Defenseman Antti Tuomisto wasn’t the best Detroit Red Wings draft pick on the Grand Rapids Griffins team this past season. Not even close.

But he was the draft pick coach Dan Watson trusted most when trying to hold a lead or pushing for a tying goal. Tuomisto (35th, 2019) is never listed among the team’s top prospects by hockey insiders. Fans rarely discuss him, or his potential, on social media. But Red Wings management and Watson spent considerable time this season discussing how he could fit in the organization’s future plans. He has grown on the Red Wings’ management team members.

“His first couple years we had him on the power play trying to get more an offensive role,” Watson said. “We’ve got guys to do that. So he’s really bought into being a defensive defenseman. . . Having that mindset which also has helped his offense, as crazy as it sounds. He’s got a lot of shots through. But for us it’s about him playing long, playing physical in the right areas, killing plays defensively and being able to be a shutdown defenseman against teams’ tops lines.”

Tuomisto in Top Pairing

The Red Wings are bullish on Axel Sandin-Pellikka, Anton Johansson and even William Wallinder as players close to being ready for the NHL. But none of them were in the Griffins’ top pairing. It was Tuomisto, 25, playing alongside NHL veteran Erik Gustafsson.

“And I think we’ve used him on the penalty kill more this year than we ever have as well,” Watson said. “I just think he’s sort of come into his own. He’s matured as a player, matured as a person, and we’re seeing sort of, he’s seeing the benefits of that and we are as an organization.”

Tuomisto is 6-foot-5, 218 pounds and possesses a heavy shot from the point. He has improved dramatically as a one-on-one defender and never stopped working on his skating and quickness.

Will Be Group 6 Free Agent

“I think one thing he has done and our skating coaches have done, our skill group has done, is he knows that was a deficiency earlier on,” Watson said. “He’s been working at it, will continue to work at it, but he’s so smart. He doesn’t get himself caught, he doesn’t get himself outside of his position. He plays very sound positional defending hockey. You know, early on I could say we saw him get beat at times and now very, very rarely do we see him get beat one on one.”

The only question now is whether it is too late for the Red Wings to take advantage of Tuomisto’s improvement. Per rules in the Collective Bargaining agreement, Tuomisto will be a Group 6 unrestricted free agent on July 1 because he is 25, has completed three professional seasons while under an NHL contract and has logged fewer than 80 NHL games. The Red Wings have never called him up from the AHL.

He undoubtedly would have options in Europe if he wanted to play there.

But the Red Wings could try to re-sign him and give him a shot at playing in Detroit. The Detroit defense looks set, but keep in mind that Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Anton Johansson are still waiver exempt. They could be sent back to Grand Rapids until the Red Wings had an injury. The Finnish native Tuomisto played well enough this season to make the Red Wings at least think about trying to keep him.