5 Takeaways From the Red Wings Prospect Game

Nate Danielson has the right traits to hang in the NHL: It’s pretty obvious for me watching this game that Danielson is ready to log NHL minutes this season. Admittedly, I’ve been pretty low on Danielson, and this game showcased some of his pretty consistent lack of goal-scoring, but the rest of the game was there. The skating continued to look really solid from Danielson, and he was able to use his size and speed to get himself downhill a lot. The hands were also among his better traits in the game, as he could consistently get himself out of danger pretty quickly with some nice moves. There’s no doubt Danielson can hang around NHL-level games; the question is if he can be a real contributor or a J.T. Compher-type.

Trey Augustine continues to impress: While three goals allowed against a pretty measly Dallas group isn’t ideal, they were all pretty nice finishes. Plus, Augustine’s fantastic shootout certainly capped the night off well for him. He’s the Red Wings’ best prospect pretty comfortably, and he remains unfazed and steady to this point in his career, no reason that shouldn’t carry over to Grand Rapids.

Carter Bear needs some refinement, but NHL games are more likely than not this season: After recording 10-shots and being all over the play, Bear was certainly one of the highlights of this prospect group. Sure, ideally on that volume you’d want to see him break through for at least one, but it’s still the offseason and finer details are yet to come back into his repertoire. There’s an outside chance he makes this current roster, but it’s far from impossible. Like Danielson, the rest of his game remains solid. There were some great back-checking efforts from Bear that coaches love.

The Red Wings have far too many duplicates in the system: It was certainly the motto of the Yzerman era to draft high-ceiling, low-floor guys with a responsible two-way game, and it certainly showed tonight. The Red Wings had plenty of prospects in this game that felt very same-y to the group that’s already getting run in Grand Rapids. While that sounds like bad news, there are certainly some guys in this prospect pool that could have some pretty noticeable trade value while their replacements wouldn’t be too far behind in terms of talent. I think there is a coherent argument to be made that you could pick five prospects that you believe will be NHL difference makers and sell the rest and still get a great return. The surplus of steady prospects will be the difference in landing some higher-end talent that the current roster needs in a pretty big way.

Detroit could still use some prospects on defense: As good as Anton Johansson has been and continues to look, after him the Red Wings’ options for defense prospects are pretty brutal. Shai Buium and William Willander will get looks out of necessity, not because they’ve earned it. While taking the player with the highest upside is what fans have wanted in the draft for the past two seasons, it might be time to start focusing on getting some solid defensemen. Though, Jacob Truscott continues to impress me and I do believe that NHL games may be there in a distant future.

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