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Three Red Wings Prospects On The Clock in 2026-27
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- Three Red Wings Prospects On The Clock in 2026-27
Three Red Wings Prospects On The Clock in 2026-27
When a Detroit Red Wings prospect starts in the American Hockey League, it's a fine line between the excitement of launching a professional career and knowing the time to prove yourself is running out from the minute you step on the ice.
Goalie Trey Augustine and forwards Carter Bear and Jesse Kiiskinen are joining the Grand Rapids Griffins excited about showing the Detroit what they can do. But fellow prospects Shai Buium , Ondrej Becher and John Leonard return to the Griffins knowing the clock is ticking for to prove they belong in the NHL.
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Here's why these players face pressure this season:
Defenseman Shai Buium, 36th in 2021
Buium is in his third season with a Red Wings organization that boasts a handful of quality young defensemen. Simon Edvinsson a first pairing performer. Anton Johansson has showed well in Detroit, and the Red Wings expect William Wallinder to earn a spot this season.
Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Anton Johansson are also ahead of him on Detroit's prospect list. He needs to find a way to distinguish himself this season. It will probably have to be through steady, effective play, like Wallinder did.
Buium is 6-foot-3, 213 pounds and skates well enough. He has tools to use.
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Center-Wing Ondrej Becher, 80th overall, 2024
Becher, 22, made strides last season, showing improvement in his overall game. But he needs to take a leap in his offensive production and his overall game.
To show he can be a third line NHLer, he needs more than the 10 goals and 28 points he put up last season. He did step up in some important games down the stretch when the Griffins had injuries. Becher had a two-goal game in January in a 3-2 win against Texas.
There is an opportunity for Becher because the Red Wings are not deep at center. But he needs an impact season with the Griffins.
Left Wing John Leonard, signed as free agent
At 28, Leonard isn't truly a prospect. He's a journeyman who has played 81 NHL games. But the former UMass-Amherst player is also a late bloomer.
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Counting playoff games, Leonard has netted 78 goals and registered 134 points in his last 145 AHL games.
This could be both his best and last time to show an NHL team he can score at the NHL level. The Red Wings are among the NHL's weakest scoring teams and there will be a new director of hockey operations in charge. This will be a man looking for solutions. If he watches Leonard light up the AHL, he may give Leonard the real shot that GM Steve Yzerman did not.
Leonard did not look out of place in the first nine-game call-up he had to Detroit last season. He had two goals and two assists. Leonard can get open around the net.
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