{"id":69977,"date":"2025-07-17T13:22:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T13:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/69977\/"},"modified":"2025-07-17T13:22:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T13:22:09","slug":"which-red-wings-prospects-could-make-detroits-roster-next-season-mailbag-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/69977\/","title":{"rendered":"Which Red Wings prospects could make Detroit\u2019s roster next season? Mailbag, Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re back with Part 2 of the Detroit Red Wings offseason mailbag, focusing more on roster and prospect questions. If you missed Part 1, check it out here<\/a>. Let\u2019s jump right in.<\/p>\n

Note: Questions have been edited for clarity and length<\/p>\n

After the Red Wings sent Marco Kasper to Grand Rapids to start the season last year, in favor of keeping back-of-the-roster veterans, is there any hope for prospects who have not made their Red Wings debut yet to make the opening-day roster without injuries in front of them?<\/strong> \u2014 Peter N.<\/p>\n

Kasper was outstanding last preseason and, in my view, deserved a spot on the opening-night roster. That he didn\u2019t start there does seem to indicate how hard it will be for any young player to win a spot outright.<\/p>\n

I do think Kasper\u2019s case is also instructive in another, more encouraging way: He still played 77 games last season. Opening night holds some special symbolic meaning, but Kasper only ended up missing five games total. He still made a full-season impact for the Red Wings. It\u2019s a good reminder that the October roster is just a snapshot of a moment in time, and isn\u2019t an end-all, be-all.<\/p>\n

Beyond that, the Red Wings\u2019 hole at top-line left wing right now does at least open the door to a youngster in a way that hasn\u2019t always been the case. Remember that Lucas Raymond was once ticketed to start his age-19 season in Grand Rapids, if not for the fact that Jakub Vrana got hurt, creating room high in the lineup.<\/p>\n

Now, I don\u2019t know if Nate Danielson, Carter Mazur, Amadeus Lombardi or Michael Brandsegg-Nyg\u00e5rd is going to have as dazzling a camp as Raymond did.<\/a> That\u2019s a high bar. However, if one does, the fact that there\u2019s an upper-lineup spot seemingly available is an interesting factor. Detroit has tended to prefer its young players earn a prominent role in order to make the big club, and there might actually be one up for grabs this year.<\/p>\n

Today, I wouldn\u2019t predict any of them to make the cut opening night, but it wouldn\u2019t surprise me if one or more of Danielson, Mazur or maybe even Lombardi play a significant number of games in Detroit next year.<\/p>\n

Andrew Copp was quietly effective as the second-line center before going down with injury. It seems like the assumption has been that Kasper will be 2C, but do you think there is a chance that we see Copp resume that role and Kasper go back to playing wing on the top line?<\/strong> \u2014 Andy S.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a chance, yes. Like you said, Copp was good in that spot before he got hurt after the 4 Nations break, and Kasper was likewise excellent next to Dylan Larkin and Raymond. I think you at least have to try it at some point in camp, given how well it was working.<\/p>\n

I think the Red Wings view Kasper as a center long-term, though, and given how ready he looked for the job, I think there will be real pull to leaving him there. The pace and edge he brought to that second line with Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat made it the team\u2019s best trio down the stretch.<\/p>\n

Maybe that gives Copp an opportunity at first-line left wing, though. He\u2019s got size and can make plays from down low, even if he doesn\u2019t have Kasper\u2019s footspeed. Detroit could also certainly use him in a matchup role, but he at least could theoretically fit up top.<\/p>\n

I have to think the Red Wings are going to try a whole bunch of looks in camp and through the preseason. It\u2019ll all work itself out from there.<\/p>\n

Steve Yzerman won his first Stanley Cup as a 32-year-old captain who had played 13 years in the NHL. Do you think this impacts his perception of an organization\u2019s \u201ctimeline\u201d and the patience required?<\/strong> \u2014 Aaron B.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s certainly possible. He definitely knows how long the process can take, and he was still playing at a high level when he won with the Red Wings for the first time in 1997. It\u2019s hard to imagine that doesn\u2019t at least color his perspective on Larkin turning 29 this month.<\/p>\n

Still, it\u2019s a different league now than it was back then, and Yzerman surely knows that, too. There are more scouts all over the world, making it harder to find the kind of late-round draft steals from Europe that fueled the Red Wings\u2019 glory days. There are more teams, making it harder to get into the playoffs. And, of course, there\u2019s a salary cap \u2014 though, with the rising cap, it shouldn\u2019t be as hard to keep good teams together in the coming years.<\/p>\n

I think most people would agree that rebuilds rarely move as quickly as you want them to and that a lot of patience is required. If it pays off the way it did for Yzerman in 1997 (and 1998 and 2002), then all the pain is eventually worth it.<\/p>\n

Will the Red Wings reach those same heights at the end of all this? They\u2019ve got a lot of work ahead of them to do so. As always, time will tell.<\/p>\n

How do the recent second-rounders stack up for the Griffins\u2019 defense? 1) Shai Buium, 2) William Wallinder, 3) Antti Tuomisto?<\/strong> \u2014 Matt R.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d put Buium and Wallinder a tier above Tuomisto. I think Tuomisto is a nice AHL defenseman, but probably more organizational depth than a future NHL regular because of his skating.<\/p>\n

Wallinder\u2019s skating is excellent, especially at 6 feet 4, and if he can consistently get a bit meaner, I think he has a nice path to third-pair minutes, maybe as soon as the second half of this season. Buium\u2019s skating isn\u2019t as good as Wallinder\u2019s, but I think his smarts and creativity are strong enough that he could develop into a potential regular as well.<\/p>\n

The later-round defenseman I\u2019m most intrigued by, though, is 2022 fourth-round pick Anton Johansson, who won\u2019t be in Grand Rapids this season but did finish there in 2025. In those games, he really popped with size, skating, edge and some offense. To me, he\u2019s the most complete of that bunch, and I\u2019m curious to see how his season goes.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Simon Edvinsson will be an RFA in 2026. (Stephen R. Sylvanie \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

Do you think that Simon Edvinsson gets locked up with an eight-year deal or a seven-year deal?<\/strong> \u2014 Adam C.<\/p>\n

Based on what defensemen are going for \u2014 and considering the eighth-year option will be gone as soon as the new CBA kicks in \u2014 it would be great for Detroit to get Edvinsson locked in now.<\/p>\n

For those same reasons, though, Edvinsson has a lot of incentive to wait, put together another big season (possibly with more power-play time) and really boost his potential value, while also potentially getting to free agency sooner.<\/p>\n

For that reason, I think getting a long-term deal done with Edvinsson now could be difficult, but it never hurts to try.<\/p>\n

What do you think of Sebastian Cossa spending one more year in Grand Rapids? All I can think of is the Predators and Yaroslav Askarov situation of last season, where he asked for a trade because they signed Juuse Saros to a long-term contract.<\/strong> \u2014 Mike B.<\/p>\n

The big difference between the two is that the Red Wings don\u2019t have any goalies signed to long-term contracts. They traded for John Gibson, but he only has two years left on his deal. That\u2019s this coming season, where Gibson will be expected to share the crease with Cam Talbot, plus one more where he would presumably share it with Cossa. And with two older goaltenders, you have to think Cossa is going to see at least some time in Detroit, as long as his play in Grand Rapids warrants it.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t have an issue with him starting the year back in the AHL (and playing a lot), partly because, given how he finished the season, he didn\u2019t make a case that he had outgrown the league. He was pretty rocky down the stretch. I expect he will bounce back this year, but I can understand why the Red Wings didn\u2019t feel they could bank on him being ready to be one of their top two from the jump.<\/p>\n

I think you\u2019ll see Cossa in Detroit at some point this year, possibly for a similar number of games to what Askarov got in San Jose last season (13), and then full-time in 2026-27.<\/p>\n

Do you get any sense that Trey Augustine is not looking to sign with Detroit, and will go free agent after leaving MSU? Would the Wings look to trade his rights if this is the case?<\/strong> \u2014 Will O.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not in Augustine\u2019s head, but I don\u2019t see why he wouldn\u2019t want to sign. He\u2019s a local youngster, and it\u2019s not like anyone has staked their claim to the Red Wings\u2019 net long-term at this stage. Cossa still has plenty to prove as well.<\/p>\n

I think it was pretty rational for him to stay at Michigan State and play a bunch of games while chasing a national title, rather than share the net in Grand Rapids.<\/p>\n

I asked Augustine at development camp if his plan was to turn pro a year from now (at the end of his junior year) and here\u2019s what he said: \u201cIdeally. Still have to go out there and prove it, and obviously make a decision at the end of next season.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not the most revealing answer, and if, for some reason, he didn\u2019t want to sign, the Red Wings would obviously have to trade his rights. Right now, I have no reason to believe that\u2019s the case.<\/p>\n

If he goes back for his senior year, maybe it\u2019ll be time to worry.<\/p>\n

(Top photo of Marco Kasper: Gregory Shamus \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We\u2019re back with Part 2 of the Detroit Red Wings offseason mailbag, focusing more on roster and prospect…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":69978,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[2993,293,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-69977","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-detroit-red-wings","9":"tag-nhl","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114868790654933845","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69977"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69977\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}