Red Wings assistant director of player development Daniel Cleary spoke with NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman regarding the fact that the Wings are represented by 9 prospects at the World Junior Championship:
“We’ve had a lot of a lot of draft capital the last number of years, our amateur scouts did a great job and it’s been great to work with some of these young guys,” Red Wings assistant director of player development Dan Cleary said. “We’ve got some talented players coming through that should come to fruition here within a year, two years, next year.”
Topping that list is their two picks from the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft, Sweden defenseman Simon Edvinsson (No. 6) and Canada goalie Sebastian Cossa (No. 15). Edvinsson had 19 points (two goals, 17 assists) and averaged 19:42 of ice time in 44 gams with Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League last season, and a strong tournament could give the 19-year-old a jumpstart on earning an NHL roster spot this season.
“Simon is an excellent prospect,” Cleary said. “He’s big (6-foot-4, 198 pounds), he skates effortlessly, he’s confident, he’s got good puck skills. He was off to a great start last year and he played great in Frolunda at 19. It’s not an easy league to play in and he played very well for one of the best teams in the league. We’ll see what happens in September. Our team is better, but certainly if Simon comes in and plays the way I believe he can play, I don’t see any reason why not.”
Cossa was the third goalie for Canada when the tournament was held in December but could see an elevated role after the 19-year-old was 33-9-3 with a 2.28 goals-against average and .913 save percentage in 46 regular-season games for Edmonton, and had a .919 save percentage and five shutouts in 19 playoff games to help Edmonton win the Western Hockey League championship.
“I’m really excited for him,” Cleary said. “His attitude in terms of preparation was great. After development camp [July 10-14], he stayed a few weeks later to get a lot of good prep work with our goaltending [development staff]. … You’re just one of the team. That’s the way we want him to go into it and go and just work hard and be a great teammate. Just go in and do your job and let the chips fall where they may. Be willing to do your job and you’ll be in the net.”
Other Red Wings prospects playing in the tournament are goalie Jan Bednar (Czechia); defensemen Donovan Sebrango (Canada), Eemil Viro (Finland) and William Wallinder (Sweden); and forwards Carter Mazur (United States), Theodor Niederbach (Sweden), Redmond Savage (United States).
“I think anybody who’s a Red Wings fan, part of our organization, should be really excited as well,” Cleary said.
