As the preseason draws to a close, how have Detroit's top prospects fared, and what do their respective paths to the NHL look like?

As training camp and the preseason near their conclusions, it feels an opportune time to review the progress of some of the Red Wings' top prospects.  

A central through line of camp—coming from Derek Lalonde, from Steve Yzerman, from returning players, from newcomers—has been the sense that off-season acquisitions have brought about a significant upgrade to Detroit's depth.  

With that as context, it was always going to be a tough row to hoe for the Red Wings' high end prospects to start their seasons at the NHL level, but what kind of strides have the youngsters taken and what are the next steps on their development journeys?

Before diving in, I wanted to offer a quotation from Ben Chiarot this afternoon, which I thought was an interesting piece of context in considering these prospects' progress.

When asked what he found to be hardest about breaking into the NHL, the 10-year NHL veteran said, "Probably just the process of getting ready to play.  The very best players that I've played with are the hardest workers in practice, take care of themselves the best off the ice.  There are no off times or down times.  You're always preparing for the next game.  And that would be something when you're young and you're trying to take that in, it seems exhausting always being on, always trying to prepare.  But that's what you have to get to in order to get to the next level as a player, and that's something that I learned as a young player.  You still adjust your routine every year to different things—how your body's feeling, what your game feels like.  So that's the hardest part is just learning your process and learning your routine and fine-tuning that as you get older."

On the one hand, I found that reflection to be quite thoughtful about an under-appreciated aspect of development—learning to embrace the degree of professionalism that a field as competitive as the NHL requires.  What's even more striking, though, is the reminder that key components of the development process unfold outside of our view.  

Even in the age of streaming games, YouTube compilations, and interminable fountains of content to dive into, essential parts of this process happen behind closed doors, and there's no way to understand or access the full context of each individual prospect's development.

As such, it's worth acknowledging the limits of the assessments that follow—to that which we do see on the ice and hear in the interview room.  All the same, let's take a stroll through five young Red Wings' observable progress.

Simon Edvinsson

At training camp, there can be little doubt that Simon Edvinsson appears the prospect closest to an NHL roster spot.  The rangy blue liner has shown the unique blend of size, puck skill, and smooth skating that have made him a standout prospect in the first place.

After this afternoon's practice, Chiarot was borderline awestruck when asked what has stood out to him about the young Swede's game, saying "I mean Simon—there's just not a lot of guys walking around with his package.  He's 6' 6", can skate, can handle the puck.  He has the potential to be very, very good."

The veteran added, "I think as an older guy when you see a guy with the potential like Simon has, it draws you in and makes you want to help them out just because you can see how good he can be, and you just want to help them figure it out."

Derek Lalonde has praised Edvinsson for improved consistency relative to where he stood at this time a year ago, while also complimenting the defenseman's eagerness to seek out feedback from the coaching staff.

However, given the crowded state of Detroit's NHL blue line, it appears Edvinsson, despite tangible progress, is bound to start the year with Grand Rapids.  

This afternoon, Lalonde said that he's been pleased with Detroit's seven established NHLers on the back end throughout camp and that he doesn't foresee beginning the year with eight defenseman on the roster.  That point reinforced his previous assertion that it wouldn't make sense for Edvinsson to begin the year in Detroit if he weren't going to command significant minutes on a nightly basis.

The good news is that, by now, it's clear Edvinsson is dangerously close to being ready to take on an NHL workload.  It's all but assured he will play NHL games this season; the only real question that remains is when that moment will come.

Marco Kasper

Kasper (along with William Wallinder and Amadeus Lombardi, whom we'll get to in a moment) was one of several Red Wings prospects re-assigned to Grand Rapids this afternoon.

For the Austrian centerman, this camp has been defined by the process of acquainting himself to the smaller North American ice sheet.

"I think adjusting to North American hockey is a little bit different," said Lalonde yesterday in reference to Kasper.  "And there's nothing wrong; it's [that] there's some different time and space to where he played last year, which I don't mind, especially for skill development.  But you can see even that he has a tendency to want to slow plays down, want to re-group pucks.  He had the turnover ended up in the back of our net the other night.  He tried a behind-the-back, through-the-legs pass to the D for a regroup, which obviously you don't see very often and is a no-no in our league, but it's probably a common play with bigger ice to re-group...I think every game he's progressively gotten better."

Discussing rink sizes is something of a cliché when it comes to European prospects' development, but its significance can't be over-stated.  On a smaller sheet, there are fundamental changes to every reference point a player has, which means plays that would be simple become foreign and complicated, and the time a player has to make decisions will be less with the same number of bodies occupying a smaller surface.  The adjustment from NCAA or CHL hockey is almost always about the pace of the NHL game (Nate Danielson attested to as much yesterday, when asked for the biggest change he's observed from Brandon and the WHL to Red Wings camp), and that's without having a compressed playing surface to account for.

There's still plenty to love about Kasper's mentality and intensity.  He is aggressive, simple, and skillful, and that's a promising combination.  Some time in Grand Rapids should serve him well in sharpening his game to the North American sheet, and, as with Edvinsson, I would be surprised if he doesn't play meaningful NHL minutes by season's end.

I do wonder if a point comes when Detroit considers moving Kasper to the wing, but, at least for now, that doesn't appear at the top of anyone's mind.

Nate Danielson

If Edvinsson has looked the prospect closest to NHL ready, Nate Danielson has been training camp's most pleasant surprise.  As a 19-year-old drafted just a few months ago, Danielson arrived in camp free of pressure; it was taken as a given that he would be sent back to Brandon after a few games.

Instead (and perhaps in part because of the freedom of playing without expectations or pressure), Danielson has played his way into the point where there's at least a question as to whether he will stick with the Wings as camp breaks and the regular season commences.  That he's made it that far is a remarkable accomplishment in its own right, regardless of whether he returns to the WHL.

Lalonde complimented Danielson on the skill, vision, and poise he's shown this preseason.  "You can see him not rushing plays," the head coach noted yesterday.  "He'll hold on to a puck, protect it, let a play develop.  That stuff usually takes time, takes some development, some video, you put in those situations, but he's got a good knack for it."

Despite all that progress, I struggle to see a scenario where the Red Wings keep Danielson around once the regular season gets underway.  The organization has been adamant in its belief that prospects shouldn't be rushed, and there is no shortage of quality options down the middle.  As such, playing a major role for a Brandon team that figures to be much improved on a middling season a year ago probably makes the most sense for the Red Deer-born center.

However, Danielson's immediate progress and relative comfort only spell good things for the Red Wings' long-term depth down the middle.

William Wallinder

William Wallinder hasn't quite had the preseason that Edvinsson has, but he's been simple and steady, and that's no small feat for a 21-one-year-old who, like Kasper, entered camp with exactly one game of experience on North American ice.

Whether on the practice rink or in game action, it's hard not to notice Wallinder's skating.  It's not so much the top-end speed that stands out as the edges and refinement he shows consistently.

Still, you can see elements of the same need to get better acquainted with the smaller sheet as we discussed in relation to Kasper, and I believe some time in Grand Rapids will be helpful in developing the confidence he will need to fully express his gifts as a playmaker and puck carrier.

There are clear similarities to Edvinsson with Wallinder, but there is also a sense that he will need a bit more ripening than his countryman in Grand Rapids.  I wouldn't rule out an NHL cameo somewhere along the line this season, but '24-25 is probably more realistic for a sustained workload in the show.

Amadeus Lombardi

Throughout the preseason, Amadeus Lombardi has shown signs of growth but also the predictable growing pains of adjusting to the pace of NHL hockey.  (To reiterate, it's a major adjustment, even if you've been playing on NHL sized-rinks your whole life.)

After Traverse City, I wrote that Lombardi needs to add layers to his offensive game beyond just driving wide and attacking one-on-one to find success at the NHL level.  The tools (as a stick-handler and playmaker) are obvious, but he will need to find other ways to express those skills to become a productive and consistent NHL player.

"I think he's consciously learning how to manage his game a little bit better without taking away his skill," said Lalonde of Lombardi's next steps for growth. "We had a little talk the other day, and he's had a ton of turnovers, and it's a natural progression.  He got away with those in junior.  He could do basically what he wanted with the puck.  And here if you do that, it's off your stick and going the other way.  So he had a couple of those last night.  He had a shift late in the third, and he had a toe drag at our offensive blue line that led to a penalty.  Those are learning lessons, so I think there's growth in that—just managing his game without taking away from his skillset."

Some time with Dan Watson in Grand Rapids should be just what Lombardi needs to take those strides.  As with Wallinder, I wouldn't rule out NHL minutes this season, but next year would seem more likely to bring about a serious push for him to become an NHL regular.