The 2023 draft class for the Detroit Red Wings is starting to make noise, but the best may still be yet to come. 

Recently, I wrote an article outlining the success that Emmitt Finnie and Axel Sandin-Pellikka have had through their first 30 games as Red Wings. Finnie, to this point in the season, has posted six goals and eight assists while playing alongside Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond on the team’s first line. Sandin-Pellikka has recorded three goals and eight assists, playing top-four minutes and has seen time on both power play units. 

Nate Danielson is from that same 2023 draft class, selected the highest out of three at ninth overall, joined Finnie and Sandin-Pellikka for his National Hockey League debut on Nov. 9, in a 5-1 loss against the Chicago Blackhawks. Danielson has totalled two goals and five assists through his first 17 games, working his way up to the second power play unit. 

With all three of these players making their debuts this season, the 2023 draft class is proving to be a success in Detroit, but one name is looming large to be a cornerstone for this franchise. 

The timeline for Trey Augustine’s arrival 

Goaltender Trey Augustine, selected in the second round with the 41st overall selection out of Michigan State University, has a chance to be the gem of the group. The Michigan native is currently in his third and final season at State and has posted a 10-4-0 record with a 1.71 goals-against average and 0.937 save percentage for number three-ranked Michigan State. 

The goaltender has seen his numbers improve in each season as a Spartan, with his goals-against average being 2.96, then 2.08 and save percentages coming in at 0.915 and 0.924. With the way this season is tracking, Augustine is in line for his best season to date. 

While Augustine is not an option for this season or maybe even next, the recent call-up of former American World Junior teammate Jacob Fowler to Montreal gives Red Wings fans something to think about. 

Fowler was selected in the same draft as Augustine, in the third round, 69th overall. Fowler also played net at an American University, suiting up for two seasons at Boston College. In the goaltender’s first season, he posted a 32-6-1 record with a 2.14 goals-against average and 0.926 save percentage, then bested those numbers the following year by going 27-7-2, with a 1.63 goals-against average and 0.940 save percentage. 

Upon completion of that second season at Boston College, Fowler turned pro, joining the Laval Rocket for three games at the end of the 2024-25 season. It only took 15 games this season for Fowler to receive the call to the Canadiens, after posting a 10-5-0 record with a 2.09 goals-against average and 0.919 save percentage. 

Fowler’s strong numbers, paired with a struggling duo in Samuel Montembeault and Jakub Dobeš, resulted in the call for Fowler to make his National Hockey League debut. In Fowler’s first start against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the goaltender turned aside 36 of 38 shots faced, earning the victory in start number one. 

Using the progress of Fowler, who Augustine has posted similar numbers when comparing their University statistics, this puts Augustine on track to join Detroit’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, upon completion of Michigan State’s season. 

A full season in Grand Rapids for the 2026-27 season seems most likely for Augustine, with John Gibson and Sebastian Cossa manning the net in Detroit next season, as Cam Talbot is a pending unrestricted free agent. That would be Gibson’s last season under contract with the Red Wings, opening the door for a Cossa, Augustine duo in Detroit for the 2027-28 season. 

The 2023 draft class has already started to shine in Hockeytown, but if Augustine continues along this development path, the riches from this class will only get greater.