There wasn't much for Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman to work with when he arrived back to Hockeytown in April of 2019 in terms of prospects.
Former general manager Ken Holland had essentially mortgaged the future during the last several years of his tenure, trading their better prospects at the Trade Deadline for rentals of older, past-their-prime players like Erik Cole and David Legwand.
And while it's taken time, Yzerman has built the Red Wings' prospect pool back up into one of the highest-ranked in the National Hockey League today.
According to national writer Scott Wheeler of The Athletic, Detroit's prospect pool is the 5th best out of the 32 NHL clubs today:
The Red Wings are already getting a first hand look at the talents of Swedish defenseman Simon Edvinsson, who is playing in his 1st full year in the NHL.
Additionally, Marco Kasper has become a regular in the lineup this year, while Albert Johansson has fit in on the blue line during Jeff Petry's absence as anyone could have imagined.
Highly-touted defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka is expected to make the jump to North America next year and challenge for a roster spot, while Nate Danielson, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård and Carter Mazur continue to wait in the wings.
The Red Wings also got a brief look at goaltending prospect Sebastian Cossa, who was re-called by Detroit from the Grand Rapids Griffins in December and even picked up his 1st NHL victory in relief of Ville Husso against the divisional foe Buffalo Sabres.
The Red Wings also have goaltending prospect Trey Augustine, who just helped Team USA win back-to-back gold medals in the World Junior Championships, expected to have a key role on the team before long.
POLL | ||
FEVRIER 6 | 205 ANSWERS Red Wings' prospect pool named among the NHL's best Which Red Wings prospect are you most excited to see become a regular? | ||
Sebastian Cossa | 117 | 57.1 % |
Nate Danielsson | 46 | 22.4 % |
Michael Brandsegg-Nyg�rd | 26 | 12.7 % |
Carter Mazur | 16 | 7.8 % |
List of polls |