The Hockey News’s Tony Ferrari examines the Red Wings’ prospect pool this afternoon:
Strengths
The Wings have always valued finding players with higher floors, even if that means their upside is limited at times.
Missing the playoffs for 10 seasons has left them with an impressive group of prospects in terms of depth.
Detroit has multiple players at every position who should be at least challenging for NHL jobs in the near future. They have built a deep prospect pool from center to goaltender and everything in between.
Weaknesses
Despite having all of that depth, the Red Wings lack true difference-making star power.
Hurlbert has some potential if he hits his ceiling, but picking him this year was the first time Detroit leaned into skill over a safe floor in the first round in quite some time.
Bear and Brandsegg-Nygard could be top-of-the-lineup skaters if they are complementary players on that line, but are they true stars? And Sandin Pellikka is a skilled puck-mover, but he’s likely to be just short of being an elite defenseman in the NHL.
Hidden Gem: Michal Svrcek, RW
Although he struggled in the pro game last season, Svrcek was still quite an impressive scorer at the junior level in Sweden.
This season, Svrcek will be across the river from the Wings, playing for the OHL‘s Windsor Spitfires. He’ll play North American hockey for a very strong OHL team while staying close enough to the Wings for any support.
Svrcek is a highly intelligent forward who plays the game with gusto. Despite his size, he’s a worker who is all over the ice. He should be a treat to watch in junior.
