DobberProspects’ Ben Gehrels discusses the Red Wings’ top prospects this morning, offering assessments of the Red Wings’ likely NHL graduates, their turning-pro players, a rising prospect and a falling prospect as he offers a “top 20” prospects list:
Graduating Players: Minors to NHL
Jonatan Berggren, LW/RW
Berggren, 24, definitively proved his NHL readiness last season in the minors, leading Grand Rapids (AHL) in points with 56—a total nearly 20 points higher than his nearest teammate. He also led the team in shots (2.9 per game), which suggests he will provide help in that category unlike many smaller playmaking winger types. He also racked up a healthy number of penalty minutes, surprisingly tying for second on the team in PIMs, so he is clearly not afraid to mix things up.
With Berggren’s 19 PPP representing 20% of the team’s total production with the man advantage last year, the Griffins’ power play will need to find a new engine next year. Berggren is going to be sticking with the Red Wings full time in 2024-25. Even if he kicks off the year playing down the lineup, do not be surprised to see the skilled Swede ascend into the top six before the end of the year. Dobber has his upside at 82 points in the Guide, higher than many top prospects. Point-per-game upside with a very short timeline.
Simon Edvinsson, LHD
Although he spent most of the year with the Griffins, Edvinsson played the final 14 games of the year with Detroit on the bottom pair with Jeff Petry. While on paper it may seem like he did not progress much in his second AHL campaign, he posted slight increases all across the board— points, shots, PPP, and plus/minus—suggesting he had a greater overall impact on the game and is figuring out how to drive play at the pro level.
His NHL audition in 2023-24 showed that Edvinsson has a real shot at being a prized asset in multi-cat formats. He put up over 1.5 hits and blocks per game and broke even in terms of driving play (49% expected even-strength goal share), demonstrating that he is ready for a larger role on this team. Like Berggren, his time is now.
Continued; good stuff here.
