A couple of days after The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn, Sean Gentille and Shayna Goldman ranked established NHL players into “tiers,” The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler posted a lengthy article in which he ranks NHL prospects according to “prospect tiers,” and here’s an image of where the Red Wings’ prospects stack up:
Continued (paywall); here’s his take on Sandin Pellika:
Sandin Pellikka often played 20-25 minutes with the SHL champions last year, including in the playoffs. His 12 goals and 25 goals in 53 combined regular-season and playoff games last season rank among the all-time best U19 seasons in SHL history, alongside names like Victor Hedman and Rasmus Dahlin. He’ll play in a third world juniors this winter for Sweden after helping them to a silver on home ice last year. He’s a strong and competitive 5-foot-11 with real power-play upside. And yet it feels like he flies a little under the radar. Edvinsson has arrived, but folks in Sweden think Sandin Pellikka will be right behind him, with some believing in him as a potential star and others viewing him more as a second-pairing type.
Wheeler is tremendously talented when it comes to evaluating prospects, but player development is an inexact science, and players can develop into better (or worse) players than anybody can prognosticate, even a prospect guru like Wheeler.
