Red Wings draft Michal Orsulak 79th overall

With the 79th pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, the Red Wings selected goaltender(!) Michal Orsulak of the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders.

Per EliteProspects…

Continue reading Red Wings draft Michal Orsulak 79th overall

Red Wings select Victor Plante 47th overall

With the 47th overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, the Red Wings selected NTDP center and incoming Minnesota-Duluth freshman Victor (Brother of Max) Plante:

Updated 8x at 12:37 PM: Per EliteProspects, Plante is only 5’10” and 163 pounds. Here’s their scouting report:

Continue reading Red Wings select Victor Plante 47th overall

Shapiro on Cossa’s flaws

From Sean Shapiro’s must-read Substack comes this about Sebastian Cossa, the Red Wings prospect who was traded to the Utah Mammoth for the 23rd overall pick (JP Hurlbert) in the 2026 NHL Draft:

The Cossa saga is interesting, he always had the physical tools, but seemed to lack the mental makeup and demeanor that Detroit was looking for. The Red Wings essentially tried to tear him down and build him back up, and even after doing that they didn’t like the end product, especially compared to Trey Augustine.

Nothing new to report on the Dylan Larkin front, although it will be interesting today when Steve Yzerman addressed the media after Day 2 of the NHL Draft, which will be his first public comments since the trade reports surfaced two weeks ago.

Tweets of note: JP Hurlbert draft highlights

From the Detroit Red Wings on “X” come the following Tweets regarding the team’s 23rd overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, Kamloops Blazers alumnus and incoming University of Michigan freshman JP Hurlbert:

And, if you missed it, here’s Hurlbert’s first press conference as a Red Wing:

Continue reading Tweets of note: JP Hurlbert draft highlights

The Minnesota Wild still want Dylan Larkin. It may take a ‘flip’ to make the trade happen.

The Athletic’s Minnesota Wild beat writers, Michael Russo and Joe Smith, discuss the Wild’s pursuit of disgruntled Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin this morning. Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman probably won’t appreciate the forthright nature of this one:

The Wild are still very much in the Larkin sweepstakes, with [Minnesota GM Bill] Guerin, Detroit GM Steve Yzerman and Larkin’s agent, Pat Brisson, in constant communication. Larkin, who requested a trade earlier this offseason and has a full no-trade clause, was not moved on Friday’s busy first day of the draft, and it’s up in the air when — or if — Yzerman would move his disgruntled six-time 30-goal scorer.

Yzerman isn’t just going to trade him to trade him, especially with five years left on Larkin’s contract and scores of teams in need of a top centerman. That puts the Wild in a tough spot because of all the picks and prospects they have traded over the past few years, especially in the Hughes trade.

There’s no doubt Guerin would trade multiple first-round picks and prospects like Danila Yurov and Charlie Stramel for Larkin, who had Minnesota on his initial list of three teams he was willing to go to. But those young forwards aren’t considered blue-chip prospects and, as of now, they clearly haven’t moved the needle for the Red Wings.

“Nothing is ever off the table,” Guerin said while talking generally. “There’s a lot of time.”

Russo and Smith believe that the Red Wings and Wild may have to include a third team in a prospective Larkin trade, yielding a “flip” of future assets in order to afford the Red Wings the “right now” help which they’re requesting:

Continue reading The Minnesota Wild still want Dylan Larkin. It may take a ‘flip’ to make the trade happen.

Morning news round-up: Draper on Hurlbert, 2nd draft day priorities, and Larkin’s shadow

The Free Press’s Helene St. James, MLive’s Ansar Khan and The Athletic’s Max Bultman all offer new Red Wings-related articles this morning.

First, St. James discusses Sebastian Cossa’s “failure to launch“ as a highly-heralded Detroit prospect…

“Coss was a great prospect for us,” assistant general manager and director of amateur scouting Kris Draper said Friday. “We really invested a lot of time and felt that Sebastian continued to grow and he did get better. He was a pro.”

Just how far Cossa had dropped on the Wings’ goaltending chart was made clear entering the last week of the season. Eliminated from the NHL playoff race with two games remaining, Wings coach Todd McLellan was asked about calling up Cossa to play in those games. The Grand Rapids Griffins had long since clinched a spot in the AHL playoffs, and had both Michal Postava and Trey Augustine available to play. Postava had, in fact, taken over as the No. 1 netminder with the Griffins. But Cossa wasn’t even a consideration for the Wings.

“There was no thought or anything,” McLellan said.

Draper remained circumspect about the fact that Cossa didn’t click in Detroit:

Continue reading Morning news round-up: Draper on Hurlbert, 2nd draft day priorities, and Larkin’s shadow

Videos: JP Hurlbert and Kris Draper speak with the media after the 1st round of the 2026 NHL Draft

Here are videos of Red Wings 23rd overall pick JP Hurlbert and Red Wings director of amateur scouting and assistant GM Kris Draper speaking with the media tonight:

Update: Also of note, at 2:33 AM:

A bit of a Dylan Larkin update from ESPN’s 2026 NHL Draft coverage

Via 97.1 the Ticket…

The big question now is how the Red Wings proceed with Dylan Larkin and his trade request.

“It’s tough to get a sense of when (they’ll make a move) because Yzerman doesn’t really give those tells to anybody, but there is an expectation that he’s going to get it done,” NHL reporter Emily Kaplan said Friday night. “I know Steve has told teams that have called about Larkin, ‘We’ll send him to camp next year. He’s under contract. We’re not under pressure to make this trade.’

“But when you have a captain that’s unhappy, that wants to move on, it behooves you to do it. And they could get a bounty in return. If you look at some of these trades we’ve seen this offseason, we’re talking about multiple first-round picks, franchise-altering stuff.”

Just on Friday night, the Ducks sent young center Mason McTavish to the Blues for two first-round picks; McTavish scored 41 points last season and has a career-high of 22 goals. Earlier this week, the Senators sent winger Brady Tkachuk to the Panthers for three first-round picks and a second-rounder.

Larkin, a center in his prime coming off his fifth straight 30-goal season who’s under contract for five more years, should have more trade value than both of them.

And me:

Update: Here’s the Free Press’s Helene St. James’ update:

Still quiet on the Dylan Larkin front

There were trades sending veterans across the league the day of the draft and in the days leading up to it, but things remained quiet on the Dylan Larkin front. The Wings’ captain has requested a trade to a contender; that news emerged on June 4. Neither side has commented on the situation.

Larkin has a no-trade clause, so he holds power over where he goes – the Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild and Vegas Golden Knights top his list – but general manager Steve Yzerman does not have to trade Larkin, who has five years left at a $8.7 million cap hit. Essentially the Wings would need a player like Larkin in return: A top-line center (they are thin down the middle) who can play in all situations.

Red Wings select Kamloops’ J.P. Hurlbert 23rd overall

Updated 14x at 12:48 AM: From Twitter, the Red Wings traded Sebastian Cossa to the Utah Mammoth for the 23rd overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, and they selected J.P. Hurlbert from the Kamloops Blazers with said pick:

From the Hockey News’s Adam Kierszenblat:

Continue reading Red Wings select Kamloops’ J.P. Hurlbert 23rd overall

Tweet of note: Red Wings acquire 23rd overall pick from Utah Mammoth for Sebastian Cossa

Per Elliotte Friedman:

Also: