The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler and Max Bultman discuss Red Wings prospects’ “timelines” this morning, making predictions as to when ten of the Wings’ best prospects will graduate to the NHL level:
Moritz Seider, RHD, Roglë (SHL)
The timeline: 2021 (once SHL season ends)
Wheeler: I don’t want to say this should be an easy decision, because putting a 19-year-old kid in an NHL lineup is never an easy decision. It’s easier to give those minutes to one of the several guys you’ve just signed in free agency. It’s easier to play the long game than the short one with a prospect, especially when you’re in a rebuild. And Yzerman isn’t the impatient type. But by the time Seider’s season finishes in Sweden, he’s going to already have three seasons, in three different pro leagues, in three different countries, under his belt before his 20th birthday. The SHL is probably the third-best pro league in the world and the best of the trio of leagues he’s played in, too. So if he keeps playing like he has, producing and averaging more than 19 minutes a night with Roglë, he’ll have earned his NHL opportunity.
Bultman: Yeah, this one feels like just a matter of time. Seider looked ready for an NHL appearance at the end of last season, and you have to think he’ll get that opportunity once he returns from Sweden this spring. I don’t think I can go as far as saying he’s facing better competition in Sweden than he was in the AHL, but I certainly don’t think it’s too steep a drop-off, and Seider should return from this stint with plenty of experience and confidence. My biggest question between now and then: How much does his offensive output keep up? Right now, he’s producing at a point-per-game clip, which is more than double the rate he scored at in the AHL last season. Fair to presume he won’t score at this rate all season, but how much can he chip in from the back end?
Continued (paywall)
