The Detroit Red Wings are coming off arguably the worst season in the salary cap era, but these three prospects could make an impact as soon as next season.
This season didn’t provide many things for the Detroit Red Wings and their fans to be excited about. Other than the emergence of Tyler Bertuzzi as an All-Star forward, this season was one to forget for the Red Wings. If they’ve played their last regular season game, they’ll end the 2019-20 season with the lowest point percentage of any team in the salary cap era.
However, the future for the Red Wings is bright. They’re guaranteed at least a top-four pick at the 2020 NHL Draft, which is projected to be a very deep one. Additionally, the Red Wings have five more draft picks in the first three rounds of the 2020 draft, including three picks in the second round.
There’s also their prospect pool, which was recently ranked as the ninth-best in the NHL by Scott Wheeler of The Athletic. That’s light years better than they’ve ranked in previous years and it shows they’ve made some progress on their rebuild, though they still have to improve there.
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Next season should provide an opportunity for several young Red Wings prospects to make the full-time jump into the NHL. Let’s take a look at which three prospects who could be impact players in the big leagues in the 2020-21 season.
Honorable Mention
I’m still not giving up yet on Evgeny Svechnikov. Maybe it’s because I’m stubborn. Lady Luck has frowned upon him multiple times, as injuries have plagued him throughout his career. He has the skill necessary to be an impact player and the Red Wings need to give him a long look to see what they have in him.
Svechnikov has learned everything he’s going to learn in the AHL. It’s time for him to sink or swim. He has the talent to be an impact player and the Red Wings really don’t have many NHL-ready prospects as offensively gifted as him.