The Red Wings Have An Amadeus Lombardi Problem

Detroit has the luxury of saying they have one of the deepest prospect pools in the NHL. Even my personal favourite prospects like Ondrej Becher are around 11 on the Red Wings depth chart. Drafting high in the first round and retaining first round draft picks has given Detroit a slew of great prospects. Danielson, ASP, Bear, Buchelnikov, and plenty more. However, despite all those being strong names, in the AHL, one name continues to play a cut above his contemporaries. Despite an injury, Amadeus Lombardi was good for 40 points in 44 AHL games. His 65 point pace at age 22 in the AHL is nothing to gloss over. However, Amadeus Lombardi likely won’t see NHL ice this year this season. Maybe not even next season. Despite his great play, Detroit has an Amadeus Lombardi problem; he’s too good for the AHL, but there isn’t a place for him in the NHL. 

The Player:

Lombardi is your typical smaller skill winger. While he does currently play center, most players below six feet end up on the wing. Lombardi is a dual threat on offense; he’s a threat to score or to distribute. His scoring is typically in tighter spaces where he can use his hands, but he’s perfectly capable of scoring on wristers. Lombardi is also a perfectly competent playmaker. His defensive game is cause for concern. He reminds me of DeBrincat in a lot of ways, but especially on defense. Lombardi does give an effort on defense, but he just doesn’t come up with the puck. The fear with Lombardi is that he will become a glass cannon, great offensively without any defensive skill. In the past few seasons, guys like Sprong, Fabbri, and Berggren were all considered negative assets to the team despite their scoring. Why? Because they couldn’t defend. The thing with players like Lombardi is that their offensive skill needs to be put in a top 6 role where they have the time, talent, and trust to make their plays. Think about how Kane compares to Berggren. Neither are good on defense, but Kane gets his minutes because he is so effective in the offensive zone in the top six. 

Here’s the TLDR: Lombardi can be an effective scoring threat, but he is likely to need the top six minutes to do so. Great, so what’s the problem with that? Well, he isn’t the only one looking for that role.