Sports Illustrated continues its list-themed set of articles as they break in their Red Wings blog, with Nathan Smith discussing his top 10 Red Wings prospects today:
4. Carter Bear – Left Wing
Between 2017 and 2023, the Red Wings had seven straight drafts of top-10 players, and with Raymond, Seider, Edvinsson, and Kasper drafted during that time, that may have served them well for their future. However, they need to add talent outside of that top-10 area, and in 2025 they’re hoping they landed an elite-level talent at No. 13 in Carter Bear, who has been dominating the WHL for years now.
Across the past two seasons, Bear has combined for 76 goals and 159 points in 109 regular-season games with the Everett Silvertips, and in 2025/26, he helped lead them all the way to the WHL Championship and an appearance at the Memorial Cup.
While he’s not as highly thought of as other forwards drafted in the past few years, the Red Wings won’t mind Bear flying under the radar, and with so much offensive upside, the hope is that he can be a true difference maker as he makes the jump in competition.
1. Trey Augustine – Goaltender
In his final college season, Augustine was lights out across 34 games, tallying a 2.11 GAA and a .929 save percentage, and while he had just two games in the AHL to end out the year, those will serve him well as he potentially takes over in the starting role ahead of the 2026/27 season.
At 21 years old, Augustine has time on his side given how long it usually takes goaltenders to mature in the NHL, and if the team can be patient with him, he could take over right when they become a team ready to contend.
Only time will tell if Augustine’s tools work at the next level, but given that he’s 6-foot-1 with tremendous reactions and skill in the net, there’s no reason why he can’t be the next great Red Wings netminder in the NHL.
Continued; I’m harping on the “list article” theme, but this one is pretty good.
