In just over a week, the Detroit Red Wings will take to the ice for training camp. Everything about the preseason carries a lot of weight for the team, including the prospect’s tournament. The team’s success hinges on the young players and what they’ve accomplished this summer. Last season saw two young players take a big step forward for the Red Wings. Both Marco Kasper and Simon Edvinsson played significant roles in their first full NHL season.
While Kasper secured a role as a second line centerman, Edvinsson now looks to be the #2 defenseman in the organization.
Edvinsson’s first full season was impressive
Detroit got more than they bargained for after drafting Edvinsson in 2021. The left shot defenseman grew 2 inches after the draft, now standing 6’6”. He quickly began turning heads, and continues to impress with his development. In his first full season, Edvinsson finished second in points among defensemen while playing 21:07 per night.
While the plus/minus stat doesn’t carry much weight in modern hockey, Edvinsson’s +12 stands out. He was the only defenseman with a positive differential last season. His impact is undeniable, and on paper is clearly the best left shot blue liner that Detroit has. It sounds like that may not be enough to have “Eddy” slotted alongside Moritz Seider, at least not yet.
The balancing act for Detroit’s defensemen
The Red Wings have a history of trying to bring balance to all of their lines. In the case of Edvinsson, that likely means that he will start the year on the second line. Early projections have Ben Chiarot slated to skate on the top line with Moritz Seider.
There were times at the end of the season where Edvinsson and Seider were paired, and it did not disappoint. The two stand 6’4” and 6’6” and bring a lot to the ice. The two could well be the top pairing for Detroit in the near future and for a long time. The team needs more depth in the top 4 to make that a full time possibility.
Eddy’s one of those guys who has all the tools to be a gem, he just needs to be deployed properly to exploit his capabilities. Yawney’s got a really good mind, he understands offensive intentions, and how to predict what we’ll face in a team. When he came aboard, our D line changed in many smaller ways. Guys were deployed differently with different angles of attack, ice closed more quickly, gaps filled before they were fully exposed. He teaches kids to anticipate, I guess is the proper way of saying this. At least from a fan perspective. If he can continue to tweak the Top 3 D guys (Mo, Eddy, and AlJo), whilst working with GR to refine the games of Wally, Buium, and Tooey, we could realistically have 2 of the 3 become full-time NHLers by the TDL. And that would give us a solid Top 2 pairings with the 3d pairing being of a more physical bent. And that’s not considering ASP and whether or not he comes up and stays.
Now, honestly, I think AlJo’s much better than we think, he just needs to be able to refine his game. I think Wally’s going to be a more subtle guy who explodes on opponents, Buium will probably become a moderately strong offensive guy, but his talent is closing gaps. ASP is the Wild Card. When he finally hits, this kid could be explosive. BUT, we really need someone to be more balanced, at least from my perspective, to close the gaps that ASP would leave when he joins an offensive attack. For that, I see AlJo as a good mate. AlJo’s a really solid kid.
Seeing LOTS of chatter about us pulling in Karlsson. Not sure I’m a fan. He’s fairly one-dimensional, and we need someone with a bit more deployability. Honestly, I think Gus will run PP2 and be a 3d pairing guy. And he’s not as much of a liability on the back-end as Karlsson is, in my eyes anyway. We need an Ekblad-like talent. All of this is, of course, supposition because at the end of this season, we lose quite a few guys and could have around $24m in cap space available. Do we take a run at McDavid? If that’s the case, we need to DRAW him in with a menu of talent that could be reasonably expected to push not only for the SCPO, but be viable contenders for the SCF. ASP, MBN, AlJo, and MAYBE Buium would really need to click and show up by the end of this season to make a strong enough case to draw interest from McDavid…. IF he hits the open market. Butt hat’s the talent we NEED to be a force in the East, this is just too strong of a division in a VERY strong Conference to continue to be a middling team. Something major needs to happen. And, to me, it starts on the back end.
Hey Mike! You laid out a ton there! I’ll kind of pick around. On Karlsson, I’d be glad to get him but he ultimately decides his own fate in terms of trade. He wants to win a Stanley Cup. I still struggle with how realistic it would be for him to come here but time will tell. If they do get him, I’d love for ASP to be around to pick his brain.
It’s interesting that Johansson doesn’t get a ton of mention, but he was the “surprise of the season” for coach MacLellan. Very steady, solid linemate. Buium (opinion) worked his way up and could be the next guy to break through. When Anton Johansson was here, they were a wrecking crew. Was really not happy that Anton went back overseas. The coaches have had a full offseason and know what the card looks like at this point. Will be really interested to see how they deploy everyone and try to balance the lines. Thanks for dropping in!!
Hi there,
I totally agree on those thoughts for the D. AlJ and ASP would / will be a nice 2nd pairing, a lot of energy, creativity and will. With Mo and Ed on n°1, that’s not bad at all indeed for the years to come.
For 3rd pairing, put Chiarot with Buium or Wallinder, and that will be a nice defense squad that really wants to play.
I like all the young ones knocking at the door, even if there will be mistakes while learning (Ed didn’t do a ton though).
I’m not a big fan of Karlsson, once an offensive gifted D, now getting older and slower. That’s not what Detroit needs for me.
Mc David, yes of course, if he wants to move and come here at the end of the year… a huge boost, but time will tell. But all those sites telling you there will be a trade here and there, just a waste of time because it almost never happens ! I was just surprised when Debrincat signed to Detroit.
Really eager to watch videos and comments from next week-end, and even more training camp that will give us a better idea on Nate and ASP (and MNB, though I’m not – yet ? – fan of his kind of game !
The really encouraging thing that you kind of summed up is that the young players on the D are already the best players on the D. Chiarot, Holl and Gustafsson will be moving on. Johansson should be able to lock down the 2nd pairing role. Camp and the tournament are so exciting this year because there will be immediate impact. These kids have a chance to grab a position.
For Karlsson, if by chance, they were able to get him, I’d actually be fine with it. Especially for this season. His game is in decline, but what he sees on the ice and being around Edvinsson and Seider would be a “learning tree”. There is so much that could be learned from a guy like that on the ice. But it feels like such a long shot to get him in.
On McDavid, i honestly feel that there’s a less than 0% chance of getting him to Detroit. It’s an incredible dream, but he wants to be part of a perennial winner. If you’re that player, you know what team would be put over the edge by your presence. Detroit just isn’T in that ballpark. I think he wants to make it work with EDM, but if it doesn’t i don’t see Detroit on the list to get his services.