recently signed an entry-level deal<\/a>. <\/p>\nGoaltending prospect<\/p>\n
Wheeler’s rank<\/p>\n
Sebastian Cossa<\/p>\n
Tier 1 (1)<\/p>\n
Trey Augustine<\/p>\n
Tier 1 (2)<\/p>\n
Michal Pradel<\/p>\n
Tier 3 (13)<\/p>\n
Rudy Guimond<\/p>\n
Tier 3 (14)<\/p>\n
The number three spot, however, is occupied by Axel Sandin-Pellikka. <\/p>\n
While he spent the majority of this season with the Red Wings, his recent move to Grand Rapids makes him eligible for Wheeler’s list. “He projects as a high-end offensive defenseman and a defensively capable one at five-on-five. When he\u2019s on, he can control the game in all three zones and really drive shot creation.” <\/p>\n
![\"Axel](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/01knhq06mbjegy8t8d86.jpg\" "\\"Axel")
<\/p>\n
Mar 6, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Red Wings defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka (44) and Florida Panthers left wing A.J. Greer (10) battle for the puck in the first period at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
Wheeler’s only concern for Sandin-Pellikka relies on his height. It isn’t often that a 5’11” defenseman of his play style can make his way to the NHL. Having said that, he still believes ASP is capable of making that leap. <\/p>\n
Defensive prospect<\/p>\n
Wheeler’s rank<\/p>\n
Axel Sandin-Pellikka<\/p>\n
Tier 1 (3)<\/p>\n
Anton Johansson<\/p>\n
Tier 3 (11)<\/p>\n
Shai Buium<\/p>\n
Tier 3 (12)<\/p>\n
Red Wings’ forward group praised for variety<\/p>\n
On the forward front, Wheeler speaks highly of the different types of forwards in Detroit’s pool. Carter Bear, ranked fourth on the list, is projected to be either the best player on the third line or a consistent force on the top line. His versatility as a player makes him a match made in heaven for the Red Wings, who need a plug-and-play guy like Bear. <\/p>\n
Forward prospect <\/p>\n
Wheeler’s rank<\/p>\n
Carter Bear<\/p>\n
Tier 1 (4)<\/p>\n
Nate Danielson<\/p>\n
Tier 1 (5)<\/p>\n
Michael Brandsegg-Nygard<\/p>\n
Tier 1 (6)<\/p>\n
Emmitt Finnie<\/p>\n
Tier 1 (7)<\/p>\n
Max Plante<\/p>\n
Tier 2 (8)<\/p>\n
Eddie Genborg<\/p>\n
Tier 2 (9)<\/p>\n
Amadeus Lombardi<\/p>\n
Tier 2 (10)<\/p>\n
Jesse Kiiskinen<\/p>\n
Tier 3 (15)<\/p>\n
Other forwards like Michael Brandsegg-Nygard project as middle-six players with scoring and physicality. Emmitt Finnie is seen as an all-you-can-do player capable of moving around the lineup. Max Plante, a Hobey Baker finalist, has a chance to become an NHL regular, but his height may hinder him at the NHL level. If Eddie Genborg can work on his speed a little, he’ll become a force of nature for the roster as well.<\/p>\n
A notable omission from this list, however, is Noah Dower-Nilsson. The Red Wings just signed Dower-Nilsson to an entry-level contract<\/a> this last week. He earned an honorable mention, but was seen more by Wheeler as an AHL-tier prospect than a forward with NHL potential.<\/p>\nAll in all, while things look a little bleak now, the future is bright in Hockeytown. The Red Wings will need to rely on one (or all) of these players to build the contending team they deserve.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While the present Detroit Red Wings can oftentimes be frustrating, the future, as they say, is quite bright.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":543966,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5101],"tags":[599,93,5137,5,4,3358,5138],"class_list":{"0":"post-543965","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-detroit-red-wings","8":"tag-detroit","9":"tag-detroit-red-wings","10":"tag-detroitredwings","11":"tag-hockey","12":"tag-nhl","13":"tag-red-wings","14":"tag-redwings"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=543965"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543965\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/543966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=543965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=543965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=543965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}