Another Detroit Red Wings draft pick will be displaying his wares in the Swedish Hockey League next season. MoDo Hockey announced the signing of center/left-winger Maxmilian Kilpinen to a first-team contract for the 2024-25 SHL campaign.
Kilpinen, 20, was made the 129th overall selection of the 2022 NHL entry draft by the Red Wings. Kilpinen remains unsigned.
He spent the majority of the past season with MoDo’s squad in the Swedish junior league. There, he would accumulate 21 goals and 27 assists in 43 games.
His 48-point total was good for second on the team in scoring. It also left Kilpinen in a tie for 17th in league scoring. As well, his 21 goals left him in a deadlock for 20th in the league in goals scored. All of the numbers were career highs for Kilpinen.
The 6-foot-1, 179-pound Kilpinen also would suit up for two games with MoDo in the SHL. As well, he would play three games on loan with Ostersunds IK in hockey Allsvenskan, the Swedish second division. He failed to record a point in any of these five games.
Red Wings Admire Kilpinen’s Hockey Sense
When they were drafting Kilpinen, the Detroit brass spoke highly of the player’s hockey IQ.
“The skating and the hockey sense were the things that attracted us to him,” Red Wings assistant GM and director of amateur scouting Kris Draper said.
Kilpinen’s arrival will give MoDo a pair of Red Wings prospects on the roster, although that might not be the case for long. Right-winger Theodor Niederbach, Detroit’s 51st overall choice in the 2020 NHL entry draft, has spent the past two seasons playing for MoDo.
The Red Wings have until June 1 to make a decision whether to sign Niederbach. Otherwise, they relinquish Niederbach’s rights and he would become a free agent.
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