97.1 the Ticket’s Will Burchfield discusses Red Wings prospect defenseman Simon Edvinsson’s uphill climb in terms of attempting to make Detroit’s roster this upcoming season:
There’s no such thing as a complete defenseman at the age of 19. But Edvinsson, who doesn’t turn 20 until next February, is about as close as it gets. One of the top prospects in hockey, he strengthened his game playing against men for two seasons in Sweden and now he has his sights set on Detroit. When the Red Wings start the season Oct. 14 against the Canadians at Little Caesars Arena, Edvinsson intends to be there.
“To take a roster place, to be in the lineup of the first game, that’s the main goal,” Edvinsson said.
It’s not a given, just as it wasn’t last year for Seider. And Edvinsson’s challenge is, well, taller, after the Wings signed a pair of top-four left-shot defensemen Wednesday in Ben Chiarot and Olli Maatta. That leaves Edvinsson, who has no North American experience, to battle Jake Walman and Jordan Oesterle for the final left-side spot on Detroit’s blueline. If he doesn’t outplay both of them in training camp and the preseason, his season will start Oct. 14 in Grand Rapids.
Which would be just fine for his development. Grand Rapids is where Seider spent his first season in North America, too. Indeed, the experience he gained there in 2019-20 is a big reason he adjusted so smoothly to the NHL last season. Who knows if he makes the Wings’ opening night roster without it.
But that’s the thing. Seider leapt from the SHL to the NHL without a hitch. So did Lucas Raymond, Edvinsson’s former teammate with Frolunda, and he did so without ever testing the AHL waters. Naturally, Edvinsson said he wants to “make the same journey as they did.”
“You need to have those expectations that you’re going to take a place on the roster, and to want to do that,” he said. “The SHL is a hard league, there’s a lot of good players and hard games, so it’s a good run-up for the NHL. Watching Lucas and Moritz do that, it gives you more confidence to really do this right here now.”