I just posted my impressions from the Red Wings’ 5-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at the 2022 Prospect Tournament, and The Athletic’s Max Bultman posted a set of his own takes on Riley Piercey’s four-goal game, Simon Edvinsson’s North American debut, Sebastian Cossa’s game and the performances of Cross Hanas and Kirill Tyutyayev.
I’ll concur with his take on Edvinsson, who I critiqued based upon expectations as well:
Edvinsson might be the best all-around prospect at this tournament, so expectations are high. And on the whole, it was a pretty good first showing.
You might have ideally liked to see the defenseman take charge a bit more with the puck, especially early, but Edvinsson looked characteristically smooth, poised and effective on the back end for Detroit. He finished as a plus-2, killed penalties and, perhaps most importantly, looked quite good running the Red Wings’ top power-play unit. That’s not a role Edvinsson had much last season in the SHL or with Sweden at world juniors, but he made good decisions while doing so Friday.
Because Edvinsson has a legit shot at the Red Wings’ opening-night roster, he will probably be graded on a harsher curve at this event — whether that’s fair or not. And from that standpoint, he didn’t necessarily kick the door down in Game 1. But keep it in perspective: He played well in a decisive victory, and he continues to look like one heck of a prospect for the Red Wings.
“He’s very confident with the puck, he’s confident in who he is and how he wants to play,” said Griffins coach Ben Simon, who is running the Detroit bench at the tournament. “I thought he made some really nice stretch passes today, but again he moves pretty well — he moves very well for a bigger guy. He kind of floats on the ice.”
Continued (paywall)
