Detroit Red Wings prospects Moritz Seider, Jonatan Berggren continue strong play in Sweden

Detroit Free Press

Helene St. James
 
| Detroit Free Press

play
Show Caption

Moritz Seider continues to breathe hope into the Detroit Red Wings’ rebuild.

The defense prospect is dominating in the Swedish Hockey League and Thursday his team, Rögle, faced off against Skellefteå, home to another top Wings prospect. His success is a good sign Seider is ready to join the NHL next year.

Seider, who was loaned to Rögle in lieu of being able to play in North America, where COVID-19 has pushed the start of the NHL to mid-January and the AHL to early February (for now). The SHL has had to postpone numerous games because of the pandemic, recently forcing Rögle to take a two-week pause. But Seider has been a good story, considering he’s 19 and playing in a men’s league.

In his most recent outing, Seider had an assist and drew a penalty to help Rögle win, 5-2. In 14 games, he has two goals and eight assists, averaging .72 points per game in roughly 20 minutes of average ice time. For comparison, the top-scoring defenseman on the team — 29-year-old Eric Gelinas — has 15 points in 20 games, an average of .75.

[ Despite being awful, Detroit Red Wings still one of NHL’s most valuable teams ]

Seider, drafted sixth overall in 2019, was Steve Yzerman’s first pick after being named general manager of the Wings.

Skellefteå is home to Jonatan Berggren, a second-round pick from 2018.

He’s one of the leading scorers in the SHL, with 24 points in 22 games. Thursday he made a nice play in the first period, going end to end with the puck, and assisted on Skellefeå’s second goal.

The Wings loaned numerous players to teams in Europe, including Joe Veleno (Malmö, SHL), Michael Rasmussen, (Graz, Austria) and young NHL players Filip Zadina (HC Ocelari Trinec and defenseman Filip Hronek (Mountfield HK) — both in the Czech Extraliiga.

Red Wings’ Jonatan Berggren tearing up Swedish League; ‘game is in slow motion’ ]

In order to loan players to the SHL, NHL teams had to agree to leave them there for the season, so neither Seider nor Veleno are eligible to be recalled in time for training camp, which is expected to commence after Christmas. Seider’s team is in first place, but Veleno’s is in last, so he could be free in March, pandemic allowing.

Considering they’d have not been playing otherwise, Seider and company are in good spots. Seider seems ready to challenge for a spot on the Wings in 2021-22, at which point he’ll be 20 and have played three seasons of pro hockey spread across Germany’s DEL, the AHL and the SHL. Veleno made good strides last season in the AHL working on the defensive side of the game, and that’s what his readiness for the NHL will be judged upon. He has eight points in 19 games with Malmö.

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from AmazonBarnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail. 

Articles You May Like

Grading Steve Yzerman’s Free Agent Signings as Red Wings GM
Red Wings’ Coaching Comes Into Question During Playoff Push
SSOTD: Predators vs. Red Wings, 3/23/2024
Red Wings Have a Star in the Making With Lucas Raymond
Islanders & Red Wings Already Regretting Trade Deadline Silence

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *