How the Detroit Red Wings Prospects Performed

I’ll keep it simple: not everyone cares enough to watch a prospect tournament. It’s a true fan’s watch party, and it’s only a two-day event. So if you missed it, humour me for a bit, and I’ll try to tell you how everyone performed relative to expectations.

Above and Beyond Expectations:

Rudy Guimond: 1GP 1.000% 0.00 GAA

Shai Buium 2GP 2G 1A 3P

Amadeus Lombardi 2GP 1G 4A 5P

The Breakdown: Going in order, Guimond played a perfect forty minutes, what else could you ask of the guy. His rebound control and positioning left a little to be desired at times, but he kept the puck out; that’s what matters. Obviously, Guimond caught fire after heading to the QMJHL, and this was a good sign that he is on an upward trajectory. Shai Buium impressed me a lot offensively. I thought he was the most sound defenceman on a defence group that looked pretty poor in their own end. He had a good stick and showed some genuine power and goal scoring ability. Especially in the first game, the way Buium stepped up off the faceoff and picked a corner is really impressive, even in a prospect tournament. Finally, Lombardi continues to look way too good among his peers. This was another showing where Lombardi looked like a pro against prospects. It bodes well for him, but it is still unclear when he will get a look in the NHL.

Exceeded Expectations:

Nate Danielson 2GP 1G 1A 2P

Emmitt Finnie 2GP 1G 0A 1P

Alex Doucet 2GP 1G 1A 2P

Carson Bantle 2GP 1G 2A 3P

Ondrej Becher 2GP 1G 1A 2P

Liam Kilfoil 2GP 1G 1A 2P

The Breakdown: Danielson looked much improved in the one place I was complaining about, power. His stick tension looks miles better; Danielson was able to disrupt puck carriers from in front, behind, or alongside. Danielson was effective on the power play and had some snap behind his shots, his biggest weakness. Emmitt Finnie looked good again as well, he had some poor giveaways but made up for it with sharp offensive work. Alex Doucet is in a similar situation; he was one of Detroit’s best play drivers, especially in game one. I didn’t notice him too much in game two, but I thought the overall body of work was quite sound. Carson Bantle really impressed me. I didn’t think much of hi,m but he played a really sound game for a big man. Bantle created chances in both games and set good screens in front. Ondrej Becher admittedly had the worst giveaway of the weekend, but the general body of work was quietly great. Winning faceoffs, great stick contests,and some scoring touch. Becher continues to be Detroit’s most underrated prospect. Kilfoil, like Bantle, wasn’t a name I was really looking forward to seeing, but I was pleasantly surprised. He showed legitimate skill and even had a flashy goal. While he was often beaten, his compete along the boards was promising. Far from someone to bet on making the NHL, but Kilfoil certainly impressed in his first showing. 

Met Expectations:

Michael Brandsegg-Nygard 2GP 1G 3A 4P

Axel Sandin-Pelikka 2GP 1G 0A 1P

Kevin Bicker 2GP 0G 0A 0P

Graydon Robertson-Palmer 2GP 0G 0A 0P

Justice Christensen 2GP 0G 1A 1P

Maxim Dirracolo 2GP 0G 0A 0P

Wyatt Kennedy 2GP 0G 0A 0P

Carl-Otto Magnusson 2GP 0G 0A 0P

Will Murphy 2GP 0G 0A 0P

The Breakdown: MBN’s entire body of work met expectations. Offensively, he was fantastic; the hits and the scoring were both solid. I think his playmaking was quite decent too. However, when Detroit had a turnover, I felt like I was seeing it come off MBN’s stick a lot more than I’d like. ASP also didn’t blow me away as I’d hoped. I think he looked decent defensively, despite a goal against, I thought he even played a 2 on 1 well. I think the reason ASP falls here is because I’m used to seeing him dominate against his peers, where average play feels a little underwhelming. Bicker and Robertson-Palmer brought a solid game; both of them showed good effort and played well on both ends. Generally, I was fine with what I saw from them, and they performed about how I thought they would: steady. Now, I’m grouping the four defencemen together for one reason; I don’t know enough about them to say I was let down. I mentioned it with Buium, but I really wasn’t impressed with the amount of defensive breakdowns that there were. If I had to pick a best, I did like Christensen most, but in their own end, it was a bit of a gong show. 

Below Expectations:

Jacob Truscott 2GP 0G 0A 0P

Landon Miller 1GP 6.00GAA

The Breakdown: Given how much Truscott has been around, I was hoping he would be a little more refined. I thought his speed was lacklustre, and I didn’t love a lot of the plays he made. Admittedly, I expected a pretty solid weekend from him, and he melted into a pretty poor defensive group. Landon Miller is the same for me. While he didn’t play badly, I wasn’t blown away, and I was hoping for more stops. I think Guimond set the bar a little high for the weekend, so the other goalies are lower. 

Failed Expectations:

Michal Pradel 1GP 6.00GAA

The Breakdown: I hate to seem down on the guy in his first performance in the winged wheel. Pradel was the only goalie I was excited to see going into the weekend, and he sort of got lit up. 6 goals and not being able to stem the tide in game 2 was a bit disappointing. He will bounce back, but it was certainly not his best work.