The Detroit Red Wings’ prospect pipeline has plenty going on after the first month of the season, and the common thread is hard to miss: these are players who don’t mind getting their hands dirty.
From Grand Rapids to the OHL to the SHL, several young Wings are already making their presence felt in ways that fit the organization’s direction. Carter Bear, Adam Levac and Eddie Genborg all turned in notable October showings, each in a different league and each in his own style.
Bear has wasted no time standing out with the Grand Rapids Griffins, and the Red Wings’ top pick in the 2025 draft is already looking like a player worth watching closely. Through nine games as of November 4, the 19-year-old forward had three goals and six assists while mostly skating on the left side of the Griffins’ top line.
The numbers are nice, but Bear’s edge has been the bigger story. He hasn’t been piling up flashy moments.
Instead, he’s made an impact by playing a heavy, relentless game for a player his age. He gets into board battles, stirs things up around the crease and works like a player determined to make life miserable for the other team.
There’s a Tyler Bertuzzi feel to it in the way he keeps coming after the puck and keeps battling after the puck is gone. One sequence stood out in particular: with the puck loose in the Griffins’ zone, he kept working even after falling down and managed to help knock it out of danger. It was a small play, but it said plenty about how he’s wired.
Bear already looks like the kind of player who could fit the identity the Red Wings are building, even if that fit doesn’t happen this season. For now, he’s become a major piece of Grand Rapids’ forward group.
Levac, meanwhile, is making noise in the OHL with a very different kind of game. The Red Wings landed him with the 108th pick after trading Amadeus Lombardi to the New Jersey Devils, and the early scouting report on him as a feisty, two-way forward has held up.
He’s also been suspended twice already in his junior career, including eight games last season for slew-footing and four games on October 15 for intent to injure after a dangerous hit from behind. He also dropped the gloves last season, which is not something you see often at that level.
Even with that baggage, Levac has produced. He’s sitting at 11 points in 11 games, and he’s finding ways to bother opponents in just about every direction. That’s not the kind of profile you usually want to celebrate too loudly, especially when suspensions are involved and the dangerous stuff has no place in the game.
Still, it’s easy to understand why Red Wings fans would notice him. The Panthers won back-to-back championships with a roster full of players who live on the edge, and Detroit has spent years getting pushed around. Levac is not close to a Red Wings sweater yet, but his start is worth tracking, especially alongside the heavier tone the organization has embraced this season.
Genborg has kept the momentum rolling in the SHL. The second-round pick from the 2025 draft plays with bite, but he’s not just a physical presence. He can score, too, and that combination is what makes him such an interesting prospect.
Last season was his first as a full-time SHL player, and he handled it well, posting 25 points in 43 games in a league that is notoriously tough for young scorers. He also finished the year with Grand Rapids, where he picked up a goal and three points in 11 regular-season games and appeared in one playoff game.
This season, he has picked up right where he left off. Genborg had eight points in 13 games, putting him on track to top last year’s offensive pace. A lot of his work comes in the dirty areas, especially right in front of the net, where he can bother the goalie’s vision and create rebounds or deflections.
He’s also shown he can be part of a fast attack. Genborg jumps into plays, helps create odd-man rushes and will give the puck up when a teammate has the better look. The physical edge gets most of the attention, but his ability to contribute in transition matters just as much.
One month into the season, the Red Wings’ prospect group looks very much in line with the organization’s recent draft approach. These are players who are hard to play against, and that trait is showing up in different ways across different leagues.
November usually brings a better rhythm for teams and prospects alike as the early-season rust fades and roles settle in. That could mean even more from this group in the weeks ahead, especially with World Juniors roster announcements approaching.
For now, Detroit has plenty to like both at Little Caesars Arena and throughout its system.
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