With opening night on the horizon, the Red Wings are staring at a season that could end up shaping the franchise’s next decade. Detroit’s roster is still young, still uneven, and still carrying a handful of players whose NHL mileage is barely there. Nate Danielson, a 2023 first-rounder, and Carter Mazur, a 2020 third-round pick, may not fit the clean label of rookies, but between them they’ve logged less than half a season in the league.
Even with Steve Yzerman no longer in an active role with the organization, his draft footprint is all over this team. Injuries have slowed some of his prospects.
Trades have pushed others out of Detroit. Still, as the 2026 season begins, one thing stands out: under Yzerman, the Red Wings have drafted a player who has appeared in NHL games in every round except the fifth.
And if Anton Johansson, a 2022 fourth-round pick, gets into the opener, Detroit will have had at least one player from every draft round on an opening night roster at some point.
The first-round work alone tells a loud story. Among Yzerman’s Red Wings first-round picks, only JP Hurlbert, the 2026 23rd overall pick, and Carter Bear, the 2025 13th overall pick, have not yet played in the NHL. The rest are already making their mark.
Moritz Seider, Simon Edvinsson and Lucas Raymond have become stars in Detroit and rank among the best at their positions in the league. Marco Kasper and Danielson are positioned to be the backbone of the team’s middle six in the years ahead. Axel Sandin-Pellikka, the 2023 17th overall pick, appeared in 68 games last season and is still fighting for a spot in a crowded veteran blue line.
Johansson and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, the 2024 15th overall pick, are both expected to be important pieces this season.
The depth of the draft record goes well beyond the top of the board, too. Emmitt Finnie, a 2023 seventh-round pick, looks like a top-six option for Detroit after spending nearly a full season on the top line wing last year. Outside the organization, later picks such as Amadeus Lombardi and Elmer Soderblom also look like NHL regulars and contributors, even if they won’t be doing it in the winged wheel.
So the old argument that Yzerman couldn’t draft, or couldn’t uncover meaningful players in the later rounds, doesn’t really hold up. The real issue was never the drafting.
It was the veteran free-agent support around those prospects, the kind that was supposed to help them grow rather than crowd them out. And that part, the article notes, he won’t be doing now.
In Other News...
Dylan Larkin Trade Talk Now Hinges On One Massive Detroit Decision
Dylan Larkins trade request has turned every Detroit conversation into a search for leverage, because the Red Wings captain is not just asking out, he also holds the kind of control that narrows the field fast. The Panthers have emerged as a logical landing spot on paper, helped by Larkins familiarity with some of their players and management from past international play, and the fit is easy to understand for a club trying to stay competitive while dealing with injuries.
The harder question is what Florida would need to give up to make a deal realistic under the salary cap. Any pursuit would likely force the Panthers to move real roster money out the door, and that is where the conversation gets complicated for a contender already juggling short-term needs and long-term flexibility. For Detroit, that means the next step in the Larkin saga may hinge less on sentiment than on whether one massive decision in Florida ever gets made. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Just Made Their Simon Edvinsson Stance Pretty Clear
Detroits offseason picture has already shifted around Alex DeBrincats long-term extension, but the next priority on the agenda is harder to miss for a team trying to steady itself in more than one area. Interim general manager Shawn Horcoff has made it clear the Red Wings view restricted free agent Simon Edvinsson as part of the solution, not a movable piece, and that matters for a club still searching for more stability on both sides of the puck.
Edvinsson has been seen internally as a valuable defenseman who could help a group that has struggled to find consistency. The organization is still working toward getting the 23-year-old back into game action, which adds a little more urgency to the situation and makes Detroits posture around him even more telling as the roster takes shape for the next stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Got An Encouraging Line Breakthrough But A Bigger Problem Remains
Emmitt Finnies move to center gave the Red Wings something they have been looking for, at least for a night. Playing between Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Alex DeBrincat, Finnie helped spark a line that produced four goals in Detroits 5-4 overtime loss to the Devils, and the group looked dangerous enough to hint at a more balanced look for Todd McLellans club. Anton Johansson also picked up his first NHL point on Finnies goal, a small but meaningful moment in a game where the Wings found offense from an unexpected source.
Still, the bigger issue did not go away. Jack Hughes ended it for New Jersey in overtime, and Detroit was left with another reminder that one productive line is not enough when the rest of the lineup is uneven. McLellan has been pushing for more consistent play and more contributions across the roster, and the Red Wings will need exactly that if this breakthrough is going to mean more than a near miss. [Read more 🡒]