Red Wings Prospect Tiers: Untouchables & Trade Chips – The Hockey Writers – Red Wings Prospects

Since Steve Yzerman took over as general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, he has built the team from the ground up primarily through the draft. We’ve seen the fruits of his labor – Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond are team leaders and franchise cornerstones. 

Now, the Red Wings are close to breaking through and reaching the playoffs for the first time since Dylan Larkin’s rookie season. 

They’re not a perfect team, and certainly have areas to improve. They do, however, have a fully stocked prospect pipeline, and have reached the point where they need to prioritize quality over quantity. Not every prospect will reach the NHL, after all. Some are key to Detroit’s future. Others are expendable. 

To illustrate this, I broke out the Red Wings’ prospect pipeline into tiers:

• Tier 1 – Players to build around
• Tier 2 – Has an NHL future, but in a lesser role
• Tier 3 – Has a chance to become a low-ceiling NHL contributor
• Tier 4 – Likely tops out as an AHL contributor; small chance of reaching the NHL
• Tier 5 – Unlikely to reach the NHL

Related: Red Wings Top 25 Prospects: 2024-25 Midseason Update

With this information at hand, we can thoroughly explore the depth of Detroit’s prospect pool and have a better understanding of potential costs as we approach the trade deadline. Note that players are listed in alphabetical order within each tier.

Red Wings Prospects – Tier 1

These five players are the future of the Red Wings. They should be untouchable in trade discussions – unless the focus is on a controllable, All-Star-caliber player.

• Trey Augustine – G
• Michael Brandsegg-Nygard – RW
• Sebastian Cossa – G
• Nate Danielson – C
• Axel Sandin Pellikka – RD

Red Wings Prospects – Tier 2

While these prospects don’t have top-of-the-lineup potential, they still have an NHL ceiling. Ideally, Detroit holds onto these players as depth pieces. That is, unless a slam-dunk trade offer comes along.

• Dmitri Buchelnikov – RW
• Carter Mazur – RW
• Max Plante – C/RW
• William Wallinder – LD

Red Wings Prospects – Tier 3

Similar to Tier 2, these players have NHL upside, but in bottom-of-the-lineup roles. If another team values them higher, Detroit should consider moving them to acquire a more impactful roster player for the short term. 

• Shai Buium…