ready to take the next step, he will build his program better than perhaps any general manager in hockey.
Red Wings are a few call-ups from annual playoff contention
Yzerman spent years helping this organization build its core at both the NHL level and in the prospects pool, and it’s paying off with players like Dylan Larkin signed long-term while Moritz Seider and other pending RFAs can expect quite the payday.
One of those RFAs mentioned in the following slides Yzerman already recalled to Detroit. Another is getting their trial as they look to help Detroit land in the playoffs for the first time this decade. The third player mentioned possesses tons of upside, and they are worth keeping an eye on even if they don’t earn a recall in this final month of the regular season.
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Simon Edvinsson is getting his chance to shine once again
Simon Edvinsson was one of my “untouchable prospects” whom Yzerman could not sell at the trade deadline. That became official when the 58-year-old elected not to buy on March 8th and proceed with his current group for the rest of 2023-24, potentially opening a spot for Edvinsson to join the big club on their quest for the playoffs.
A recent recall to Detroit confirmed this, and it won’t be long before we see Edvinsson regularly taking the ice as a Red Wing. We saw him play in nine games for Detroit last season and another two games back in December when he recorded his only point of the season so far. Edvinsson returned to the lineup in Tuesday’s win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, logging 22 shifts and 18:36 of ice time, one hit, and two blocks.
He only has three points in those 12 career games, but it won’t be long before Edvinsson brings the two-way game we saw so often in Grand Rapids. The 21-year-old had 29 points and eight goals in 52 games at the time of his recall, so fans know what they are getting from the blueliner when he acclimates to the NHL level.
Jonatan Berggren could finally stick around next season
It’s so tough what to make of Jonatan Berggren, as he’s been given quite a few chances over the last two years to make that transition to the NHL full-time. That looked like the case last season when he suited up for 67 games and scored 15 goals with 13 helpers, and he managed to stick around from his debut on November 10th, 2022, to Detroit’s final game on April 13th.
Berggren was with Detroit for just a handful of games this season before he returned to the AHL, where he was one of the Griffins star players, scoring 46 points and 19 goals in 43 games, which earned him a recall back to the NHL. He took the ice again on March 9th in a Red Wings loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, played in two more games, and hasn’t seen the ice since March 14th.
With all the chances Yzerman has given Berggren, there is no way the Red Wings general manager is letting the restricted free agent walk following the season. Maybe Berggren isn’t suited to play anything more than the lower lines in the NHL, but it would be tough to see him fail to make the lineup next year, barring an abysmal showing in the preseason.
Berggren has shown off his elite ability in the AHL, but he has yet to translate it to the NHL level. If he can establish himself somewhere on the bottom-six, he will be in Detroit for the foreseeable future and with his brewing experience, eventually help them sustain some success.
Carter Mazur should get multiple chances to stick around the big club
Unlike Edvinsson, who I stated the Red Wings shouldn’t ‘sell’ at the past trade deadline regardless of who another organization offered Yzerman, Carter Mazur was the one promising prospect I was okay with seeing the skilled general manager trade elsewhere.
Yzerman didn’t, and perhaps it was a good move in hindsight, as Mazur has been productive and could easily make the jump next year. With five forwards listed as unrestricted free agents, Mazur will at least get an extended look, especially if the 21-year-old has a productive offseason and preseason.
Mazur still needs to add size, but he’s made a near-seamless transition from the college ranks to the Grand Rapids Griffins, posting 31 points and 15 goals in 51 games, and he’s also been equally productive in all three zones. One reason is that he always seems to know where the puck is going, and he’s always in a good position to get a stick on it, regardless of which side of the ice he’s on.
It’s the kind of mentality you want from a young player who will debut in the NHL next season if Yzerman keeps enough room on the roster. Like the other players on this list, Mazur will have his ‘rookie moments’ early if he’s in the Motor City, but he will also acclimate quickly, as he did this season in Grand Rapids.
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(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference and Elite-Prospects)