Updated 2x at 12:37 AM, Sunday morning: Pronman, Bultman, Ellis, Wheeler, the vast majority of the NHL’s “draft gurus” have weighed in on the Red Wings’ 2025 NHL Draft class over the course of this evening. Now, EliteProspects’ Mitch Brown, David St-Louis and Daniel Gee wrap up the “draft guru grade” portion of our programming with a comprehensive set of assessments of the Wings’ picks:
Detroit Red Wings: B-
Picks: Carter Bear (13), Eddie Genborg (44), Michal Pradel (75), Brent Solomon (109), Michal Svrcek (119), Nikita Tyurin (140), Will Murphy (172), Grayden Robertson-Palmer (204)
We didn’t love Detroit’s day two, but it might not matter: Carter Bear is just that good. Our No. 8 prospect is draft’s fierciest competitor, a top-end playmaker, skilled net-front finisher, elite defensive forward, and a non-stop menace. He can slide into any role, but we anticipate he’ll be a top-six, playoff-performing winger.
Genborg was a heavily debated player in our ranks, before we ultimately all settled into seeing him as a bottom-six forward. He’s a north-south, fast-moving winger who drives hard and occasionally breaks some ankles. They also added some lower-probability checking upside and puck-moving with guys like Svrcek and Tyurin.
Michal Pradel, a tall, smooth goalie who performed well in the USHL’s second half, could also reach the NHL, development-dependent.
Continued (paywall); to be fair, the gents’ grades are particularly harsh. Lots of C’s and D’s.
And, as you and I both know, the Red Wings’ amateur scouting staff always sticks doggedly to their player list on the second day, more popular picks be damned. The team takes its own tack, and that may turn off the experts, but the Wings seem to have done okay drafting since Kris Draper took over the amateur scouting reins.
Update: Bleacher Report’s Adam Herman is a little more liberal in grading the Wings’ top two picks as a B:
Detroit Red Wings
Grade: B+
Analysis:
The Red Wings have pulled from the same bucket in round one over the years; they love hyper-competitive, 200-foot players with enough skill to push for a career as a top-six forward. Winger Carter Bear is the latter iteration.
He won’t overly stun you with creativity, but he has good enough hand-eye coordination and vision that gets multiplied by his sheer determination. At 6’0″, he has a nose for the net. He’s also equally diligent in defensive marking. Bear is a menace in puck battles and refuses to concede space. His skating is average, and I’m not sure he is creative enough to reliably drive play, so there is a chance that the Red Wings may have to settle for an X-factor third-line type, but he just as well could become a top-line winger.
Eddie Genborg, taken at 44th overall, relies on his physical game. A winger, He is tenacious as a forechecker and I’ve seen him hold possession in 1v2 battles along the walls in the offensive zone and still win possession while the rest of his team changes lines.
He’s a decent shooter and I like his ability to fight for stick position around the crease, but I don’t love his general offensive upside and sometimes he tries to execute high-difficulty plays that he isn’t skilled enough to pull off. He has a chance to make it as a bottom-six checker.
Update #2: FloHockey.tv’s Chris Peters also weighed in:
Detroit Red Wings
First-Round Pick: Carter Bear
Grade: B+
I’ve been wanting to see the Red Wings add a little bit more of a dynamic element to their forward group and I think they did that with Carter Bear. He’s a 40-goal scorer, but he also has a strong compete level that allows him to get under opponents’ skin. He fits right in with the kind of team Detroit has been building through the draft. I also like Detroit’s second-round, Eddie Genborg who has some power-forward elements to his game and got into 28 SHL games this season as a U18. Michal Pradel was one of the goalies in my Top 100 as he has NHL size and a game that is trending up. I’ll look forward to seeing what he can do with a full season in North America.
