The Detroit Red Wings, like virtually every other team in the NHL, has opened their preseason with prospect development camps. The event promises to give fans a glimpse of the future, while team executives assess what they have in the pipeline.
After various seasons of stockpiling picks and drafting high, the Red Wings have an opportunity to turn over their lineup with useful prospects. These prospects promise to usher in a new era of sustained success in Detroit.
As it stands, the most interesting part of the Red Wings’ lineup is the defense corps. Detroit’s blue line has a unique opportunity to offer rising stars a shot at becoming NHL mainstays. Thus far, the only spot we could assume is locked up belongs to Moritz Seider.
The Wings have committed to the 24-year-old right-shot D-man as their franchise blue liner. That’s perfectly fine insofar as Seider morphing into the second coming of Nicklas Lidstrom.
Beyond Seider, Simon Edvinsson looks to be on track to cement himself in the Red Wings’ blue line. That’s two of six blue line spots. If we assume that one more spot will sit with Albert Johansson, that leaves half of the Red Wings’ D-core up for grabs.
Current pieces, Erik Gustafsson and Ben Chiarot, look like placeholders at this point. Both will be UFAs at the end of the season. That leaves offseason addition Jacob Bernard-Docker as the other blue liner poised to remain a regular in Detroit’s lineup.
But the pipeline promises to bring prospects who could push for jobs as soon as this season.
Red Wings prospects looking to push for NHL jobs this season
The most exciting name in the Red Wings prospect pipeline is Axel Sandin Pellikka. The 20-year-old was the 17th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. He’s another right-shot blue liner oozing with talent. He played last season in Sweden, but should jump to Grand Rapids this season.
Depending on how things go, Red Wings fans could see Sandin Pellikka in the club’s lineup at some point this season. The Wings are basically an injury away from calling up Sandin Pellikka. He projects as a top-four blue liner who could offer a solid offensive upside with stellar defensive play. Plus, he offers enough physicality to make him a great addition to the Wings’ lineup.
William Wallinder is a 23-year-old left-shot D-man who’s poised to make the lineup. If a veteran player like Chiarot or Gustafsson flame out in camp, Wallinder could get a shot. He’ll likely be in Grand Rapids to start the season. But it might not be long before he gets a callup. Wallinder could start in the bottom pair and work his way up.
Anton Johansson is an intriguing player. He’s the sort of blue line who could go either way. While he could turn into a solid NHL defenseman, he might not amount to much. He was a fourth-round pick in 2022 and looks like he could crack the Red Wings’ lineup if given the chance. He played enough in Grand Rapids last season to draw interest from the big club.
All told, the Red Wings could go ahead and turnover at least half of their defensive core if needed this season. The likeliest path forward is that each of the abovementioned players gets a look at some point in the season.
A good showing from one, two or all three, could make certain veterans expendable, even at this season’s trade deadline.