Detroit Red Wings prospect Brady Cleveland’s search for a good collegiate fit for his stay-at-home defense abilities has now taken him to Minnesota-Duluth.
The 6-foot-5 blueliner is now with his third college team in three years. He played 17 games with Wisconsin in 2023-24 and then transferred to Colorado College where he played 37 games last season. Now, the Red Wings second rounder (47th, 2023) will be playing on a Bulldogs team with fellow Red Wings prospect Max Plante (47th, 2024).
The Red Wings drafted Brady Cleveland because they liked his physical prowess, particularly his competitiveness and mean streak. He wasn’t timid about using his 220-pound frame. The Wisconsin native, a former player in the U.S. National Team Development Program, isn’t an offensive threat. He has generated only one goal and three points in his first 54 collegiate games.
Cleveland is still only 20, but is not listed among Detroit’s top 10 prospects, even though he was selected six picks after much-heralded MSU goalie Trey Augustine.
Historically, the second round doesn’t yield an overflowing amount of NHL talent. For example, a look at the second round in the 2018, 2019 and 2020 NHL drafts shows that the majority of players don’t end up becoming NHL regulars. In the five years since the 2020 draft happened, only 11 players have appeared in 20 or more NHL games. The 2019 second round yielded 11 NHL regulars (11-of-31 picks, 35.4%) thus far. That includes Albert Johannson who just launched his NHL career in 2024-25. The 2018 NHL second round has sent us 12 NHL regulars (12-of-30, 40%). The list of regulars includes Detroit’s Jonatan Berggren whose roster presence isn’t guaranteed.