Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen discusses the respective statuses of Red Wings prospects Sebastian Cossa, Elmer Soderblom, Cross Hanas, Marco Kasper, Nate Danielson, William Wallinder and Antti Tuomisto after the 2023 Prospect Tournament. Let’s focus on the last two players listed:
William Wallinder (Drafted 32nd overall in 2020): The Red Wings probably want to see Wallinder, 21, play a full season in Grand Rapids. Don’t forget that even Moritz Seider played a season in Grand Rapids.
You could tell by the way Watson used Wallinder that he believes he can be an impact player in Grand Rapids. Wallinder played in all situations, and logged plenty of minutes The Red Wings gave up too many goals in this tournament and the 6-foot-4 was only -1. He boasts strong offensive potential.
This is a player who will be a top four defenseman.
Antti Tuomisto (Drafted 35th overall in 2019): Tuomisto has moved up in Detroit’s prospect rankings because of how well he performed in Finland in 2022-23. He’s big, and makes a strong first pass. Like Wallinder, he can kill penalties and play on the power play. Tuomisto and Wallinder fit well together. Tuomisto is also a right shot, which makes him more valuable. His play in the Traverse City demonstrated his potential to be an effective North American pro player.
