Detroit — Having patience has been difficult, at times, but Red Wings fans are beginning to see the fruits of waiting and believing.
General manager Steve Yzerman and his staff have accumulated a significant number of draft picks in recent years, as the organization has undergone a rebuild. Slowly, some of those prospects are graduating to the NHL.
Players like Jonatan Berggren and Joe Veleno earned full-time jobs this season. Of course, Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond did a year before and built upon their success this past sophomore season.
Simon Edvinsson and Marco Kasper made NHL debuts last season.
Most promising for the Wings, many prospects seem fairly close to joining those young players mentioned above.
But, Wings fans, be patient.
“We all look around and you wish you had more of your prospects ready to go sooner,” Yzerman said during his season-ending media conference. “It’s most important to remain patient with them. Let them mature, grow up and develop as players at the right rate. Try to have a good environment for them whether they remain in college, junior hockey or finally turn pro.”
There’s plenty of tweaking to be done with the Wings’ roster this summer. Yzerman is hopeful some of those changes may come from recent draft picks pushing for roster spots.
“Hopefully, these younger players we have on our team now play a bigger role next year,” Yzerman said. “Maybe one or two of our younger players, whether they were in Grand Rapids or coming from somewhere else, push into the team. We’ll slowly add to it and do the best we can to fill our roster.
“I like to believe every player comes to training camp, regardless of whether they were invited or a first-round pick, all have in their heart that they’re going to make the team. They have a hope and drive that, ‘I’m going to play well enough and show them enough that I have a chance to make the team.'”
Here are 10 of the young prospects (in alphabetical order) pushing to make the Red Wings’ roster in the near future:
▶ Sebastian Cossa, goaltender: The 2022 first-round pick (No. 15 overall) had a superb rookie pro season in Toledo, and has helped carry the Walleye into the East Coast Hockey League conference finals.
Cossa, 20, was 26-16-4 with a 2.56 goals-against average and .913 save percentage during the regular season and is 4-1 with a 1.41 GAA and .950 SVS in the playoffs. The 6-foot-6 goalie learned how to better use his size, play angles better and adjusted to the pro game impressively in Toledo.
He’ll likely take the next step to Grand Rapids next season.
“He’s a good prospect,” Yzerman said. “He’s really determined and we’re going to let his play dictate where he goes and when we see him in Detroit.”
▶ Simon Edvinssson, defenseman: You can still call Edvinsson a prospect, but not for much longer. After debuting in Grand Rapids and improving as the season progressed, Edvinsson (2022 first-round pick, sixth overall) earned a nine-game trial with the Wings, where he showed enough to likely earn a full-time roster spot next season.
That is, after he’s completely recovered from recent shoulder surgery, which he may, or may not, be to begin the regular season.
Regardless, Edvinsson, 20, a rangy 6-foot-6 defenseman with some bite to his game, and with his offensive skill, he looks like an NHL defenseman.
“It’s tough not to get excited with what we saw in those nine games,” coach Derek Lalonde said. “He’ll need to have a great offseason. What he did between the American League and here, I certainly hope he’s going to be pushing for a spot on the team. I saw growth from when he left us (after training camp) to Grand Rapids to when we got him back, and hopefully, he continues to grow this summer.”
▶ Cross Hanas, forward: All told, Hanas likely surpassed some expectations in Grand Rapids, with 17 points (nine goals, eight assists) in 30 games before suffering a season-ending injury.
The 2020 second-round draft pick parlayed a summer of physical training into looking like a potential NHL winger with some size and the ability to score goals.
“His determination, compete, his physicality all improved,” said Shawn Horcoff, Red Wings assistant GM/Grand Rapids GM. “He was able to go into the league and win some puck battles. Right before he got hurt, he was playing his best hockey. There were certain stretches where he was a point-a-game player for 10-12 games, which is obviously hard to do at that level for a young player.”
▶ Albert Johansson, defenseman: Much of the attention in Grand Rapids was focused on Edvinsson, but Albert Johansson, arguably, was more consistent through the entirety of the season.
Johansson, 22, in his rookie AHL season, had 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in 53 games and looked poised beyond his years.
Johansson (2019 second-round pick) was injured late in the season, ending any chance of being promoted to the NHL. There’s a good possibility Johansson would have been called up before Edvinsson, based on performance.
“Albert actually had a great season,” Horcoff said. “Albert made some adjustments to his offseason training. He’s always been a great skater, a smart player, a good passer of the puck, but his frame was underdeveloped. He made some changes back in Sweden to who he was training with, and it paid huge dividends.
“Obviously, broken bones are what they are and you really can’t control that. It’s too bad, because at that time, he was probably in a position to be called up and play some NHL games.”
▶ Marco Kasper, forward: The 2022 first-round pick had an outstanding season in Sweden, which earned him a chance to play in the NHL late in the season. Unfortunately for Kasper, the look-see only lasted one game, against Toronto, in which Kasper played 10 minutes despite suffering a broken kneecap at some point.
In a way, that’s not surprising. Scouts raved about Kasper’s intensity, determination on the ice — and sure enough, in his first NHL game, Kasper was out there holding his own against elite NHL forwards on the Leafs, while playing with a broken kneecap.
Lalonde, in his season-ending media availability, hoped Kasper would be among the prospects pushing for a roster spot in October.
“We’re going to give them every opportunity to be in that mix,” Lalonde said. “That’s a natural part of it. I hope we get to the point where they’re forcing us to put them on the team for Day 1. If they’re ready, great. I love playing young guys. I have no problem playing young guys. That’s the way the NHL is now. It’s the reality of the NHL now, at the same time, making sure we handle (the player’s) development properly.”
▶ Amadeus Lombardi, forward: The 2022 fourth-round pick has overcome skepticism about his lack of size, enjoying a sensational season, scoring 102 points in Flint (OHL) this past season and assisting in his first pro game with the Griffins.
Yzerman has been impressed by Lombardi’s development.
“Amadeus Lombardi had an awesome year in Flint,” Yzerman said. “He’s really a good little player. He’s very creative.
“He’s 5-9, 5-10, 170 pounds, (but) that doesn’t matter. He’s real competitive. Is he in there running guys over, knocking guys out? No. But he drives to the net, he somehow gets to the corners first, he makes plays, he’s creative. He’s a very entertaining player.
“We really hold out optimism for him to be one of those guys that’s on the smaller side who just has it to be an NHL player. Time will tell.”
▶ Carter Mazur, forward: Yzerman doesn’t usually rave about draft picks, so it was telling during his season-ending availability that Yzerman was so complementary of Mazur, a Jackson native, currently playing for Team USA at the world championships.
Mazur, a 2021 third-round pick, was a key player on Denver’s NCAA championship team as a freshman, then had 22 goals in 40 games this past season. Upon turning pro in March, Mazur had six points (three goals, three assists) in six games with the Griffins.
“We signed him and he’s played a half-dozen games in Grand Rapids and he looks like a real good prospect,” Yzerman said. “Is he ready to play next year? Maybe, maybe not. But, he looks like a good prospect He looks like an NHL player. He skates well, he’s got good hands, he knows where to go on the ice.
“He’s going to be on our team and he’s going to be a real good player for us sooner than later.”
▶ Elmer Soderblom, forward: The 6-foot-8 forward made the Wings’ opening-night roster and wound up playing 21 games with five goals before being sent to Grand Rapids, where Soderblom had another five goals in 20 games before a season-ending injury in March.
Soderblom, a 2019 sixth-round pick, flashed some impressive characteristics with the Wings. It’s not often you see a player his size who can move around the ice, make room for himself, and show nice touch with the puck.
“With his size and his hands, there’s a potential real NHL player,” Yzerman said. “I have a good idea of what he is as a player. Is there room for growth? Absolutely. I still think he has tons of potential.”
▶ Eemil Viro, defenseman: Because of a crowded roster in Grand Rapids, Viro found himself in Toledo (ECHL) late in the season, and that’s when Viro wound up playing some of his best hockey.
In 53 games between the two teams, Viro (2020, third-round pick) had 11 points (one goal, 10 assists) and showed the type of grit and skating ability that could make him an NHL player in the future.
“The biggest things for him are strength and the overall maturity of his game,” Horcoff said. “They’re going to continue to grow. We’re very happy with the way he finished his season.”
William Wallinder, defenseman: A mobile 6-foot-3 defenseman who had 19 assists and 26 points for Rogle (Sweden), Wallinder came to North America late in the season but only played one game with the Griffins before getting hurt.
There’s plenty of work still to be done on the defensive end, so it’s likely Wallinder will begin next season in Grand Rapids. But his size and ability with the puck make Wallinder (2020 second-round pick) an intriguing prospect.
“William Wallinder had a real good year,” Yzerman said. “He’s developed nicely over in Sweden. He’s got a lot of work to do, but he is a prospect. He’s developed nicely. He’s maturing as a young man as well, so we have optimism for him.”
ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @tkulfan