Welcome to the 2025-26 NHL season debut of Detroit Red Wings’ two truths and a lie.

Truth: Yzerman’s draft doubters should be quieter this year

Rookies Emmitt Finnie, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, and Axel Sandin-Pellikka made the opening night roster for Detroit. Nate Danielson was pushing for a spot before being moved to IR. As is, the Red Wings will have nine players drafted by Steve Yzerman on ice for them on opening night.

Three of them were drafted within the last three years. And if one stretches the year out a bit, that number would include a fourth in Marco Kasper. He made his full-time debut in Detroit last year.

Yzerman’s picks have proven themselves as capable NHLers up and down the lineup, with players like Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider emerging as stars. Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson are manning Detroit’s second blue line pairing and have plenty of room to grow in their second full years in the NHL. This year, the pressure will be on for players like Sandin-Pellikka. He lit up the Swedish Hockey League last year with 29 points as a record-breaking under-20 defenceman.

“I expect him to be a player on our team. I expect every guy who suits up for us is important,” Dylan Larkin said during a media scrum on Oct. 6.

Only time will tell exactly what that impact will be for the young blueliner. He and fellow rookies Brandsegg-Nygard and Finnie will have the majority of eyes on them this season as a hungry fanbase hopes for more than their team has been able to give them in past years. However, it should be taken as a good sign that Yzerman didn’t look for help outside the organization, given their development.

Lie: This is the year the Red Wings make the Playoffs

This one is more of a prediction, but it’s one I’d be more than happy to be proven wrong on. However, it’s hard to see the Red Wings making it through their Murderer’s Row of division opponents. To put it into perspective, of the eight teams in the Eastern Conference playoffs last year, five of them are in the Atlantic with the Red Wings. And the Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup.  At the moment, the Red Wings are banking on the play of two rookie forwards and one rookie defenseman to be their true needle movers.

.@DetroitRedWings new mask for John Gibson for the upcoming season #shellshock #hockeytown pic.twitter.com/KLiiuv0Zsz

— Shell Shock Designs (@ShellShockCo) September 20, 2025

John Gibson’s save percentage of .910 is impressive until you see that he only played in 29 games last year, and the goaltender whose roster spot he ostensibly took had 30 games for a .896 save percentage. Gibson should win a few more games for Detroit in net. Hopefully, he stays healthy enough to split the load a little more evenly with Cam Talbot. But there are a lot of “ifs” in this season. At the moment, there’s a lot more hope than evidence that the Red Wings will be truly showing improvement this season.

Truth: The Red Wings Will be Coming in Waves

There are a couple of meanings to this, but first and foremost, what it means is that the Red Wings under Todd McLellan are playing like a different team than they were even in the second half of last season. Players have been far more aggressive in their checking up and down the lineup this year. If there’s one thing Coach McLellan has preached, it’s playing with energy and, as he put it, “snarl.”

Detroit’s penalty kill performed well in the preseason, and it started with a shorthanded goal from Mason Appleton. Now, preseason is preseason. But, the 2025 Red Wings look to be a team that is going to be playing a more physical game than they were last year.

Confirmed: Nate Danielson still has that dog in him#lgrw #gogrg pic.twitter.com/0u22r2FCo2

— Elaine Shircliff (@imaraindancer) September 14, 2025

Finally, don’t expect the trio of rookies on the opening night roster to be the only prospects suiting up for Detroit this season. Danielson is still on the roster through IR technicalities and could play for them upon his return. Otherwise, for one reason or another, fans might expect to see players like Carter Mazur, Sebastian Cossa, Amadeus Lombardi, and potentially William Wallinder or Shai Buium wearing a winged wheel for a game or two.