Young Red Wings Make Opening Night Roster. What it Means for the Yzerplan

Yzerman was hired as general manager in April of 2019. The Red Wings roster needed to be rebuilt after former general manager Ken Holland left for the same position with the Edmonton Oilers. Holland was responsible for getting the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup playoffs 25 seasons in a row. In this time, the Red Wings won four Stanley Cups.

The criticism of the “Yzerplan” has been that the Red Wings could not acquire a true number one goal-scorer either through the NHL draft or via a trade. However, this may be changing. Nine of the Red Wings’ 23 players on the roster are draft picks of Yzerman. Additionally, six of these players were drafted in the first round. While it has come under scrutiny, one cannot argue that the drafting of the Yzerplan has been successful.

No draft pick will ever be as shocking as when Yzerman drafted defenseman Moritz Seider with the sixth overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. This was the first draft pick made by Yzerman in Detroit. Before this draft, The Hockey News ranked Seider 22^nd in his draft class, as an example. However, when the NHL world began digging into Seider’s game, this was immediately seen as a mistake. Seider won the Calder trophy as the rookie of the year for the 2021-22 season.

Recently, McLellan announced that Seider and Raymond would wear A’s as alternate captains for the 2025-26 season. This decision shows that the coaching staff has faith in the two players to lead the team. “We’re an original six team,” McLellan said. McLellan is about to embark on his first full season as head coach of the Red Wings. After the Red Wings let go of former head coach Derek Lalonde after Christmas of 2024, McLellan led the team to a record of 26-18-4 with the Red Wings finishing the 2024-25 season with a record of 39-35-8.

Fellow young Red Wings prospect Michael Brandsegg-Nygård will also make the opening night roster against the Montreal Canadiens. MBN was drafted by the Red Wings 15^th overall in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. A lethal shot and incredible vision are two of the reasons that MBN was drafted so high. During his draft year, Brandsegg-Nygård scored eight goals and added 10 assists in 42 games for MoraIK of HockeyAllsvenskan during the 2023-24 season.

The type of player that Yzerman has continued to draft is a 200-foot player who is difficult to play against. Both Brandsegg-Nygård and Sandin-Pellikka fit this bill. One Red Wings prospect that did not make the cut is Jackson, Michigan native, Carter Mazur. The winger scored eight goals and added seven assists in 20 games for the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL during the 2024-25 season.

Upon learning that he would not be cut, Sandin-Pellikka said that he would have family in attendance against the Canadiens, and winger Brandsegg-Nygård said that his parents, sister, and girlfriend would maybe make the trip. This is a special time for the families of these young players who worked hard to realize their hockey dreams.