Detroit Red Wings Make Several Moves, Finalize Opening Night Roster
The Detroit Red Wings yesterday assigned 19 players to their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. The roster is now set at 23 players, less than a week before the season opener on Friday, October 14th against the Montreal Canadiens at Little Caesars Arena.
The players assigned to Grand Rapids were defensemen Simon Edvinsson, Steve Kampfer, Albert Johansson, Jared McIsaac, Wyatt Newpower, Donovan Sebrango, and Eemil Viro. Forwards Pontus Andreasson, Jonatan Berggren, Austin Czarnik, Kyle Criscuolo, Taro Hirose, Givani Smith, Cross Hanas, Matt Luff, Chase Pearson, and goaltenders Victor Brattstrom and Jussi Olkinuora were also sent to the Griffins.
Detroit also placed forward Robby Fabbri on injured reserve and designated defensemen Seth Barton, Mark Pysyk, and Jake Walman as injured non-roster players. The Red Wings also released Jeremie Biakabutuka from his amateur tryout.
The 2022-2023 Red Wings roster can be found here. The roster looks as most expected except for one player. That player is Elmer Soderblom. Soderblom earned the spot on the Red Wings after a tremendous training camp where he was the best player on most nights. The massive 6-foot-8 and 215-pound Soderstrom can be an impact player right away based on his size alone. Detroit might be best suited on the power play in front of the net on the power play. He can also be effective on a regular shift as well.
Another player to watch is defenseman Moritz Seider. After winning the Calder Trophy last season it should be interesting to see how he does in year two. He proved last season he can be a force on the ice and show leadership at a young age. Seider will once again be on the top pairing. leading the defense of a young team.
This season could be a good one in Detroit as Coach Derek Lalonde looks to impress in his first year behind the Red Wings bench. Plenty of excitement that the Red Wings have not seen in a while. They have plenty of promise and will be a team to watch this season. A good mix of youth and experience could spell trouble for the league.