3 Red Wings’ 2nd Round Targets in 2025 NHL Draft

This season with the United States National U18 Team, he led the team in scoring with 61 points in 60 games. There’s a lot of Nate Danielson in his game: he competes hard, he’s a playmaker at heart, and his two-way ability is a key part of his overall profile. He won’t be a high-end producer at the NHL level unless he develops his abilities as a shooter, but he already has the goods to be a capable penalty killer. He has a lot of “Red Wing traits”, and they can keep a close eye on him since he will play his home games just 45 minutes away over in Ann Arbor.

(RW) Vaclav Nestrasil

From one of the “safer” bets in the second round to one of the bigger “swings”, Václav Nestrašil is big, skilled, and he’s on a good trajectory after improving over the course of the season. In 61 regular season games with the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the United States Hockey League, the 6-foot-5 forward had 19 goals and 42 points, but he was a force for the Lumberjacks during their run to a Clark Cup championship, recording seven goals and 13 points in 14 games.

The team that drafts Nestrašil will likely be doing so with the hope that he will develop into a wrecking ball at the next level – and he just might. He’ll probably be 6-foot-6 when all is said and done, and years of strength training should add plenty of muscle to his frame. There’s a lot of Elmer Söderblom in Nestrasil’s game: he uses his long reach to maintain puck possession, he is fearsome when he’s charging in on the goaltender, and he can make skillful plays with his hands that players his size typically don’t make. He’s a low-floor, high-ceiling option in the second round, and the Red Wings have a habit of swinging for the fences with their second round picks.

Oh and by the way, his brother Andrej was a third round pick of the Red Wings back in 2009.

(RW) Alexander Zharovsky

In sticking with the theme of highlighting players that have similar tools to other Red Wing prospects, Alexander Zharovsky is a potential steal in the second round with a toolkit similar to 2022 second round pick Dmitry Buchelnikov. Zharovsky, who is Russian just like Buchelnikov, is another prospect that steadily improved over the course of the season. By the time the buzzer called game on his final match of the season, Zharovsky was one of the most exciting and confident players in Russia’s top junior league.

Zharovsky isn’t small att 6-foot-1, but he will need to pack on some muscle if he’s going to survive at the next level in Russia, let alone the NHL (he currently weighs in at just over 160 pounds). He is a talented playmaker that loves to set his teammates up. He sees the ice very well, and he’s always looking for an open lane when he has the puck. He has a dangerous shot in-close, but that’s really the only area where he’s a legitimate scoring threat.

Like Buchelnikov back in 2022, Zharovsky is a raw prospect whose potential is his main appeal. Give him a few years to develop and he may very well become the next Russian prospect that everyone is clamoring to see make his way to North America.

With the 44th Pick, the Red Wings Select….

Of the players listed here, Nestrasil excites me the most. Even if he falls short of his ceiling, he still has the physical gifts to be a unique bottom six forward that can chip in a few goals from time to time. If he hits his ceiling, however, he’s going to become a power forward who can score 25-30 goals a season while also being nearly impossible to match up against physically. If the Red Wings stick to their pattern of betting on talent in the second round, Nestrasil is a name to watch. That being said, all three of the players listed here would be worthy picks at 44th overall and a good addition to Detroit’s prospect pool.

Who would you like to see the Red Wings target in the second round? Sound off in the comments section down below!