The Detroit Red Wings are coming off a season in which a young defenseman was the major reason for renewed optimism in the rebuild.
One of the questions heading into next season — months away as it is — is whether another young defenseman can follow in Moritz Seider’s path.
Simon Edvinsson is, like Seider, a top-10 draft pick with expectations to match. When the Wings were on the clock with the No. 6 pick in 2021, the top centers (Matty Beniers and Kent Johnson from Michigan; Mason McTavish) were off the board. General manager Steve Yzerman went with the best available player, using his first pick on a defenseman for the second time in three drafts.
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Edvinsson (6 feet 5, 207 pounds) was billed on draft night as a rangy defender with a big reach, a left-handed shot with a smooth stride and offensive upside.
His draft year resume included 10 games (one assist) with Frölunda in the Swedish Hockey League (where he was teammates with Lucas Raymond, the Wings 2020 first-round pick); 14 games (one goal, five assists) with Frölunda’s U20 team; and a bronze medal at World U18s.
Edvinsson, 19, stayed in his native Sweden for the 2021-22 season, posting 19 points in 44 games with Frölunda.
The anticipation is Edvinsson will challenge for a spot in Detroit’s lineup next season, though Yzerman tempered expectations when he addressed the matter May 2.
“He’s big, he can skate really well, he’s strong,” Yzerman said. “He does have a good chance to play in the NHL next year. It’s a bit of an uneducated guess. He’s a different player than Moritz. We’ll see how he does. But I’m optimistic.”
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Yzerman has resisted fast-tracking his prospects — when there was a push from corners in the organization to call up Seider from the AHL late in the 2019-20 season, Yzerman declined because there wasn’t a quality veteran to pair with Seider, and he was in a good spot with the Grand Rapids Griffins. Likewise this season, Jonatan Berggren, a skilled forward from the 2018 draft, was kept in GR, where he led the Griffins with 64 points in 74 games.
Yzerman has been transparent about the organization’s view of Seider and Raymond when training camp began last season. The thinking was Raymond would probably need some time in Grand Rapids to adjust to North American hockey, but when he had a standout camp, he earned a spot in the lineup.
There was more certainty that Seider would make the team, but “we didn’t know what impact Moritz would have, and I wasn’t sure Lucas would be ready,” Yzerman said.
Seider had the advantage of coming to camp having spent three straight seasons in men’s leagues — in Germany in 2018-19; the AHL in 2019-20; and Sweden in 2020-21, where he played to offset the pandemic’s impact on North American leagues and wound up being named SHL defenseman of the year.
Edvinsson, on the other hand, has spent one full season in Sweden’s top league and hasn’t spent a season playing on the smaller North American ice sheet.
He will come to camp armed with inside information from Raymond, as the two are expected to spend part of the offseason training together.
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“He’s a very, very skilled defenseman, especially with the size he has as well with really good skating,” Raymond said. “I’m really excited for him to come over next year and I’ll for sure meet with him this summer as well and skate with him. It’ll be really exciting. He’s a great guy so hopefully it works out good.”
Like Seider, who is 6-4, Edvinsson has the advantage of size, which will help as he acclimates to North American pro hockey. He’s a good skater and he’s smart, which also bode well for paving his own path. And while it’s unlikely to happen right away, Edvinsson and Seider project to be a formidable pairing as the Wings move toward becoming a playoff team once again.
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 Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.