The Red Wings have a lot of young players on their team this season. These players are essentially the future of the franchise. Which of these young players should the NHL world keep their eyes on and why?
The Detroit Red Wings will be fielding a very young group on the back-end tonight led by Dennis Cholowski. He has looked fantastic early on this season. Libor Sulak, Joe Hicketts, and Filip Hronek are all trying to make their mark and unseat the experienced defenders.
Dylan Larkin is only 22-years-old. He is starting to come into his own. He has terrific vision and play-making ability. Larkin has worked on his 200-foot game, being reliable in all three zones. He started his career on the wing to limit his defensive responsibilities. He had the opportunity to learn from Henrik Zetterberg on a nightly basis. Last season, he excelled as the Wings top center, leapfrogging Hank in the lineup and the scorecard. Larkin led the Wings in total points and assists. We are expecting him to produce around 70 points this season.
Anthony Mantha is eyeing 30 goals this season. The Wings haven’t had a 30 goal scorer since 2009. In 2009 the Wings had four 30+ scorers with Marian Hossa netting 40. In addition to these two, the Wing certainly have a lot of question marks throughout their lineup. Frank Nielsen is an excellent two-way forward, but can he turn back the clock and achieve a 50 point season again?
Andreas Athanasiou is a world-class skater who has 20+ goal potential but has yet to reach that mark. He is sort of a one trick pony. He was known for floating around his defensive zone blue line hoping for the puck to find him so he could be off to the races. With the unexpected departure of Henrik Zetterberg, AA is now playing center. This will limit his floating ability. He needs to learn how to score and create through traffic.
The sixth overall pick from this last draft, Filip Zadina is 18-years-old. He is starting his professional career in the American Hockey League with the Grand Rapids Griffins. Big Michael Rasmussen was selected ninth overall in 2017. The 6’6” forward is staying in Detroit rather than being returned to Junior. He is learning on the fly, but his large frame makes for an active net-front presence on the power play. He also works effectively on the wall down low in the cycle game.