The time has come for the start of another Red Wings season, and while there is always excitement surrounding the start of another chance to be the team to climb all the way up the mountain and claim Lord Stanley’s Cup, a lot of the excitement surrounding Red Wings Nation centers on the prospects. After a handful of years drafting and developing the Red Wings sit with a consensus Top Ten prospect pool that may lack a ton of truly elite level prospects but makes up for it with a lot of really good to great prospects. Ranking the prospect pool turned out to be a lot tougher than we anticipated and we had to make some tough decisions on some players who have a chance at developing into a bona fide NHL player. Except for one player, we kept the list to prospects who had not played a game in the NHL coming into the 2021-22 season. Below is our ranking of the top thirty prospects in the Red Wings system, but before getting into the list itself, a few honorable mentions who just missed the cut.
35. Cooper Moore (D)
6’1”/185lbs
Age: 20
Current Team: Univ. of North Dakota (NCAA)
34. Ethan Phillips (RW/C)
5’9”/154lbs
Age: 20
Current Team: Boston Univ. (NCAA)
33. Chase Bradley (LW/C)
5’11”/181lbs
Age: 19
Current Team: Univ. Of Connecticut (NCAA)
32. Otto Kivenmäki (C)
5’9”/172lbs
Age: 21
Current Team: Pelicans (Liga)
31. Jesper Eliasson (G)
6’3”/209lbs
Age: 21
Current Team: Almtuna IS (HockeyAllsvenskan)
So now, without further delay the Red Wings top thirty prospects at the start of the 2021-22 season.
30. Sam Stange (RW)
6’1”/201lbs
Age :20
Current Team: Univ. of Wisconsin (NCAA)
29. Victor Brattström (G)
6’4”/201lbs
Age: 24
Current Team: Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL)
28. Kasper Kotkansalo (D)
6’3”/198lbs
Age: 22
Current Team: HIFK (Liga)
27. Carter Mazur (LW)
6’0”/170lbs
Age: 19
Current Team: Univ. of Denver (NCAA)
26. Seth Barton (D)
6’3”/196lbs
Age: 22
Current Team: Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL)
25. Gustav Berglund (D)
6’2”/201lbs
Age: 20
Current Team: Mora IK (HockeyAllsvenskan)
24. Cross Hanas (LW)
6’1”/172lbs
Age: 19
Current Team: Portland Winterhawks (WHL)
23. Alex Cotton (D)
6’2”/190lbs
Age: 20
Current Team: Lethbridge Hurricanes (QMJHL)
22. Pasquale Zito (C)
6’0”/176lbs
Age: 18
Current Team: Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
21. Oscar Plandowski (D)
6’0”/183lbs
Age: 18
Current Team: Charlottetown Islanders (QMJHL)
20. Red Savage (C/LW)
5’11”/181lbs
Age: 18
Current Team: Miami Univ. (Ohio) (NCAA)
19. Chase Pearson (C/W)
6’3”/203lbs
Age: 24
Current Team: Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL)
18. Eemil Viro (D)
6’0”/165lbs
Age: 19
Current Team: TPS (Liga)
17. Kirill Tyutyayev (C/LW)
5’10”/176lbs
Age: 21
Current Team: Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL)
16. Jared McIsaac (D)
6’1”/192lbs
Age: 21
Current Team: Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL)
15. Robert Mastrosimone (C/LW)
5’10”/170lbs
Age: 20
Current Team: Boston Univ. (NCAA)
14. William Wallinder (D)
6’4”/190lbs
Age: 19
Current Team: Rogle BK (SHL)
13. Liam Dower Nilsson (C)
6’0”/172lbs
Age: 18
Current Team: Frolunda HC (SHL)
12. Antti Tuomisto (D)
6’5”/205lbs
Age: 20
Current Team: Univ. of Denver (NCAA)
11. Donovan Sebrango (D)
6’1”/194lbs
Age: 19
Current Team: Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL)
10. Shai Buium (D)
6’3”/209lbs
Age: 18
Current Team: Univ. of Denver (NCAA)
9. Elmer Söderblom (RW/LW)
6’8”/238lbs
Age: 20
Current Team: Frolunda HC (SHL)
8. Theodor Niederbach (C/W)
5’11”/172lbs
Age: 19
Current Team: Frolunda HC (SHL)
7. Albert Johansson (D)
6’0”/168lbs
Age: 20
Current Team: Farjestad BK (SHL)
6. Jonatan Berggren (W/C)
5’11”/194lbs
Age: 21
Current Team: Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL)
5. Sebastian Cossa (G)
6’6”/209lbs
Age: 18
Current Team: Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)
4. Joe Veleno (C)
6’1”/205lbs
Age: 21
Current Team: Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL)
3. Simon Edvinsson (D)
6’5”/207lbs
Age: 18
Current Team: Frolunda HC (SHL)
2. Mortiz Seider (D)
6’4”/196lbs
Age: 20
Current Team: Detroit Red Wings
1. Lucas Raymond (RW)
5’10”/183lbs
Age: 19
Current Team: Detroit Red Wings
The assumption going in was that top five would be the five players it ended up being, but figuring out the order they went in (specifically 3-5) turned out to be a little more difficult than anticipated. All that said, this is what our list ended up looking like, what does yours look like? On a side note, we will be looking to add a lot more coverage for the prospects over the season so keep a look out and we look forward to discussing the future of the Red Wings.