Chase Pearson, the last man standing from the Detroit Red Wings’ 2015 draft, is under contract for another year.
Pearson, 25, has appeared in three games for the Wings, making his debut March 24 this past season. The 6-foot-3, 202-pound center played 50 games for the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins, recording 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists).
Since being drafted seven years ago at No. 140, Pearson has played three seasons at the University of Maine, serving two seasons as captain. He turned pro in 2019 and has emerged as a solid player for the Griffins and a depth player for the Wings. He signed through 2022-23 for $917,831.
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The Wings had six picks in 2015. They used their first one, at No. 19, on forward Evgeny Svechnikov. Svechnikov struggled to prove he belonged in the Wings’ lineup early in his career, and was set back in 2018-19 when he missed the entire season because of a knee injury.
Svechnikov, 25, couldn’t gain a foothold after that, and general manager Steve Yzerman ultimately decided not to tender Svechnikov a qualifying offer last summer. Svechnikov ended up with the Winnipeg Jets, scoring seven goals in 72 games. He’s an unrestricted free agent again this summer.
The next pick, defenseman Vili Saarijarvi at no. 73, never played in the NHL; he spent last season in Finland and has a contract to play next season in Switzerland.
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Goaltender Joren Van Pottelberghe, No. 110, also never made it to the NHL, but back when he was drafted his agent was Claude Lemieux, and that prompted Lemieux and Kris Draper to speak for the first time, in 2016, since Lemieux shoved Draper into the boards in Game 6 of the 1996 Western Conference Finals, igniting a storied rivalry.
Defenseman Patrick Holway (No. 170) and forward Adam Marsh (No. 200) also never played in the Wings organization. Of the six players the Wings drafted in 2015, two appeared in the NHL, combining for 44 games in a Wings uniform.
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.