Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis offers an article ranking his top 75 NHL-affiliated skater prospects this morning, and here’s where the Red Wings’ top prospects landed (with a caveat here in that Axel Sandin Pellikka is considered a graduate due to his NHL experience last season):
43. Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, RW, 20 (Detroit Red Wings)
2025-26 Rank: 61st (+12)
The strong, two-way forward is easily one of the best players to come out of Norway in recent memory, so it was nice to see him have a strong performance at the World Championship. Brandsegg-Nygård helped Norway win bronze, building on an excellent first year with the Griffins in the AHL. He proved he could dominate shifts with his two-way game and his excellent release, and his off-puck game is already so established for a player his age. The 6-foot-1, 207-pound winger is as competitive as they come, and he showed that during his 14-game run with the big club this past year. Brandsegg-Nygård will definitely be in the running to crack the Red Wings’ bottom six this year. But if he misses out, he’ll be one of Grand Rapids’ top players yet again.
44. Carter Bear, LW, 19 (Detroit Red Wings)
2025-26 Rank: 43rd (-1)
Bear is coming off a productive three years with the Silvertips – and he probably would have had 90 points had he played the full 2025-26 season. I love his competitive nature, great shot and his net-front presence. He was one of Everett’s top players when the games started to really matter this past year, showing that he craves big minutes. I still wish we had seen more of him with Canada’s World Junior team – he had the skill and hockey sense the team really needed. Bear is set for his first year of pro hockey, and I fully expect him to spend some time with Detroit – maybe even out of training camp. Consider me a big fan.
61. J.P. Hurlbert, LW, 18 (Detroit Red Wings)
2025-26 Rank: New
No CHL rookie was as lethal as Hurlbert, who recorded 42 goals and 97 points with Kamloops. He’s an exceptionally skilled forward who, at one point, was so far ahead in the WHL scoring race that nobody was in the same area code. The University of Michigan commit has a great one-touch shot that he routinely unleashes on the power play. He’s also an exceptionally smart puck mover who has very little difficulty getting it where it needs to be against players his own age. My two pre-season concerns – his play away from the puck and his lack of high-end speed – remain issues. But with the puck, he’s scary.
64. Max Plante, C, 20 (Detroit Red Wings)
2025-26 Rank: Unranked
When Plante was drafted two years ago, he was easily one of the best playmakers around. No matter whom he played with, it felt like Plante could find them on a dime with little difficulty. Two years later, he is not only still a stout playmaker but also a legitimate goal-scoring threat. With 25 goals and 52 points in 40 games, Plante took home a boatload of awards in college, including the Hobey Baker as the top player in NCAA men’s hockey. The 2025 World Junior gold medalist is a high-end thinker who is always looking to retrieve pucks and win battles no matter what. It was a shame he was injured at the World Juniors, because USA could have used him at 100 percent. Notably, the Red Wings drafted his brother, Victor, at 47th overall this past June. Now, they’ll get the chance to play together at UMD.
Continued; Ellis’ views seem to reflect the wider belief that the Red Wings’ prospects are medium-ceiling players. That’s not great, but it’s not terrible, either.
