24-25 Prospects Thread

[buddha]

GR lose 4-3.

cossa serves up 4 goals on 17 shots.

3rd star of the game for cleveland was our old friend madison bowey.  still plugging along.

[slothfacekilla]

I'm kinda shocked Bowey is still in the AHL honestly

[slothfacekilla]

 

 

Not really a prospect but whatever!

 

https://umdbulldogs.com/news/2025/3/11/mens-hockey-max-plante-named-to-2024-25-nchc-all-rookie-team.aspx

[slothfacekilla]

 

Two other Russian prospects have been let out of their KHL contracts to come over to the NHL recently...

[lordstanley]

Ha, Montreal is a hockey marker like no other.  
Demidov, 19, was drafted 5th overall last June, scored 49 pts in 65 games in the KHL, and earlier this week signed his entry level contract with the Habs and is evaded to the NHL.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/montreal/article/jerseys-sold-out-flight-being-tracked-habs-fans-reaching-peak-ivan-demidov-craze-levels/

It’s on.

If you’re a Habs fan and looking to show up to rookie Ivan Demidov’s first game wearing his no. 93, you’ll have to wait. 

The Montreal Canadiens’ official Tricolore Sports store is sold out in all sizes of the jersey after the team announced on Wednesday that Demidov would be the 30th player in NHL history to wear the number, according to Hockey Reference.

If you’re planning on hitting up Monday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks, be ready to pay. 

The lowest priced tickets on Ticketmaster are going for $271.33 in the highest possible seats at the Bell Centre in section 422, row D.

For seats in the lower bowl, prepare to pay close to or over $1,000.

“It’s a beautiful thing,” said Habs fan Matt Busato-Viviani. “Playoff fever; nothing else like it.”

Various fans and beat reporters are on Demidov watch, suggesting the 19-year-old’s flight from Istanbul is headed for Toronto on Thursday, where he’ll join the rest of the Habs before their Saturday night game against the Leafs. 

“[It] takes a special type of weirdo to track Ivan Demidov’s flight to Canada and you think they’d be rare, but nope! They’re out there,” wrote one Ottawa Senators fan on X.

 

[slothfacekilla]

 

 

[lordstanley]

More Demidov mania upon arrival at Pearson Airport in Toronto. His girlfriend must think they're nuts, lol.  Ok, at least one of us has to do this for Buchelnikov.

https://www.tvasports.ca/2025/04/10/des-partisans-du-ch-a-toronto-pour-accueillir-ivan-demidov

Edited Friday at 06:26 PM by lordstanley

[buddha]

4 hours ago, slothfacekilla said:

 

 

can someone show that to rasmussen and soderblom?

[lordstanley]

 

[buddha]

emmitt finnie and amadeus lombardi continue to play very well.

[buddha]

notes from sean shapiro on hisvisit to GR.  the gane wasnt very good for GR.  they lost 4-1.

Nate Danielson, Grand Rapids Griffins, C — It was a quiet game for Danielson, he had a neutral zone turnover I didn’t like, but there are lots of the foundations in place to be an NHL contributor. I’m still not sold on him being a reliable point producer at the NHL level, and I might be wrong, but he has a game I’d like to see deployed with better players — not AHL veterans like Tim Gettinger or Joe Snively.

Amadeus Lombardi, Grand Rapids Griffins, C — Lombardi grew with the game and there are some really exciting elements to his game. The puck protection and skills are pretty notable, and I like how his hands can match his feet. These are not observations, but rather noting something I’ve seen all year with Lombardi. I spoke to someone from with in the Red Wings recently, who noted that Lombardi probably would have played NHL games this season if had been better dialed in defensively. And, honestly, with Detroit out of the playoffs I wouldn’t mind seeing him play for the Red Wings later this week. 

Anton Johansson, Grand Rapids Griffins, D — My first in-person viewing of Johansson and he can be a pretty smooth operator with the puck on his stick. There are a couple plays where he skated himself out of trouble, delayed, and created space for others. There was some messiness in his game defensively, which might be part of the North American transition learning curve. 

Emmitt Finnie, Grand Rapids Griffins, LW — Finnie played on the wing in this game and he setup the Griffins only goal, a play down the wing on the rush where he teed up Gabriel Seger for a goal. Finnie kind of grew with the game, which seems reflective of his career arc. Finnie is fascinating to me because I’m not sure whether he’s actually improving or he’s simply getting older and matching up to his age. Again, I don’t know, but I’m curios to watch it. 

Shai Buium, Grand Rapids Griffins, D — Buium is nothing like his brother. While Zeev Buium dominates the puck and the attention of the game, you have to focus on Shai Buium to understand while he’ll have a decent pro career. So that’s why I did some isolated viewing of Buium in the third period, focusing only on him during his shifts, to watch some of the small details and calm demeanor in a chaotic game. He’s a third-pairing defender in the making, not a shutdown guy, but he’s exactly what I’d want long-term on my defensive depth as someone you can roll out in all situations if needed. 

Sebastian Cossa, Grand Rapids Griffins, G — It was a frustrating viewing for me on Cossa because all the raw tools are obvious, he made a tremendous pad save on a 2-on-1 by Texas, but some of the decision making continues to be baffling. His misplay on a Texas dump-in eventual led to the first goal on extended zone time by Texas. I guess my thing with Cossa is this — if he’s such a great athlete, and he is, he needs to be better about using those tools. If he can channel the raw parts of his game, he can be a bona fide No. 1 in the NHL. If he can’t, he’s probably nothing more than an NHL backup/quad-A goalie. Amongst Red Wings prospects, Cossa, to me, has one of the highest boom/bust pendulums and I have no idea which way it’ll end. 

 

[buddha]

shapshotshockey.com

it's an outsider's perspective and a little different from all of us homers like me (except for stanley) who keep lauding all the wings' prospects as future hall of famers or even future first rounders.

most of those guys will be third line or third pair nhlers.

you have to hope one or two of them hit.  but if they were going to set the world on fire, guya like buium, wallinder, and johannson would be here already.  if danielson is going to be a "hit" he'll show it next year (like raymond, seider, and edvinsson did).  

lombardi is a little different because he's small and has been hurt.  i think he's a real wild card for next year if they dont trade him first.

[gehringer_2]

8 hours ago, buddha said:

if he’s such a great athlete, and he is, he needs to be better about using those tools.

This does seem to be the consensus.

[buddha]

the general consensus on GR seems to be people are disappointed in danielson's lack of dynamism on offense, cossa hasnt made the leap and might even be regressing a bit, lombardi is the real deal but might be too small, johannson is surprisingly good, buium is getting better but will never be his brother but might be a decent depth defenseman, and nary a word on wallinder.

and everyone is waiting for asp and mbn.

[slothfacekilla]

 

 

 

 

[lordstanley]

Believe it or not, I’ve defended Yzerman a lot up here. Has gotten harder the past couple of years. Canadian media and fans flipped on Yzerman after he signed Holl, Chiarot and Petry, which made so many familiar with them from Toronto and Montreal scratch their head. Canadians aren’t used to hockey execs moving at a relaxed pace and fans being mostly chill about it like Wings fans, instead of signing a Messier like the Canucks or Tavares like the Leafs or in Montreal’s case anyone with a French name. Not that making attention-grabbing signings or trades has worked out for them, as a Canadian team hasn’t won a Cup since ‘93, but it’s a different mentality. So the attached article from Sportsnet today, “Have Rebuilding Wings Already Hit Their Peak” is another sober outside perspective. I’m not familiar with writer John Beneteau but Sportsnet is the hockey establishment. Some soundbites:

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/have-rebuilding-red-wings-already-hit-their-peak/

- At the root of Detroit's issues is that the team has struggled to develop prospects, which is a key factor in any rebuild that's committed to the draft. Detroit has made 50 draft picks in the past six years and only one picked outside of the first-round played a role on this year's team. 

- Detroit lacks true elite, superstar power, which often is only something you can address at the draft and a pay off from sinking into a rebuild. But the Wings didn't have such luck. 

- the production the team got from Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat and Raymond paled in comparison to other core groups from contending teams. Raymond leads the Red Wings with 75 points this season, which ranks 28th league-wide. DeBrincat’s 67 points are 48th, while Larkin’s 66 is 54th.

- J.T. Compher (10 goals, 31 points in 73 games), Andrew Copp (10 goals, 23 points in 56 games) and Vladimir Tarasenko (10 goals, 31 points in 77 games) all disappointed this season. Each of these players are over 30 years old, have contracts for next season, and hold some form of no-trade clause. If Yzerman did want to move on from any of them, it won't be such an easy thing to accomplish.

- the blue line is anchored down by veterans Ben Chiarot, Erik Gustafsson, Justin Holl and Jeff Petry. Of that group, only Petry is on an expiring contract so, like with the collection of signed veteran forwards, Yzerman will be challenged to change over his group, let alone upgrade it.

- crowded crease of netminders that saw Cam Talbot, Alex Lyon, Ville Husso and puzzling trade deadline acquisition Petr Mrazek all make starts. Only Talbot (.905) finished with a save percentage above .900 and he (turning 38 in July) and Mrazek (33) are both under contract and figure to share the crease again next season.

- the fact is the Red Wings are now securely caught in the middle, the worst place any team wants to be. There's no clear path forward, optimism is waning, management's options are slimmer than you'd like, and other teams in the rebuild phase are passing them by.

 

 

 

Edited 19 hours ago by lordstanley

[Cruzer1]

When Danielson was drafted   he was known as a good defensive center.  He could fill a key role for the Wings if he can be a defensive match up/penalty killer. 

[Mr.TaterSalad]

I don't know what type of player Danielson will end up being in the long run. I don't know what type of player Zach Benson will end up being in the long run. I do know that I wanted Benson at the time in the draft. Through two seasons of play Benson has logged 144 NHL games played with 21 goals and 58 points total in those games. It's nothing that lights the world on fire by any means but he is up contributing on the big league roster. We'll see if Danielson works out out to be the better choice or not. 

[1984Echoes]

53 minutes ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

... I don't know what type of player Zach Benson will end up being in the long run. I do know that I wanted Benson at the time in the draft. Through two seasons of play Benson has logged 144 NHL games played with ... 58 points ...

Zach Benson is 5' 10" 170 #'s.

 

We have two dozen Zach Benson's in our system. Some will make it. A lot of them won't. One or two may turn into high-level star (Lucas Raymond, 5' 11" 186 #'s).

A lot will be meh (Berggren 5' 11" 195 #'s).

Just like Zach Benson... meh.

We don't need any more Zach Benson's in the system.

We need Kaspers and Danielsons and MBN's and in this year's draft, the one guy I want more than anyone else is not the top-rated prospect, but 6'3" 210 #'s (as an 18 year old) power forward described as Tkachuk-like... (but never guarantees with draftees...): Porter Martone.

I've had enough of the Zach Benson's of the world. Save them for the 3rd round or later...

I want a few Tkachuck's, MBN's, or Martone's in this organization.

Just my 2 cents.

[buddha]

14 hours ago, lordstanley said:

Believe it or not, I’ve defended Yzerman a lot up here. Has gotten harder the past couple of years. Canadian media and fans flipped on Yzerman after he signed Holl, Chiarot and Petry, which made so many familiar with them from Toronto and Montreal scratch their head. Canadians aren’t used to hockey execs moving at a relaxed pace and fans being mostly chill about it like Wings fans, instead of signing a Messier like the Canucks or Tavares like the Leafs or in Montreal’s case anyone with a French name. Not that making attention-grabbing signings or trades has worked out for them, as a Canadian team hasn’t won a Cup since ‘93, but it’s a different mentality. So the attached article from Sportsnet today, “Have Rebuilding Wings Already Hit Their Peak” is another sober outside perspective. I’m not familiar with writer John Beneteau but Sportsnet is the hockey establishment. Some soundbites:

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/have-rebuilding-red-wings-already-hit-their-peak/

- At the root of Detroit's issues is that the team has struggled to develop prospects, which is a key factor in any rebuild that's committed to the draft. Detroit has made 50 draft picks in the past six years and only one picked outside of the first-round played a role on this year's team. 

- Detroit lacks true elite, superstar power, which often is only something you can address at the draft and a pay off from sinking into a rebuild. But the Wings didn't have such luck. 

- the production the team got from Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat and Raymond paled in comparison to other core groups from contending teams. Raymond leads the Red Wings with 75 points this season, which ranks 28th league-wide. DeBrincat’s 67 points are 48th, while Larkin’s 66 is 54th.

- J.T. Compher (10 goals, 31 points in 73 games), Andrew Copp (10 goals, 23 points in 56 games) and Vladimir Tarasenko (10 goals, 31 points in 77 games) all disappointed this season. Each of these players are over 30 years old, have contracts for next season, and hold some form of no-trade clause. If Yzerman did want to move on from any of them, it won't be such an easy thing to accomplish.

- the blue line is anchored down by veterans Ben Chiarot, Erik Gustafsson, Justin Holl and Jeff Petry. Of that group, only Petry is on an expiring contract so, like with the collection of signed veteran forwards, Yzerman will be challenged to change over his group, let alone upgrade it.

- crowded crease of netminders that saw Cam Talbot, Alex Lyon, Ville Husso and puzzling trade deadline acquisition Petr Mrazek all make starts. Only Talbot (.905) finished with a save percentage above .900 and he (turning 38 in July) and Mrazek (33) are both under contract and figure to share the crease again next season.

- the fact is the Red Wings are now securely caught in the middle, the worst place any team wants to be. There's no clear path forward, optimism is waning, management's options are slimmer than you'd like, and other teams in the rebuild phase are passing them by.

 

 

 

if it doesnt work out, we'll look back and cite a couple of turning points.  

he really refused to "bottom out completely" by not trading larkin.  and instead of making signings of guys he could move for picks, he signed copp, compher, and chairot in an attempt to bring in veterans to make the team better.  he didnt want "to be buffalo", a team with a terrible culture but always a nice prospect list.

instead they achieved what you always warned against: the mushy middle.  not bad enough to get a star and not good enough to make the playoffs.

larkin and raymond are good players.  but for the wings to win they need to be great players.  and theyre not.  

but when people will look back, it will be copp, compher, and chairot.  why sign those guys?  to get the 8th seed?  whoo hoo.

[buddha]

i read something the other day about how their european picks have mostly worked out but their north american picks have not.  they rely on their super swedish scout andersson but their north american team gives them next to nothing.  and their guys develop in sweden when coached by other team's management but in the US they stagnate.

not universally true, but something to think about.

as to zach benson, no thanks.  we'll see but he hasnt been particularly impressive in buffalo.  i want to see danielson in detroit first.

of course with stevie holland in charge, that may not be until 2030.

[lordstanley]

52 minutes ago, buddha said:

if it doesnt work out, we'll look back and cite a couple of turning points.  

he really refused to "bottom out completely" by not trading larkin.  and instead of making signings of guys he could move for picks, he signed copp, compher, and chairot in an attempt to bring in veterans to make the team better.  he didnt want "to be buffalo", a team with a terrible culture but always a nice prospect list.

instead they achieved what you always warned against: the mushy middle.  not bad enough to get a star and not good enough to make the playoffs.

larkin and raymond are good players.  but for the wings to win they need to be great players.  and theyre not.  

but when people will look back, it will be copp, compher, and chairot.  why sign those guys?  to get the 8th seed?  whoo hoo.

A wake up call for me was when he had to get rid of Gostisbehere and Walman due to cap reasons. Before then, I figured that the meh signings of Compher and Holl and the like weren’t really tying their hands and were just placeholders until there were better options available. Add two 40-pt defensemen to this year’s team and they likely would have finished ahead of Montreal and Columbus. But I’ve already beaten that dead horse.

So looking forward, what was sobering about the Sportsnet article, even though I already knew it, was how stark the math is about making the team better for next year. 

Unlikely to be better in goal. Committed to Talbot and Mrazek.  Only room for improvement next season is Cossa but even if he does get a shot (far from certain) will he play many games (maybe 15-20 at most?) and will he already much better than the vets? I haven’t give up on him as a medium term to long term potential solution (although I don’t expect him to be Vasilevsky if that’s what Yzerman was trying to replicate), but won’t be a difference maker next year for playoffs or not. 

On defense, we like Seider and Edvinsson and Johansson but don’t like three we are stuck with for another year: Gustafsson, Holl, Chiarot. So barring being able to dump one of them, room to add maybe one player to have any chance of being better on defense next year?

Up front, we like Raymond, Larkin, DeBrincat and Kasper. But don’t like three we are stuck with for next season in Tarasenko, Compher and Copp. If we re-sign Kane, fine, but that’s not an upgrade or  change for next season.  That doesn’t leave a lot of spots. Where’s the improvement next season except from Kasper continuing to get better?

Maybe a full season of McLellan instead of Lalonde for a third of it could be worth a few points? 

I’d be more optimistic for next season if Yzerman had a smart signing planned or a shake-up trade planned, but he doesn’t have a track record in Detroit of doing so. 
 

Still looks, for now, like a 90 pt team +/- 5 points next season. 

[Shinzaki]

Cossa has been trending down since the deadline when they went out and got Mrazek...maybe he's bummed at being blocked for a year.

 

[buddha]

2 hours ago, Shinzaki said:

Cossa has been trending down since the deadline when they went out and got Mrazek...maybe he's bummed at being blocked for a year.

 

if that's true they need to trade him now while he still has some value.  

[buddha]

2 hours ago, lordstanley said:

A wake up call for me was when he had to get rid of Gostisbehere and Walman due to cap reasons. Before then, I figured that the meh signings of Compher and Holl and the like weren’t really tying their hands and were just placeholders until there were better options available. Add two 40-pt defensemen to this year’s team and they likely would have finished ahead of Montreal and Columbus. But I’ve already beaten that dead horse.

So looking forward, what was sobering about the Sportsnet article, even though I already knew it, was how stark the math is about making the team better for next year. 

Unlikely to be better in goal. Committed to Talbot and Mrazek.  Only room for improvement next season is Cossa but even if he does get a shot (far from certain) will he play many games (maybe 15-20 at most?) and will he already much better than the vets? I haven’t give up on him as a medium term to long term potential solution (although I don’t expect him to be Vasilevsky if that’s what Yzerman was trying to replicate), but won’t be a difference maker next year for playoffs or not. 

On defense, we like Seider and Edvinsson and Johansson but don’t like three we are stuck with for another year: Gustafsson, Holl, Chiarot. So barring being able to dump one of them, room to add maybe one player to have any chance of being better on defense next year?

Up front, we like Raymond, Larkin, DeBrincat and Kasper. But don’t like three we are stuck with for next season in Tarasenko, Compher and Copp. If we re-sign Kane, fine, but that’s not an upgrade or  change for next season.  That doesn’t leave a lot of spots. Where’s the improvement next season except from Kasper continuing to get better?

Maybe a full season of McLellan instead of Lalonde for a third of it could be worth a few points? 

I’d be more optimistic for next season if Yzerman had a smart signing planned or a shake-up trade planned, but he doesn’t have a track record in Detroit of doing so. 
 

Still looks, for now, like a 90 pt team +/- 5 points next season. 

i've always thought next year was the year to make a big move to strengthen the team, and then use your prospect group as cheap labor as you pay big money for a marner or ehlers or another top offensive player.

but the fact that they are stuck with holl, tarasenko and gustaffson for another year tells me other wise.

as you said, getting rid of ghost and walman because you didnt have money for seider/raymond extensions BECAUSE you signed the likes of holl and then tarasenko and gustaffson was the first time i really thought....do they have a plan?

and i still get why they dealt walman and i still think he's a problem and weak on a good team...but you attached a pick when you could have used waivers and then you signed gustaffson and tarasenko...

up until this year he made a lot of nice moves: walman trade, ghost signing, mantha trade (sort of), bertuzzi deal, debrincat trade, perron signing, kane signing, and i understood copp (and i actually think he's been as advertised as a good defensive player and leader and its no coincidence they declined after his injury) and chairot (big physical defenseman who is overmatched on top pair but is an ok second pair and a really good third pair).

compher?  5 years?  holl?  three years?  a washed up gustaffson and tarasenko?  this last offseason was so brutal it killed any momentum they had.

to finish this rambling post, they need more hits from the prospects and they need them now.  if not, theyre buffalo.