Red Wings prospects making major noise after eye-opening 2024-25 seasons

The Detroit Red Wings have been on the outside looking in for a while now. There has been questionable decisions, especially with general manager Steve Yzerman and the rest of the front office being in the spotlight in the beginning of this long summer.

But, not all is lost as the future has some bright spots. There are two prospects that made their “debuts” this season, and they looked great in the red and white. They both opened some eyes in 2024-25, and as the calendar flips to next season, they will be crucial members in 2025-26

Marco Kasper

The best-kept secret in the Eastern Conference is Marco Kasper. The 21-year-old rookie showed great promise in his first full season in the National Hockey League. In 77 games, he scored 19 goals and added 18 assists for 37 points. Included in that statline are three occasions of scoring two goals in a game, which all resulted in three-point games with an assist to boot.

Not a bad start to a hopefully prosperous career.

Kasper saw a good amount of time on the ice per game, with an average of 15:27. Getting a healthy amount of ice-time, as well as centering a line with two superstars like Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat, show nothing but good things coming to him in his future. The organization believes that he can be something special, and he has already shown it right out of the gate.

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Simon Edvinsson

On defense, Simon Edvinsson shone brightly in his “debut” season. This is going to be used loosely, as Edvinsson played in 25 games through the 2022-23 and 2023-24 season before having a full year this season. In 78 games, he scored seven goals and helped out with 24 assists for 31 points.

Edvinsson saw time on the first defensive pairing alongside Moritz Seider. He did so well in his first full season that he finished as the highest plus-minus on the team with a plus-12. That is a great sign.

Both Kasper and Edvinsson were given big-time roles in their first full season with the franchise, and you should expect that to continue for the duration of the Red Wings’ careers. They opened eyes in 2024-25, and it should have a lasting impact on the start of next season and beyond.

Red Wings get no draft lottery luck again, dropping a spot

The Detroit Red Wings weren’t good enough to make the playoffs, but too good to get favorable odds in the NHL draft lottery.

They emerged from Monday’s lottery with the 13th pick in this year’s draft, moving down one spot based on their standing.

The Red Wings had only a 5.1 percent chance of winning the lottery, which would have landed them the No. 2 pick, since a team can advance a maximum of 10 spots. They had an 8.9 percent chance of winding up 13th.

Yzerman expects Red Wings to be comparable to last season after changes - mlive.com

The New York Islanders won the lottery, despite having only a 3.5 percent chance. They moved up from 10th to No. 1.

The Utah Hockey Club won the second draw and moved up 10 spots from 14th to No. 4. That’s what pushed the Red Wings down a spot.

Left-shooting two-way defenseman Eric Schaefer of Erie (OHL) is projected by many to be the top pick this year. Saginaw Spirt center Michael Misa might go second. Other top prospects include centers Anton Frondell (Djurgardens, Sweden) James Hagens (Boston College) and Caleb Desnoyers (Moncton, QMJHL).

Players who might be available to the Red Wings at No. 13 include defensemen Radim Mrtka (6-6, 198, Seattle, WHL), Jackson Smith (6-3, 195, Tri-City, WHL) and Logan Hensler (6-2, 196, Wisconsin), centers Brady Martin (6-9, 178, Sault Ste. Marie, OHL) and Jake O’Brien (6-2, 170, Brantford, OHL) and center/winger Carter Bear (6-0, 176, Everett, WHL).