At the start of the 2025-26 Detroit Red Wings season, hopes were high. The team looked poised. Everyone seemed in sync. Best of all, three rookies made the roster. It wasn't a shock to see two first round picks graduate to the big leagues. What surprised everyone, though, was the unexpected emergence of rookie Emmitt Finnie.
A seventh-round pick, Finnie wasn't considered anything close to NHL-ready when the Red Wings drafted him. In two short years, though, the rookie went from the WHL to the NHL, forcing his way onto Detroit's top line. Of the three rookies that made the cut this season, Finnie was the only one to play all 82 games. In that time, he managed a respectable 30 points and cemented himself as a key fixture in Detroit's future.
No surprise this season was more pleasant than the rise of Emmitt Finnie.
How Emmitt Finnie stacked up at the NHL level
It's hard enough to make it in the NHL. It's even harder to make an impact. Despite the struggles that often come with a rookie season, Finnie took his role and ran with it. Sure, there were a few goalless droughts. But that's an extremely common situation with rookies. It's hard to fault a rookie, much less a seventh-round pick for struggling at times. Keep in mind that the average WHL season is only 68 games long and the talent level is substantially different than the NHL's.
Some may look at 30 points and shrug. Others see the untapped potential Finnie has. At 20 years of age, he has yet to grow into his frame and bulk up at the NHL level. Fellow rookie Justin Hryckowian of the Dallas Stars managed a 30 point season as well -- yet, despite this, he earned Calder Trophy votes. Why, then, is a seventh-round pick like Finnie criticized for a 30 point season when Hryckowian, an undrafted 25-year-old forward, is praised for his production on a top-tier team like Dallas?
Regardless of unwarranted criticism, Finnie stepped into his role at the NHL level and ran with it. He played his way up and down the lineup, filling in as needed across the board. He even got a few looks at center and appeared quite promising in that department.
Finnie is the exact kind of player the Red Wings can build an identity with. He was relentless all season long, a headache for opposing teams and a boon for his teammates. His relentlessness at his game brought him from an afterthought to a must-see player every night. There's no doubt that Finnie will play a big part in Detroit's future in the coming years.
The question is where - and how productive - Finnie will be in this lineup.
What the Red Wings need from Finnie in the future
With a full season under his belt, Finnie now understands the rigor of the NHL and the toll it can take on a person. He's got a long offseason ahead of him to fine-tune his game and focus on building up strength. If he and Marco Kasper can work together to better round their game, they can be quite the force in the coming years. Better still, offseason workouts with younger players like Carter Mazur, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Axel Sandin-Pellikka will work wonders for the group and help to develop some serious chemistry for future seasons.
The sky's the limit for the seventh-round pick. Any production from a depth pick is a surplus, but to have a regular contributor among that draft round is nothing short of a great success.
Final grade: A+
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