Updated 2x at 4:21 PM: From the Detroit Red Wings:
RED WINGS SIGN CARTER BEAR TO THREE-YEAR, ENTRY-LEVEL CONTRACT
… Forward Was Selected 13th Overall by Detroit at 2025 NHL Entry Draft …
DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today signed forward Carter Bear to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Bear, 18, was selected by the Red Wings in the first round (13th overall) of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, held at L.A. Live’s Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles on June 27-28. The 6-foot, 179-pound forward also participated at Detroit’s Development Camp from June 30-July 3 at the BELFOR Training Center inside Little Caesars Arena. Bear played the 2024-25 season with the Western Hockey League’s Everett Silvertips and ranked among the team leaders with 40 goals (1st), 42 assists (4th), 82 points (1st), a plus-33 rating (7th), 77 penalty minutes (2nd), 14 power play goals (1st), 27 power play points (T1st), two shorthanded goals (T2nd), nine game-winning goals (1st) and 185 shots (4th) in 56 games. He also earned a place on the WHL’s Western Conference Second All-Star Team. Bear spent the entire 2023-24 campaign with the Silvertips, recording 57 points (25-32-57), a plus-23 rating and 26 penalty minutes in 67 regular-season games, in addition to four assists in nine postseason contests. In total, Bear has compiled 141 points (66-75-141), a plus-53 rating and 103 penalty minutes in 142 WHL games with the Silvertips since 2022-23.
A native of Winnipeg, Man., Bear played the majority of the 2022-23 season with the Winnipeg Thrashers in the Manitoba U18 Hockey League, capturing Most Valuable Player honors and a spot on the league’s First All-Star Team after recording 59 points (32-27-59) and 24 penalty minutes in 31 regular-season games, along with two points (1-1-2) in three postseason matchups. Bear also spent the 2021-22 season with the Thrashers’ under-18 squad, notching 42 points (25-17-42) and 34 penalty minutes in 39 regular-season games, in addition to two points (1-1-2) in three playoff games. Bear skated with Team Manitoba at the 2021-22 WHL Cup, finishing with one assist in five appearances.
UPDATE: The #RedWings have signed Carter Bear to a three-year, entry-level contract. pic.twitter.com/K1RQtWkXIB
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 16, 2025
Update: A few quotes of note from Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff…
The Red Wings are making it a habit to get their top draftee signed the month after selecting him. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard (2024) put pen to paper on his ELC last July 11. Nate Danielson (2023) signed on July 12, 2023. And Marco Kasper (2022) agreed to terms on his first pact with Detroit on July 13, 2022.
By signing Bear, it means the cousin of NHL defenseman Ethan Bear won’t be able to play NCAA hockey. Even with last year’s CHL/NCAA rule change, players under NHL contract are still forbidden from playing college hockey.
Also, from the Hockey News’s Jake Tye:
We spoke to WHL insider for The Hockey News, Dawson Petryshen, who watched Bear live just before his injury. “He may not have hit the scoresheet that night, but he was impactful—two shots, some smart setups, always in the right place,” said Petryshen. “He’s a hard-working forward who makes the players around him better.”
Detroit continues to prioritize playmaking and two-way intelligence, and Petryshen believes Bear fits that mold. “He may not be a top-line scorer, but he’s got the ceiling of a middle-six contributor—think 40 points a year with solid penalty-kill time,” he said, adding that a pairing with a veteran like Andrew Copp or preseason reps alongside Lucas Raymond could elevate Bear’s game.
The ultimate hope is that Bear grows into a Copp-type presence with the upside to produce 50–60 points annually. Tough, smart, and built for the grind, Bear brings a blue-collar mentality tailor-made for the Motor City. Even with the setback of injury, his hockey sense, motor, and physicality position him well to become a regular in Detroit’s future lineup.
Update #2: From WHL.ca’s Cory Bukauskas:
Everett Silvertips forward Carter Bear has put pen to paper on a three-year, entry-level contract with the Detroit Red Wings, Executive Vice President & General Manager Steve Yzerman announced Wednesday.
The high-scoring winger was recently drafted with the 13th overall pick in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft.
“He’s an elite netfront guy when we’ve used him around there,” Silvertips Head Coach Steve Hamilton said of Bear’s game prior to the draft. “I think the best way to describe it is that he knows where to go to score and how to get that done. He’s not afraid to go to the net, not afraid to win battles.
He understands there are very, very, very few, if any, one-dimensional players left in the NHL. Everybody checks, everybody puts pressure on the puck, does the right things, the little things, because it’s just become a requirement. So he knows if he wants to be a pro, those are things he has to do.”
Bear, a 6-foot, 177-pound winger, set new career highs with 40 goals and 42 assists for 82 points in 56 regular-season games in 2024-25.
He led the Tips in goals and points despite missing 12 games in the regular season, helping Everett clinch the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy with a 48-12-4-4 record.
