Red Wings Prospect Report: 2016-17

As GM Evans and the rest of Red Wings nation are forced to watch another post-season from the outside looking in, their thoughts turn toward the future of the club. This was a transition year for the Wings, as the debut of franchise player Connor McDavid was delayed due to Connor missing substantial time due to injury in the '15-16 season. A number of young Red Wings had impressive seasons, and a few are set to debut with the team next season in '17-18. Two significant prospects were traded during this past season: Mikko Rantanen, and Kirill Kaprizov, after strong seasons. With that out of the way, let's take a look at how some notable Red Wings prospects fared this past season!

Skaters:
1) Connor McDavid (Graduating): Connor built off an impressive, but injury shortened rookie season to become one of the youngest players in NHL history to capture the Art Ross trophy (and probably the Hart trophy as well, stay tuned). Connor was able to lead the once sad-sack Oilers back to relevance and got his first taste of playoff hockey. McDavid can't be praised enough; he is a truly special player that continues to meet and exceed everyone's sky-high expectations. Wings fans are shuddering in anticipation for his MRFHL debut. Welcome to Hockeytown kid!

2) Mitch Marner (Graduating): Marner's rookie season may have been overshadowed by a certain slightly larger, American teammate but in pretty much any other season he would be a shoe-in to get at least a top 2 finish in Calder voting. Marner proved a lot of skeptics wrong throughout the entire season by keeping a stellar pace throughout the long season and finishing with 61 points in 77 regular season games, and chipping in 4 more in 6 playoff games. He impressed at the World Championships as well with 12 points in 10 games for silver medalist team Canada. All in all Mitch was able to show his game can translate from junior to the NHL better than many expected, and has already proven himself to be a dependable top 6 forward. The sky is the limit for Mitch, and Wings fans hope to see him continue to follow a career trajectory similar to fellow London Knight alumnus, Patty Kane.

3) Jimmy Vesey (Graduating): After being the most sought-after college UFA in a number of years, Vesey delivered a solid, if unspectacular rookie season. He had some ups, but a lot of scoring droughts as well, finishing with 27 points in 80 games and 5 more in 12 playoff games. Jimmy still has plenty of upside left and his role with the Rangers is bound to increase going forward, but he was old for a rookie and didn't exactly light the league on fire. Wings fans expect to see Jimmy make his debut next season in a depth role, and hope he works his way up the depth chart from there. 

4) Adam Mascherin (OHL): One year after being drafted in the 2nd round, Mascherin managed to finish 3rd in OHL scoring, behind Erie Otters teammates DeBrincat and Raddysh, with an impressive 100 points in 65 games. Adam isn't a large play but he undoubtedly has skill, and that seems to be what the Florida Panthers value most. It's not hard to imagine Mascherin leading the OHL in scoring next season and he will hopefully be on team Canada at World Juniors. He still has a ways to go to make it in the NHL but early returns are promising.

5) Daniel O'Regan (AHL): After a 4 year college career spent racking up points with Boston University, O'Regan was able to seamlessly transition to the AHL with 58 points in 63 games, and even managed to score his first career NHL goal in 3 NHL games. Daniel is another smaller player but has continued to put up points at every level he has played at. He should challenge for an NHL roster spot next year with the Sharks and will hopefully continue his journey up the depth chart.

6) Michael DalColle (AHL): Michael turns 21 this June, but so far has not quite lived up to his high draft status. However, all is not lost. This season he managed 41 points in 75 AHL games in his pro debut. MDC is really at an important stage in his development, and this coming season will tell Wings nation a lot about his future with the club. If he continues to develop, MDC has enough size and skill to project as a scoring winger at the NHL level.

7) Denis Guryanov (AHL): Denis turns 20 this June, and has already made his AHL debut. One of the concerns with Denis when he was drafted was: "when will he come to North America?" and those concerns seem to have been unfounded. Guryanov managed 27 points in 57 games as one of the youngest players in the league, and had 7 points in 7 games at World Juniors. Guryanov seems like a good bet to reach the NHL within the next year or two, and should continue to hone his game in the AHL until then.

8) Joseph Anderson (NCAA): One year after being drafted in the 3rd round, Anderson managed to put up an impressive 37 points in 39 games as a freshman, and managed 2 points for team USA at World Juniors. Anderson is elligible to return to World Juniors next season and seems set for a high-scoring college career. An impressive start to his young career.

9) Rasmus Asplund (SHL): Asplund was drafted high in the 2nd round just last season, and was aquired by the Red Wings via trade during this past season. Asplund upped his scoring during his 3rd complete SHL season and put up 7 points at World Juniors. He is elligible to return to World Juniors next season and is likely to return for a 4th and hopefully final SHL season. Asplund may be a few years away from the NHL but he looks promising.

10) Mikhail Vorobyov (KHL): Mikhail was a 4th round pick two years ago by the Flyers in the NHL draft. In the MRFHL draft he managed to slip and was one of three 5th round picks by GM Evans (the others being Timashov and Kaprizov, both have since been traded). Vorobyov had a quality year in the KHL for a young player with 11 points. At World Juniors he managed 10 assists and was a big part of team Russia. The big centre has comitted to playing in the AHL this coming season, and turns 21 in January. 

11) Kasper Bjorkvist (NCAA): Kasper was a 2nd round pick last season, and was a rare Finn comitted to playing NCAA. His freshman year didnt exactly go as planned, as he only managed only 9 points. He played in his second straight World Juniors, and was an assistant captain, but only managed 2 points. There's plenty of time to turn things around, but not a great draft-plus-1 year. 

12) Mike Reilly (AHL): Reilly managed to play in 17 NHL games this past season but didn't record a single assist and only scored once. In the AHL he fared a bit better with 30 points in 57 games. Reilly is looking to establish himself as a real NHL player but so far hasn't been able to stick. He turns 24 in July, but still has some time to prove he belongs in the show.

13) Erik Cernak (OHL): Cernak, a 2nd rounder in '15, has been a big part of a juggernaut Erie Otters team this past season. Erik is a big, old school defenseman that won't ever put up big numbers but seems to be good shutdown player. He was the main piece traded from LA to aquire Ben Bishop at the deadline and safely projects as a bottom pair NHL dman or perhaps a number 4.

14) Matthew Grzelcyk (AHL): Now 23 years old, Matt is running out of time to prove himself as an NHL defenseman. He made his brief debut this year with Boston but had no points in 2 games. The small dman put up 32 points in 70 AHL games, but will need to produce more to be a serious option in the NHL given his short stature.

15) Linus Nassen (SHL): A 3rd round pick last year, Nassen bounced around Sweden a bit. He is still a long term project and it's unclear what his future outlook is for next season. He hopes to stick in the SHL full time this year and continue developing.

Goalies:
1) Linus Soderstrom (SHL): Soderstrom was absolutely dominant this year and recorded an astonishing 0.943 save percent in 22 regular season games, and 0.922 in 16 playoff games. He doesn't turn 21 until August but Soderstrom has already gone a long way towards establishing himself as a top goalie prospect. This kid seems to be the real deal, and the path is clear for him to one day take over the crease in NYI, just needs some more reps and an opportunity.


2) Carter Hart (WHL): Just one year after being drafted in the 2nd round, Hart was easily the best goalie in the entire CHL this season. Hart doesn't celebrate his 19th birthday until August but has already represented his country at World Juniors, albeit with mixed results. Hart should be the clear favorite to be the goalie for team Canada again at World Juniors, and will look to continue his success at the WHL level. Goalie prospects are always tough to project, but you don't see many 18 year old goalies like this kid

Special Shout-Out: Ryan Pulock (AHL): Ryan Pulock has graduated as a prospect technically, but he spent the year destroying the AHL. The hard-shooting defenseman is still 22 years old and this season he managed to put up 46 points in 55  AHL games, but only got into a single NHL game. Ryan seems ready for full-time duty, he just needs an extended look to see what he can do. At the very least he seems capable of being an asset to a teams powerplay at the NHL level, and at most he can still be a 2nd pair dman.