I haven’t been able to attend the Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp for the first time since 2006 due to vehicle issues this summer, and it’s eaten at me all week long.
I’ve felt like I’ve been grieving not being able to raise quite enough funds to rent a car as my own 18-year-old Chrysler Pacifica’s tailpipe, muffler and catalytic converter are all dragging on the ground (with no money to replace the automobile, we’re trying to reach out to simply get the rust-bucket, declared unsafe to drive by our mechanic last fall, repaired), and I’ve been in a rotten mood all week long.
My one housemate, my Aunt Annie, has been very understanding (and the fact that she’s recovering from a double hip transplant hasn’t helped make me feel less than guilty about the concept of going down to the rink for 8 hours a day, either), and my first job now is to be her caregiver, but as I’ve restarted the blog, Gord, it’s hurt to be stuck at home covering these very long days.
But the blog is back, it’s been back since last weekend’s NHL Draft; we’ve talked about the Red Wings’ draft haul, we’ve covered free agency together, and we’re moving forward with the expectation that, somehow, my aunt’s and my own health will stabilize to the point that working the blog becomes my second marriage.
I’ve come to realize this past week that there’s a simple reason I do this: I really am in love with hockey, and to me, it’s a privilege to share articles, opinions and analysis with you. Being able to work a blog as I follow the Red Wings and the NHL at a level I would regardless of whether The Malik Report existed is a tremendous bonus for me, and it gives me a sense of identity and purpose outside my role as a caregiver for an 82-year-old with a litany of health problems and 23 prescriptions to manage.
I’m proud and honored to do this. I’m proud and honored to know you. And I am deeply, deeply in love with the game of hockey.
And not being able to be down at the rink, breaking even financially while enjoying a week’s worth of hockey in July, has been really difficult. That’s the best part of this whole job–the moments when I get to go down to the rink and be in the presence of the cold air and the sounds of skates scraping into fresh ice, watching the on-ice ballet of viciousness that is hockey take place.
Anyway, while I’m not able to be down at the rink writing to assess the Red Wings’ prospects, picks and try-outs this week, I felt that it was unfair to do anything less than attempt to post a set of away-from-the-rink impressions of what the Wings have on the ice during the Summer Development Camp.
So what you’re about to read is a set of assessments of each and every one of the Red Wings’ forty participants in the 2024 Summer Development Camp, as written over the course of the past two days (while navigating the Red Wings’ free agency moves, or the lack thereof). I hope that you can at least take some satisfaction from this, and learn a bit about the Wings’ future players, too.
Not everybody will make it. In fact, most of the Red Wings’ prospects won’t make it to the NHL level. But they’re all important in my eyes, so we’ll examine where they are on their respective developmental curves, we’ll talk about their skill sets, and we’ll consider how and where the players need to perform to earn pro contracts and eventually join the Red Wings’ organization–or earn gainful employment somewhere else.
I hope you enjoy it.
Impressions of the Red Wings’ Developmental Campers
FORWARDS:
#11 Kienan Draper: Heading into his junior season with the University of Michigan Wolverines, the 6’2,” 205-lb Draper has filled out, and he possesses good skating speed and a strong shot as a forechecking forward. At 22, however, he’s still playing on Michigan’s fourth line, though he played in a college-career-high 37 games this past season, posting 4 goals and 8 assists for 12 points.
At this point, Draper projects to be a gritty, grinding forward–stop me if you’ve heard this about a Draper before–but Kienan still needs to earn more playing time in his junior season, and he needs to continue developing into a less-dispensable player, because the Red Wings’ system is flush with grinding forwards.
#17 Austin Baker: The native of White Lake Township was drafted this past weekend by Detroit as the 203rd overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. The 6’0,” 190-lb winger is only 18, and he’s committed to playing for the Michigan State Spartans, but he’ll probably play a season in the USHL before making the jump to college hockey. He posted 31 points (15 goals and 16 assists) with the NTDP after being called up from the Under-17 team, and he went scoreless in 7 games at the Under-18 World Junior Championship. He also played for the Little Caesars AAA hockey program.
He’s a home-grown success story, obviously, but Baker is also pretty raw and needs to develop what I’m told is a strong all-round game in order to progress toward becoming another Michigander-turned-Red Wing sometime down the road.
#21 Hunter Johannes**: The Grand Rapids Griffins signed the massive 25-year-old Johannes, who stands at 6’3″ and 217 lbs, out of the University of North Dakota, where he posted 19 points in 31 games as a 5th-year senior (due to the COVID pandemic, many NCAA hockey players were afforded a 5th year of college hockey eligibility).
Johannes is HUGE, he posted 29 points in 28 games during his “senior” season, and at 25, he’s not necessarily a Red Wings prospect, but he’ll battle for playing time with the Griffins and/or the Toledo Walleye, and the Red Wings will bring him to the prospect tournament to serve as a mentor for the team’s younger players–and something of a physical deterrent to keep the Dallas Stars’ “flies off.”
#25 Red Savage: Savage transferred to Michigan State University after playing two seasons with his older brother at Miami of Ohio, and the 5’11,” 185-lb center took a step forward, posting 10 goals and 17 assists for 27 points over the course of a 38-game season.
Going into his senior year, the 21-year-old Savage is looking to continue developing physically and developing his game as a fast forechecking forward who checks the snot out of opposing players. I haven’t seen many harder-working players, or gritty, grinding players who love playing dirty and winning every damn physical battle than Savage. I fully believe that he’s going to turn pro and compete for a spot in the NHL eventually mostly because his work ethic is unmatched.
#26 Max Plante: The Red Wings drafted 18-year-old Max Plante with the 47th overall pick in last weekend’s NHL Draft in Las Vegas. Standing at 5’11” and 177 lbs, the Minnesota-Duluth commit has some growing to do in terms of his size and strength, and we’ve all been told that his skating is still a work in progress, but his 15 goals and 46 assists gave him 61 points for the U.S. NTDP’s Under-18 team this past season, it’s his tremendous passing game that is the reason the Red Wings chose former NHL’er Derek Plante’s son so early in the draft.
He’s a plucky, confident little rink rat who grew up playing hockey with his brothers, and he’s hoping to head to Minnesota-Duluth this upcoming season to play with his older brother, Zam, as the Bulldogs attempt to upend some of the bigger schools in their conference. Like Savage, his work ethic and competitiveness stand out, and as such, the Red Wings may have another driven, self-improving prospect on their hands.
#28 Michael Brandsegg-Nygard: The Red Wings used their 15th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft to pick the 6’1,” 207-lb Brandsegg-Nygard over several snipers, which pissed off the part of the fan base that believes the Wings need a “natural goal-scorer” ASAP, but then Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman attested to the Mora IK alumnus’s shot as MBN’s best asset.
The big Norwegian posted a very solid 8 goals and 10 assists for 18 points in 41 games in the Allsvenskan, the Swedish second division, as a 17-year-old, and he posted 4 goals and 6 assists for 10 points in 12 playoff games. He also earned 7 games and posted 5 points with the Norwegian men’s World Championship team.
MBN is going to play for Axel Sandin Pellikka’s team, Skelleftea AIK, next season, and while he’s slated to play for the J-20 team initially, but the stocky, strong Brandsegg-Nygard has played “above his weight class” for some time now, and it wouldn’t surprise me if the strong “power forward” type earned some SHL games sooner than later. From what little I’ve seen of him, his smoothness of play and booming shot are his best assets, and he’s got a wee bit of “piss and vinegar” to his game.
#29 Nate Danielson: At only 19 going on 20 this September, the 6’2,” 188-lb center will be turning pro with the Grand Rapids Griffins this upcoming season, and there’s a reason for that: after posting 26 points in 26 games with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings this past season, Danielson was traded to the Portland Winerhawks, and he absolutely blossomed offensively, posting 12 goals and 29 assists for 41 points over the course of only 28 games played. Then, in the playoffs, he was even better, posting 7 goals and 17 assists for 24 points over the course of 18 games played.
We’ve all seen Danielson display his tremendous confidence and playmaking during last season’s exhibition games, and we’ve all seen the highlights of Danielson dekeing and dangling to score glorious goals and set up slithery passes to teammates over the course of his final Major Junior season, so we know that his learning curve is pretty shallow…
But it’s going to take Danielson some time to adjust to playing against bigger, stronger men who are putting food on the table by playing pro hockey and hammering kids like him into the boards for a living, and he’s not going to have the kind of time and space he did in Portland. Given his self-confidence and savvy, however, it’s not going to take him that long to find his way onto the scoresheet.
#32 Liam Dower-Nilsson: At 21, Liam dropped down from the SHL’s Frolunda HC to play for IF Bjorkloven of the HockeyAllsvenskan this past season, and it paid off fairly well for the 6’0,” 172-lb center. He posted 12 goals and 15 assists for 27 points with Bjorkloven, and 5 points in 4 playoff games.
LDN is a very good passer and play-maker, but at 21 years of age, he’s really got to work in the weight room to increase his size if he is to turn pro in North America. I really like his fleet-footed skating and the pace of his game, but he’s just a small dude by present-day NHL standards, and he needs more meat on his bones to survive getting bumped around.
#36 Justin Solovey*: The Red Wings brought in the 6’3,” 208-pound forward from Harvard University as a free agent invite. The 19-year-old is embarking upon his freshman season after a 47-points-in-55-games season for the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks, and he’s from New Jersey, but he played two seasons for Muskegon, posting 92 penalty minutes during the regular season (and 39 over the course of only 8 playoff games!). Long story long, you’re looking at a physical player and potential power forward type who simply got passed over in the draft this past year.
He turns 20 in November, and all of his junior stats on EliteProspects indicate that he’s both a strong point-scorer and big penalty-minute-taker. As an NCAA-eligible forward, he can only take part in the summer development camp without losing his college eligibility. He bears watching as he attempts to adjust to college hockey while taking fewer penalties.
#42 Noah Dower-Nilsson: Liam is the passer, and younger brother Noah, 19, is the scorer. The Red Wings’ 73rd pick in the 2023 draft stands at 6’0″ and 185 lbs, but he only played in 5 SHL games last season due to shoulder surgery and a couple of injury setbacks when he tried to return to action. His injury luck was so bad that when he was loaned to Bjorkloven to play with his brother in the Allsvenskan, he got hurt.
At 19, he’s still got some runway ahead of him in terms of his development, and NDN just needs to get back to playing and stay healthy as he attempts to return to form as the kind of player who posted 54 points in 37 games for Frolunda’s J20 team during his draft year. He’s heavier-set than his brother, too, so there’s a greater likelihood that NDN fills out into a bigger, stronger frame.
#44 Charlie Forslund: The Red Wings drafted the 6’3, 212-lb winger who will play for Mora IK of the HockeyAllsvenskan this upcoming season as a raw but intriguing Hakan Andersson pick, 176th overall. The Wings’ European scouts saw him post 18 goals and 18 assists for 36 points in 26 games skating with the Falu IF J18 team, then 16 points in 7 games with the J20 team (and 12 points in 7 playoff games) and figured what the Swedish press has said:
That, at 18, the hulking winger has a ton of potential as late-round steal, and that working out and practicing with a real professional team all of a step below the SHL is going to do wonders for the development of a tremendously raw player. Forslund is all about potential right now, and we’ll see over time whether he is the real deal.
#56 Brennan Ali: 20-year-old Brennan Ali is going into his sophomore season with the University of Notre Dame, and the 6’0,” 199-lb center had a decent freshman campaign, posting 3 goals and 10 assists for 13 points in 36 games.
He’s known as a hard-working, speedy forward, and the Red Wings have a lot of those kinds of players in the organization, so the 212th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft is going to have to stand out to earn a spot within the organization down the line.
#57 Borya Valis*: The Red Wings invited the 6’2,” 185-lb forward from the WHL’s Prince George Cougars to the Summer Development Camp as a 20-year-old free agent. He posted a very solid 70 points over the course of 67 games played with Regina and then Prince George, and then he posted 13 points over the course of 15 playoff games.
At 20, the Denver, Colorado native could still play Major Junior hockey as an “over-ager,” and he’s most likely going to be invited to the Red Wings’ abbreviated prospect tournament and main training camp to see whether he can turn some heads.
#58 Sam Stange: At 23, Stange still has one more year of eligibility as a 5th-year senior at the University of Wisconsin to go, and the 6’1,” 208-lb high school hockey phenom has yet to do anything to assuage my doubts that he can really become a pro hockey player. He only played in 7 games, posting no points, this past season, but he was a healthy scratch a fair amount of the time, so injuries weren’t the only thing that derailed his 2023-2024 campaign.
Stange is a tremendously talented goal-scorer, but he’s never been able to put his skill set together at the NCAA level. At 23, there’s not a lot of runway left for him to develop into a professional hockey player, and he is incredibly, incredibly talented, but incredibly, incredibly inconsistent in the application of his skills.
#59 Brayden Edwards*: The Red Wings invited the 6’1,” 185-lb forward from the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes to the Summer Development Camp as a free agent invite. At 19 years old, going on 20 this December, he’s been passed over in the NHL Draft despite posting 31 goals and 39 assists for 70 points over the course of 66 games this past WHL season.
Without seeing Edwards, there’s not much I can give you in the way of a scouting report: he blossomed in his 3rd WHL season, he’s known for his superb passing skills, and he may very well get a prospect tournament and training camp invite to be more properly assessed when competing for a contract this fall.
#63 Alexandre Doucet: The Red Wings aren’t giving their free-agent signing from the QMJHL anything easy, and the 22-year-old Doucet seems to have embraced a harder road. After a dominant finish to his Major Junior career with the Halifax Mooseheads, the Wings signed him as a 21-year-old a year ago, and the 6’0,” 185-lb forward joined the Grand Rapids Griffins, posting no points in 6 games. Concerned for his confidence and playing time, the Wings sent him to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye, and Doucet played very well, posting 19 goals and 22 assists for 41 points in 52 games played. He also posted 6 playoff points in 14 games, and all the reports I’ve read indicate that he’s a hard-working, plucky fella who works his ass off.
He’s a slightly older prospect, but the Walleye like him, the Red Wings like him, and if he can make the jump to the AHL this year, amidst a crowded forward field, that would be fantastic for his development.
#64 Emmitt Finnie: The Red Wings like the 19-year-old Finnie, a 19-year-old forward who wore an alternate captain’s “A” for the Kamloops Blazers this past season. At 6’1″ and 183 lbs, he’s not overly big, but he blossomed offensively this past season, going from 35 points in 64 draft-year games to posting 19 goals and 40 assists for 59 points over the course of 62 games this past season. He also went scoreless over the course of 3 late-season games with the Grand Rapids Griffins, earning his first professional hockey league action.
The plan for now is to send Finnie back to the WHL for one more season, but as he’s under contract with Detroit already, the speedy, hard-working Finnie is developing into the kind of offensively-gifted, forechecking forward that the Red Wings will find room for in their crowded developmental system. I’ve liked what I saw from Finnie last season, when he was shorter and lighter, so I’m guessing that he’ll be at the prospect tournament taking a regular shift, and that he’ll be taking part in training camp as well.
#65 Charlie Paquette*: A product of the Windsor suburb of Essex, Ontario, the 6’1,” 192-lb right wing didn’t dominate with the OHL’s Guelph Storm, posting 35 points in 68 games, but he impressed the Red Wings enough to earn an invite as a free agent try-out.
All of 18 years of age, EliteProspects describes him as a net-crashing player with an edge, and you can’t have too many of those players, so he’s likely to earn an invite to the two-game prospect tournament this fall, as well as the Wings’ main camp, to be more accurately assessed.
#67 Chase Lefebvre*: A big, lanky center who played for the Peterborough Petes this past season, the 6’2,” 170-lb Lefebvre is 20 years of age, and he did anything but dominate during his last Major Junior season, earning an ugly -46 despite posting 17 goals and 22 assists for 39 points over the course of 68 games played.
He’s very big but very skinny, and hasn’t yet posted strong numbers at the OHL level after a big season (66 points in 46 games) in the Northern Ontario Hockey League, and I get the feeling that he’s probably pretty raw still in terms of his development, both on the ice and in the gym. Sometimes the Wings take a flyer on a big, skinny kid who might add some depth for the prospect tournament, and even though that’s been pared down from 3 games to 2, it never hurts to take a look at a slightly under-performing player who the Wings believe has potential.
#72 Dylan James: Dylan James was the Red Wings’ 40th overall pick in 2022, and people wondered at the time why he was taken so high in the draft. Standing at 6’0″ and 178 lbs, the 20-year-old left wing is going into his junior year at the University of North Dakota, and…
Fast? Check. Grinding? Check. Hard-working? Check. Dominant at the NCAA level?
Not yet. James is playing for a program (the North Dakota Fighting Sioux…I mean Fighting Hawks) that’s notorious for forcing its underclassmen to earn their ice time the hard way–by playing in very limited roles–so he posted 16 points (8 goals and 8 assists) in 36 games as a freshman, and 19 points (9 goals and 10 assists) in 40 games as a sophomore.
That’s not remarkably impressive in NCAA Division 1 hockey, where the guys who become really strong two-way players in the NHL are point-per-game guys.
I’ve seen James play. I like his overall, all-round game. I like his pluck and determination and work ethic.
But I don’t think that he’s put all his disparate tools together in a “toolbox” that affords him easy use of his skill set on a regular basis. He’s got to earn a bigger role at North Dakota and he’s got to prove why the Wings took an early-round pick and used it on someone who currently looks like a late-round-worthy player.
#76 Cy LeClerc*: A free agent invite from the University of New Hampshire, the 21-year-old forward stands at 5’9″ and 175 pounds, which is small, and he’s slowly turning up his offensive output as he proceeds toward his junior year, having posted 20 and then 28 points over the course of 35 and 36 games, respectively. But when you’re small, you’ve got to prove that you’re better than everyone else in terms of your skill set.
He’s going to have to not only absorb every lesson he can take in from the Red Wings’ skill development and skating coaches, but also soak in the professional atmosphere and lessons on sleep, nutrition, media relations, etc. And then he’s going to have to really crank up his point production and prove to someone in professional hockey that the next two years’ worth of games prove that he’s worth a professional contract.
#81 Jakub Rychlovsky: The Red Wings took a flyer on the 5’10,” 181-lb left wing from the Bili Tygri Liberec organization in Czechia–the “White Tigers of Liberec”–because he posted 26 goals and 46 points over the course of 51 Czech Exraliga games, he posted 5 goals and 7 points in 9 playoff games, and then he went to the World Championship and posted 9 points in 10 games.
I’m guessing that the 22-year-old is a product of Jiri Fischer’s player recruitment program and the Wings’ pro scouts working together, hoping that the left-shooting winger can overcome his size deficit while adjusting to North American hockey playing for the Grand Rapids Griffins this upcoming season.
EP Rinkside had this to say about Rychlovsky in their “EP Rinkside 2024 European Free Agent Guide“:
It’s impossible to overstate what a significant step forward Jakub Rychlovský has taken in his development. The 22-year-old Czech winger was barely hanging onto a spot in Bílí Tygři Liberec’s lineup in the 2021-22 season and he’s finished this year as the Czech Extraliga’s leading goal-scorer, the youngest player in league history to accomplish that feat.
Rychlovský can read the play well, take the initiative with his speed, win back loose pucks with second and third efforts, and finish plays as a scorer. He’s an inside-driven scoring threat, never shy of paying a price to find the back of the net, and armed with a shot that’s more than up to the challenge. He’s not the most well-rounded player offensively, and it may take some time for him to get to the NHL in a full-time role, but he’s worth the gamble.
Read: He’s a pure sniper who will probably play at the prospect tournament and in some exhibition games to see whether his ability to score, score and score some more translates to North American ice, and if it doesn’t, the Wings will give him the AHL season to figure out how to play on an 85-foot-wide rink after mastering 100-foot-wide ice.
#82 Gabriel Seger**: Seger, a Grand Rapids Griffins-contracted center, is a unique dude. Already 24 years of age, the 6’4,” 213-lb Swede chose to come over to the U.S. to play for the Amarillo (Texas) Bulls of the North American Hockey League, and he was recruited to Union College, where he played okay. He got big and strong, transferred to Cornell, and he posted 30 points in 30 games (7 goals and 23 assists) as a junior, and 44 points in 35 games (14 goals and 30 assists) as a senior.
So the Red Wings looked at the big Swede and figured that the Upside from Uppsala was worth an AHL deal.
At 24, he’s running out of developmental runway, but if he can translate his NCAA game to the pro level, he’s big, he’s strong, he’s skilled, and he’ll either play in Grand Rapids or Toledo this fall–after taking part in the prospect tournament and training camp.
#83 Maximilian Kilpinen: At 20 years of age, Kilpinen had a ridiculous season for Modo Hockey’s J20 team, posting 21 goals and 27 assists for a total of 48 points in 43 games. He took part in 2 games for Modo’s SHL team, not posting a point, and then he was loaned to Osterlunds IK of the HockeyAllsvenskan, the Swedish second division.
At 6’1″ and 187 lbs, the left winger/center isn’t huge, but Kilpinen is going to be playing against men after absolutely dominating against players of his own age, and the all-round player is going to take those lessons and attempt to replicate his scoring prowess in a league that, I’m told, is not necessarily a “step below” the SHL.
This year will be a good barometer as to where this young man is at skill-wise.
#89 Kevin Bicker: Even though I was away from the blog, I kept an eye on Bicker’s stats (I kept an eye on the stats of most players, honestly, while I was dealing with illness, depression, and then my aunt’s broken hips) throughout the course of the 2023-2024 season. Bicker was playing on the Lowen Frankfurt’s fourth line for the most part in the Penny DEL, and his stats reflected that–he only posted 1 goal and 2 assists in 41 games played–but at the World Juniors, he posted 4 points in 5 games, and everything I have heard and seen of the 6’1,” 176-lb winger is that he’s a tenacious, speedy young man who plays with more maturity than his 19 years of age would indicate.
Bicker is probably going to have to earn his way up the ranks in the DEL with Frankfurt, and that’s going to take a couple of seasons, most likely, but he’s got a good all-round skill set and a bit of an edge to him, as well as a good work ethic, so I’m expecting him to improve as his professional career continues.
#95 Owen Mehlenbacher: The Red Wings drafted Mehlenbacher with the 201st overall pick in 2022. The 20-year-old center played a very limited role for the University of Wisconsin this past season, so the 6’2,” 189-lb forward only posted 1 goal and 3 assists for 4 points in 26 games, sitting out more than a couple of games for a Wisconsin Badgers team that wasn’t very good last year.
The Wings liked him as a long-shot pick who displayed a skilled game, and they’re going to have to hope that Mehlenbacher, whose final USHL season was a point-per-game affair, earns more ice time as the University of Wisconsin resets (we’ll talk a little more about this with Brady Cleveland) during his sophomore season.
#97 Ross Mitton*: At 23, Ross Mitton is no spring chicken, and at 5’10” and 190 lbs, he’s most certainly undersized by NHL standards, but Mitton has done what every “little guy” should do at the NCAA level–he’s blossomed during his junior and senior seasons at Colgate, posting 27 points in 40 games, then 30 points in only 34 games played this past season (11 goals and 19 assists).
Most likely eligible for a fifth year due to the COVID pandemic, the hard-working Mitton is looking for a pro home, however, and as the ECHL is the home of the “small player who can score,” I’m certain that the Toledo Walleye are eying players like Mitton to sign to rookie pro deals. So while it’s a learning camp, not an evaluation camp, evaluation will be taking place.
#98 Dylan Edwards*: Another free agent invite who’s a “small guy,” the 18-year-old Erie Otters forward was passed over in the draft despite splitting his season between the “Junior A” OJHL’s Toronto Patriots, where he posted 35 points in 21 games, and the OHL’s Otters, where he posted 34 points (and 22 goals) over the course of only 38 games–and 6 goals and 9 points in 6 playoff games.
Why? He’s 5’8″ and 162 lbs. And in his first year of draft eligibility, it’s hard to overcome those last two statistics. So Edwards will probably be invited to the prospect tournament and main training camp, where he’ll continue to learn how to “overcome his size,” as they say about “small guys.”
DEFENSEMEN
#15 Blake Smith*: Unlike Ross Mitton and Dylan Edwards, Blake Smith was invited to the Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp as a free agent try-out because he’s a massive man. The 19-year-old Flint Firebirds defenseman stands at a massive 6’5″ and 215 lbs. He’s been passed over in the draft despite oohs and ah’s about his skating skills, and while he’s not offensively inclined–he posted 2 goals and 11 assists for 13 points in 46 games played last season–his skating defines him and defies his size, which is a good thing to hear and see.
With the rebuilding Firebirds in the Wings’ backyard, the Wings likely got their fill of Smith, and giving him a glance before he turns 20 in October (he’s facing his last OHL season as an “over-ager”) won’t hurt anybody, especially if he’s transplanted from the summer development camp’s “don’t hurt anybody” environment to the breakneck pace and break-bodies-if-necessary emphasis of the prospect tournament and training camp.
#22 Shai Buium: Buium turned pro with the Red Wings this past spring, signing his entry-level contract after posting 7 goals and 29 assists for 36 points in 43 games this past season for the two-time NCAA Division 1 champion Denver Pioneers, playing on the same team as his more highly-heralded brother, Zeev, on the “Pios'” blueline.
This Buium isn’t likely to become an offensive dynamo, but the 21-year-old stands at a massive 6’4″ and 210 pounds, and Shai possesses all the tools necessary to develop into an all-round, second-pair defenseman. He skates superbly for a massive defender, he can carry the puck up the ice or issue smart outlet passes, he’s got a boomer of a shot, and he isn’t physical per se, but his wingspan and weight yield a bit of a rugged game.
I’m not quite certain whether Buium has sorted out his professional identity, however, and I think that we’re looking at a player who’s going to benefit from a couple of developmental years in Grand Rapids to sort out his pro game.
#24 Axel Sandin Pellika: I’m most disappointed about not getting down to Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center this week because I didn’t get to see Axel Sandin Pellikka skate.
Still only 19, the 5’11,” 185-lb defenseman is a tremendously-talented skater and puck mover who made the jump to Skelleftea AIK’s SHL team full-time this past season, posting 10 goals and 8 assists for 18 points in 39 games (and 7 points in 14 playoff games). He was a finalist for the European Hockey Clubs’ Young Player of the Year Award, he posted 6 points in 7 games for Sweden at the World Junior Championship, and he’s still eligible for this year’s WJC, though he’s not attending the World Junior Summer Showcase in Plymouth later this month.
Just about everyone who sees ASP play is impressed by his skill set: Sandin Pellikka’s smooth skating belies an equally talented set of hands and big hockey brain, which afford him the ability to dart into the rush and issue smart passes, shots, and lug-the-puck-up-the-ice offensive opportunities. His defense is still a work in progress, but ASP is responsible and eager to learn in that regard.
There is no doubt that Sandin Pellikka is one of the Red Wings’ best prospects, and as a jewel in the Red Wings’ developmental crown, he’s very likely to “make the jump” to North America a season from now, and maybe even compete for an NHL job.
ASP is the real deal. Believe it.
#49 John Whipple: The Red Wings drafted 18-year-old US NTDP defenseman John Whipple 144th overall in this past weekend’s NHL Draft in Las Vegas. The 6’1,” 192-pound defenseman posted 17 points in 61 games with the NTDP’s Under-18 team, and while his offensive stats were underwhelming, his skating and offensive abilities are supposed to be absolutely superb.
Whipple is committed to the University of Minnesota, though he may play a “gap year” with a USHL team this upcoming season. The left-shooting defenseman has a lot of developing to do, but the New Jersey native and graduate of the famous Shattuck St. Mary’s preparatory academy is definitely a bright prospect whose professional hockey journey is just beginning.
#61 Anton Johansson: In a couple of years, 20-year-old Anton Johansson might project to be a Jonathan Ericsson-style, massive shut-down defender. Standing at a massive 6’4″ and 196 pounds, Johansson posted 8 points in 46 games as an SHL sophomore with Leksands IF, he participated in the World Junior Championship, and he played in 16 total international tournament games with the Swedish J20 team.
Johansson is a gigantic right-shooting defenseman who definitely needs to fill out a bit, but he’s a strong skater and heavy player who isn’t necessarily physical, but is physically effective in terms of his checking and separating-the-puck-from-the-player skill set. I got an eyeful of him at last summer’s World Junior Summer Showcase, and I was impressed by his professionalism, enthusiasm for the game and especially his mature play.
Again, he may not turn North American pro for a couple of years yet, but his slow-burn development should pay off in spades for the Red Wings’ third pair.
#62 Brady Cleveland: Brady Cleveland is another gigantic shutdown defenseman at 6’5″ and 209 pounds, but the 19-year-old had a rough start to his NCAA career, playing in only 16 scoreless games for the University of Wisconsin as a freshman. As a result, the gritty Cleveland is transferring to Colorado College, where he hopes to earn a regular spot in the Tigers’ blueline rotation.
Cleveland comes with a reputation from his time at the NTDP as big and mean–he’s not a point-producer, but he had 109 penalty minutes in 55 games during his draft year–and he separates players from pucks with malice aforethought. He’s still a raw prospect, but his physical prowess is intriguing.
#66 Fisher Scott: Scott, who is 19 going on 20 this October, is a second-year-of-draft-eligibility pick by the Red Wings at this past weekend’s NHL draft, 208th overall. He stands at 6’2″ and 179 pounds, but he had a very solid set of seasons with the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints, posting 8 goals and 25 assists for 33 points in 61 games this past season (with a +28).
Scott will join Cleveland at Colorado College this upcoming season, and the native of Aspen, Colorado is a project defender, but he’ll have four NCAA Division 1 years with which to sort out his raw all-round skill set and develop into a pro-ready defender.
#70 Cooper Moore: At 23 years of age, Cooper Moore has had an up-and-down developmental set of years, and after three middling years with the University of North Dakota, the 6’2,” 187-pound defenseman transferred to Quinnipiac this past season, posting 22 points (3 goals and 19 assists) in 39 games during the 2023-2024 campaign.
Thus far, Moore, who I believe is able to turn pro or remain in college for a pandemic-induced “fifth year,” will remain Red Wings property until August 15th after the year he graduates–like the equally-frustrating Sam Stange–and Moore’s got a strong skill set in terms of passing, shooting and skating, but he just hasn’t been able to build a personal “toolbox” with which to utilize his disparate skills.
I’m not certain whether the Wings may ask Moore to turn pro with Toledo, or whether he’ll be better-served by one more year in the NCAA.
#73 David Breazeale*: Breazeale is an incoming senior at the University of Maine, where the 6’4,” 205-pound defender hasn’t posted a whole lot of points, but the Grandville, Michigan native has displayed strong and steady defense. As such, he was invited to the Wings as a free agent try-out.
At 24 years of age, there isn’t much developmental runway left for Breazeale, so turning pro at 25 is not necessarily ideal, but that may be the way things go for the big man who spent a couple of “gap years” with the NAHL’s Shreveport Mudbugs. He’s not a big point producer, but he’s big, and that’s a useful quality to possess.
#75 Kyle Aucoin: Aucoin is another defenseman who’s trying to put things together as the 22-year-old enters his senior year with the Harvard Crimson of the ECAC conference. Standing 6’0″ and 185 lbs, the 22-year-old doesn’t possess his father’s (NHL’er Adrian Aucoin) booming shot, instead blending into the surroundings as a talented all-round defenseman who doesn’t register many points, but acquits himself well on the ice.
It’s really hard for a defenseman like Aucoin to earn a pro contract. It’s not that he’s untalented or something–he’s a smooth skater and he possesses all the shooting and passing skills necessary to generate a strong breakout–but he just doesn’t stand out while getting the job done, and as such, I’m not certain of his professional prospects. Aucoin is going to have a strong senior season in order to change the equation.
#79 Larry Keenan: Big Larry Keenan spent his “gap year” with the BCHL’s Pentiction Vees, where the 6’4,” 194-pound defenseman posted 6 goals and 24 assists for 30 points in 54 games (and 9 playoff points in the Vees’ 22-game playoff run).
Keenan is a smooth-skating defender who’s still a bit raw in terms of his skill set, but he’s headed to the University of Massachusetts this upcoming season, and he’s going to have four years to sort his game out and grow into his skinny body. He doesn’t necessarily stand out, but Keenan earns rave reviews from his coaches for his work ethic and skating skills.
He’s a long shot, but we’ll see what he’s got over the course of the next four years.
#86 Trevor Taulien*: Very large at 6’4″ and 217 pounds, the right-shooting defenseman just completed his freshman season with the Ferris State University Bulldogs of the CCHA. At 21, he’s a bit of an older than most sophomores, but he played in 27 games this past season, posting 8 points (2 goals and 6 assists) and 20 penalty minutes.
Taulien is the kind of “local kid” (despite being from Crystal Lake, Illinois) who the Red Wings’ scouts want to take a look at because he’s big, strong and plays in the Red Wings’ backyard, so he earned a free agent try-out. Taulien will head back to Ferris for his sophomore year after the development camp, and the Wings’ scouts will keep an eye on him.
#87 Jack Phelan: At 20 years of age, Phelan, a 6’2,” 171-pound defenseman, is finishing his second “gap year” with the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede, where he posted a goal and 6 assists for 7 points over the course of 41 games played. He’s headed to the University of Wisconsin, where the 137th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft will attempt to marshal the disparate elements of his overall game together in the kind of “toolbox” necessary to develop into a pro player.
I’ve seen Phelan play as a 19-year-old, and I’m gonna be honest–he didn’t stand out–but I’m hoping that one more season in the USHL will make him that much more prepared for his NCAA developmental career.
#96 Marcus Kearsley*: The Charlottetown Islanders (of the QMJHL) defenseman is only 18 years old, and he posted 49 points in 68 games this past season–good stats for a draft-eligible player–but he stands at only 5’11” and 160 pounds, and in a hockey world where that’s a “very small player,” he got passed over. He was invited to the Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp as a free agent try-out.
He was named to the QMJHL’s All-Rookie Team during his 2022-2023 season, and he’s purported to possess a low skating stride and superb overall skills, but he’s the kind of player who may be invited to the prospect tournament and main training camp to soak up information from the Red Wings’ skill development coaches, and then he’ll head back to Charlottetown, where the Red Wings’ scouts will keep an eye on him and consider whether he’s worth drafting next year at this time.
GOALIES
#30 Sebastian Gatto*: Sometimes it’s good to be a local kid. Gatto, 18, is a native of Troy, Michigan and he played for Detroit Honeybaked and the Muskegon Lumberjacks before graduating to the OJHL, a league just under the OHL, going 17-9-and-2 with a 2.23 goals-against average and .928 save percentage. So he was invited to the Red Wings’ summer development camp as a free agent try-out.
The problem is that the 18-year-old is 6’3″ and only 165 pounds, so he was passed over in the draft.
It’s very hard to take a gander at Gatto’s pro prospects without getting a look at him, but I know his type: the Red Wings often invite local players to the development camp to give them the opportunity to learn from goaltending coach Alex Westlund, goaltending developmental coach Phil Osaer, and the rest of the Wings’ player development staff.
He’s got to be a sponge, soaking up every little lesson that the Red Wings give him, especially when it comes to the weight room and nutrition, as he attempts to graduate to the OHL this upcoming season.
#31 Landon Miller: The Red Wings drafted the 6’5,” 193-pound goaltender with the 126th overall pick in this past weekend’s NHL Draft in Las Vegas. He played in 30 games for the Soo Greyhounds of the OHL this past season, posting a 17-and-6 record with a 2.79 goals-against average and .889 save percentage.
Those numbers aren’t overwhelming, but the Red Wings drafted the 18-year-old anyway, looking toward Miller as a long-term project in goal.
He’s massive, calm in the net, he moves solidly and he’s going to earn the starter’s job in the Soo this upcoming season, so while I can’t say anything definitive without really getting a look at him, I’ve heard great things about Miller’s potential, and he could be a late-round steal for the Red Wings down the line.
#45 Kristoffer Eberly*: Another local try-out, the Pinckney, MI native is 21, and the 6’4,” 208-pound goaltender just completed his freshman season at Ohio State, posting a 3-8-and-1 record, a 2.98 goals-against record, and a .911 save percentage.
Long story long, like Gatto, the big man was brought into the Summer Development Camp to learn, learn, and learn some more from the Red Wings’ goaltending coaches and developmental staff before heading back to Ohio State for his sophomore season. His stats are underwhelming, but the “local kid” was needed to fill out the roster, and as a local kid, I’m certain that he enjoyed his time playing for his hometown team.
#47 Andrew Oke*: I am flerbing lost as to why the 20-year-old Oke hasn’t landed a pro contract yet. The Red Wings have invited the 6’2,” 195-lb Oke to their past two Summer Development Camps as a free agent try-out, and Oke has consistently improved his game via hard work and grinding it out.
Oke just spent this past season with the Saginaw Spirit, playing 41 games and going 29-10-and-1 with a 2.89 goals-against average and an .890 save percentage–okay stats–but in the playoffs, he posted a 5-and-0 record over the course of 6 games played, with a 1.83 goals-against average and .938 save percentage as he helped backstop the Spirit to a Memorial Cup title.
Oke isn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination: sometimes he’s a brick wall, and sometimes he gives up some squeakers, but he’s square to shooters, he’s got a great glove and blocker, his stick is strong and his toes are speedy as he plays really more of a hybrid style than that of a butterfly goaltender.
He scrambles quite a bit, too, which isn’t elegant, but Oke knows how to get the job done, and again, his work ethic is admirable and he’s consistently improved over the course of the past three seasons.
Somebody’s going to sign this project prospect goaltender, and they’re going to get a really good egg.
#60 Trey Augustine: Everything came up Milhouse this past season for the 19-year-old Augustine. The 6’1,” 179-lb native of my town, South Lyon, Michigan, went 23-9-and-2 during his freshman season with the Michigan State University Spartans, earning a Big Ten championship, he played at the World Junior Championship, going 4-and-0 with a 1.75 goals-against average and .920 save percentage, and he even went to the men’s World Championship, getting into one parts of 4 games, going 2-2-and-0 with a 1.89 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage.
Augustine is anything but big by today’s NHL standards, but he’s unbelievably technically sound, and the calm, collected and mature young man possesses tremendous glove and blocker hands, his chest is upright and square, his pads boot out rebounds when necessary and drop to seal the net and issue soft, glove-cover-able pucks when Augustine wants them to.
His rebound control is really immaculate, and while he’s not big at all, he knows how to look around screens and get into position quickly when 6’6″ players are trying to obstruct his view.
Principled, controlled and confident without being cocky, Augustine has at least a couple more seasons at State to go before he turns pro, but he’s just so damn good that the Wings’ future in goal could very well consist of Augustine and Sebastian Cossa pushing each other for starts as 1A and 1B goaltenders down the line.
#68 Rudy Guimond: The Red Wings drafted the 19-year-old Guimond, a 6’3,” 173-pound goaltender, with the 169th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. He spent this last season with the USHL’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, posting a 3.66 goals-against average and an .869 save percentage over the course of 32 games played, splitting them at 13-13-and-3.
Guimond is heading to Yale University this upcoming season, and while he hasn’t put up tremendous USHL numbers, the Red Wings drafted him because he put up tremendous stats for the Yale Junior Bulldogs (a .939 save percentage) and the famous Taft preparatory School (.940 save percentage). So Guimond is something of a project, but he’s going to have four years to get his game together.
As I recall, Guimond has exceptionally fast feet, and his grimy pads (he seems to like well-broken-in goaltending equipment) flip and flop around the crease with aplomb. A real butterfly goaltender in the classical sense of the term, Guimond possesses good glove and blocker hand skills, OK puck-handling and strong positioning. He’s still learning, and at 19, there’s a lot of developmental runway ahead of him.
#80 Albin Boija*: Small by today’s goaltending standards, the 6’1,” 190-pound University of Maine sophomore posted good numbers as a 20-year-old back-up, playing in 20 games and going 10-6-and-1, posting a 2.01 goals-against average and .916 save percentage.
How do the Wings know of him? Well, he’s from Henrik Zetterberg’s hometown of Sundsvall, Sweden, and he grew up playing for Sundsvall, Osterlunds and Vaxjo’s junior developmental programs, posting very good numbers with the Vaxjo Lakers’ J20 team before making the jump to North American college hockey.
A fair number of Swedish players decide to further both their education and further their hockey careers, because they earn up to four more years’ worth of developmental time if they’ve been lost in the Swedish developmental leagues.
As a NCAA free agent, he and his college hockey pals can only spend the Summer Development Camp with an NHL team without losing his college eligibility, so the middling netminder is going to learn as much as he can from the Wings’ goaltending and developmental staff, and then he’s headed back to Maine to try to turn the heads of NHL scouts down the line.
*Free Agent Invite, **Grand Rapids Griffins contract
Thank you for reading this.
We’re also still raising funds–for either the World Junior Summer Showcase in Plymouth, which takes place later this month, or bringing Aunt Annie with me to training camp. It’s going to be up to you as to what I use the funds raised to accomplish, and as it’s going to cost over $4,500 to get up to Traverse City this fall with an 82-year-old in tow…
We are probably going to do fundraising all summer, because we’re not going to get a $2,000 donation a second time. So the next couple of months have to be dedicated to the goal of getting up the road to Traverse City, one way or another.
I hope this is okay with you; the goal is to be able to cover the abbreviated prospect showcase against Dallas and the main camp, to come home, and to have the energy and time to both care for Aunt Annie and to do blog work going forward. Whether that happens or not, I’m not certain…
But I love this sport and I love my readers far too much to simply give up and quit because I’ve had to start and stop so very regularly since even before my mom’s passing in 2019. The last five years have been really hard for TMR: we’ve had to reinvent ourselves again and again. But we’re not stopping.
If you’re willing to help, here are the details: you can use PayPal at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport, you can use Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2, you can use Giftly by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com…
And you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check, or “Zelle” me via my email, rtxg@yahoo.com. I’m also on Cash App under “georgeums.”
As always, thank you for your readership and your time.
