Okay, so the Red Wings released their prospect tournament roster ahead of the September 15th-19th tourney in Traverse City, MI.
Here’s the roster, which is particularly thin at forward and particularly stout on defense:
Forwards:
#56 Pasquale Zito: The Red Wings saw the 19-year-old center, who was traded from Windsor to Niagara during the OHL offseason, at last year’s prospect tournament. At 6’1″ and 176 pounds, he’s tenacious and pesky–to the point that he has a reputation as a shit disturber–but he’s held back thus far, and while he posted 42 points in 49 games last season (22 goals and 20 assists), I’m not certain that we’ve seen the “real Zito” yet.
#58 Riley Piercey*: As I recall, the 20-year-old Piercey, a Flint Firebirds forward, attended the summer development camp, but he didn’t stand out despite his 6’3,” 205-pound status. He posted 58 points in 59 games for Flint (27 goals and 31 assists), and he could be a late-bloomer, but time will tell.
#61 Jake Uberti*: Another 20-year-old, the 6’1,” 185-pound Uberti hasn’t found his form as of yet at the OHL level with Mississauga, posting 35 points in 42 games split between Niagara and Mississauga (19 goals and 16 assists). He’s a bit of an unknown quantity as he didn’t play during his first draft year because the OHL was shut down.
#62 Drew Worrad**: Big and mature, the 6’2,” 185-pound Worrad is 25, and he’s coming off of a 45-point season in the WCHA with Western Michigan University (9 goals and 36 assists in 39 games played). The Red Wings eyed his size and ability to pass the puck and at least were intrigued enough to give him an AHL deal, and he’ll probably fight for a spot in Grand Rapids or Toledo. First, he’ll serve as a mentor at the prospect tournament.
#72 Trenton Bliss**: The 24-year-old Bliss stands at 6’1″ and 194 pounds, and the Michigan Tech graduate posted 12 goals and 28 assists for 40 points for Tech last season. He was actually pretty good at the development camp, and the Wings will need his maturity.
#74 Cross Hanas: Hanas is turning pro as a 20-and-a-half-year-old who stands at 6’1″ and 174 pounds. He skates particularly well, and he’s a two-way player who spent the past four seasons with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks, most recently posting 26 goals and 60 assists for 86 points in 63 regular season games. He’s a bit more of a playmaker than a shooter, and he’s going to be battling for a spot on the Griffins’ roster.
#78 Amadeus Lombardi: The Red Wings drafted the 5’10,” 165-pound Lombardi this past summer, as a 19-year-old, because he’s a ball of energy and physicality who earned his 18 goals and 41 assists for 59 points in 67 games played with Flint this past season. I don’t know whether his size is going to hold him back against bigger and stronger players, but at the summer development camp, he was a standout.
#79 Kirill Tyutyayev**: 22-year-old Kirill Tyutyayev missed a good chunk of this past season with a shoulder injury, but the Griffins signed him to a two-year extension because the 5’10,” 176-pound native of Yekatrinburg, Russia is an amazing stickhandler, playmaker and scorer who is just small and under-powered. He’s a real wild card.
#83 Marcus Limpar-Lantz*: The 19-year-old Limpar-Lantz is making the jump from Orebro’s J20 league in Sweden, where he posted 37 points in 43 games (13 goals and 24 assists), to the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League. He’s 6′ and 190 pounds, and I’ve never seen him play.
#84 Julien Anctil*: I remember him from the summer development camp. The 21-year-old is 6’1″ and 174 pounds, and the Sherbrooke Phoenix forward posted 28 goals and 42 assists for 68 points in 67 games played, but he had a bumpy time at the summer development camp. Maybe he’ll hit his stride in Traverse City.
#85 Elmer Soderblom: The Red Wings are bringing the 6’8,” 249-pound Soderblom over as a 21-year-old who’s coming off a 33-points-in-52-games season with Frolunda HC of the SHL. Everybody is excited to see his hands and strong skating as a massive, massive forward in Traverse City, and the hope is that he’ll at least make a challenge for a spot on the Wings’ roster at some point this upcoming season, so expectations are high for the later-blooming behemoth.
#86 Ivan Ivan*: I mentioned that the Red Wings had invited Ivan to the tournament early in the morning of August 30th. He’s just turned 20, and the 5’11,” 172-pound Ivan is coming off of a 65-points-in-65-games season (31 goals and 34 assists) with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. He’s bounced around due to the pandemic, and been passed over in two drafts, though he’s eligible for one more NHL draft next summer.
I mean, he wasn’t much more than a name at the World Junior Championship, but he’s got good hands, he’s speedy, and he’s small. We’ll see what he can bring to the mix.
#87 Jacob Mathieu*: All of 18 years of age, the 5’11,” 179-pound forward from the Sherbrooke Phoenix posted 35 points in 68 games during his draft season, so he was overlooked, but the Red Wings clearly see some potential in him, so we’ll see what he’s got.
#94 Mitchell Martin*: 6’4″ and 207 pounds, the 19-year-old Kitchener Rangers winger posted 40 points in 65 games (17 goals plus 23 assists) during his second draft year, but he doesn’t use his size, or at least he didn’t during the summer development camp.
Defensemen:
#3 Simon Edvinsson: The 19-year-old Edvinsson is of course highly-regarded at 6’6″ and 207 pounds, and while he’s coming off a disappointing World Junior Championship performance for Sweden, he’s massive, he skates like the wind and he’s got a good shot, strong passing skills and he’s physical. He needs to be reined in like a wild horse.
#20 Albert Johansson: I’m excited to see what Johansson can do among his peers. The 21-year-old Farjestads BK defender is turning pro in North America this upcoming season, and the 6,’ 168-pound defender is an excellent skater and puck-lugging passer, but he’s also pretty small, so we’re going to find out in a hurry whether he can keep up with the North American game.
#44 Donovan Sebrango: The 20-year-old defenseman has 96 games of AHL experience to his credit, so I get the feeling that he’s going to be one of the leaders on the Red Wings’ prospect tourney team. Stout at 6’1″ and 194 pounds, he’s physical, he’s confident coming off a World Junior Championship Gold with Canada, and the Wings will need him to be a shut-down defender.
#49 Seth Barton: Barton just turned 23, and I’m not quite certain what the 6’3,” 196-pound defenseman brings to the table. He had a very pedestrian rookie campaign in Grand Rapids, and needed some ECHL games to bolster his confidence, but the Red Wings drafted him as a puck-mover with some physical flair. We’ll see what’s there.
#51 Eemil Viro: The 20-year-old is only 6′ and 165 pounds, but Viro proved during the World Junior Championship that he can hold his own defensively after two seasons played in the Finnish Liiga. As he turns pro in North America, he’ll have to use that short stick and excellent skating style to stifle opponents and sacrifice defensively while giving the Wings’ prospects a bit of an offensive boost.
#77 Oscar Plandowski: At 19, the Acadie-Bathurst Titan defenseman is in a “Show Me” season. Very lanky at 6′ and 190 pounds, Plandowski can skate superbly, he’s got great puck sense, he gaps up well, he’s got a ton of tools, but he hasn’t put a toolbox together in which to utilize the tools that he has. With 17 points in 64 games for Charlottetown this past season, he needs to pick up his production in the Q to jump to the next level, and the prospect tournament is a great place to start.
#95 Tnias Mathurin: Big and strong at 6’3″ and 201 pounds, the 2022 draft pick was selected because the North Bay Battalion defenseman is big, heavy and has enough puck skills to project as more than just a stay-at-home defender. I think that the prospect tournament will be an eye-opener, though.
Goaltenders:
#31 Andrew Oke*: Still 18, Oke was passed over in his first draft year because the 6’2,” 201-pound worker bee had a rough season on a rough Saginaw Spirit team. He worked his ass off to improve during the summer development camp, he impressed during a single game at the World Junior Championship, and there’s potential in the try-out if he continues to improve.
#33 Sebastian Cossa: 19 until November, the 6’6,” 209-pound goaltender faces high expectations despite a 33-9-and-3 record and a WHL championship this past season with the Edmonton Oil Kings. In a short tournament, it’s gonna be sink or swim for the massive first-round pick, and he’s going to be battling slight inconsistencies as he works to reestablish himself as a top-flight prospect.
#60 Jan Bednar: Bednar turned 20 on August 26th, and the 6’2,” 201-pound goalie had a very rough World Junior Championship with the Czechs this August, but his 28-14-and-4 season with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan was quite good, and there’s still potential in the tremendously hot-and-cold netminder who has excellent skills but needs to refine his techniques.
*=Free agent invite, **=Grand Rapids Griffins contract
