Detroit Red Wings 2023 seventh-round pick Emmitt Finnie, who played all 82 regular-season games in 2025-26, is feeling confident ahead of his sophomore NHL campaign.
One of the pleasant surprises for the Detroit Red Wings during the 2025-26 NHL season was the emergence of rookie forward Emmitt Finnie. After earning a roster spot with a strong Training Camp, Finnie went on to appear in all 82 regular-season games.
He was one of three Red Wings rookies to make the final roster out of last year’s Training Camp and preseason, joining Michael Brandsegg-Nygård and Axel Sandin-Pellikka. However, Finnie was the only one of the three to remain with the NHL club for the entire season.
He finished the season with 13 goals and 17 assists, while spending a significant amount of time on Detroit’s top line alongside Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond.
Finnie should enter his sophomore season with increased confidence after gaining a full year of NHL experience under his belt.
"I think my confidence is high right now," Finnie said. "Obviously, I had some success last season, and it was nice to carry that into the offseason."
Showing the maturity of a seasoned veteran, Finnie acknowledged that there are still areas of his game he wants to improve, including his work on the backcheck.
"I really wanted to improve my game; I was trying to focus on lots of areas - winning battles low, just working on all areas of my game," he said. "And defensively, I want to be sharper."
Finnie, whom the Red Wings selected in the seventh round (201st overall) of the 2023 NHL Draft, recorded 30 points during his rookie season.
Although he isn't entering this season with a specific points target in mind, Finnie believes the production will follow if he continues to, as he put it, play the right way.
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"I just take it as it comes," he said of his point totals. "Obviously, you want to produce, and for me, it's putting myself in the right position to score goals and making plays where I can get assists.
If I just keep playing the right way, they'll come."
During this fall's Training Camp, head coach Todd McLellan repeatedly voiced the need for the Red Wings to be harder to play against.
Not only does Finnie provide an offensive touch, but he also repeatedly demonstrated that he's not afraid of physical confrontation and getting into the dirty areas of the ice.
"I think he wants our whole team to play hard, and it's an area of my game I like to play," Finnie said of his physicality. "I like to finish my checks and be hard on the forecheck, and I feel like that's when I play my best, when I do that. I'm gonna continue to do that."
Noting his offensive touch and junkyard dog mentality on the ice, McLellan believes that Finnie is in an even more advantageous position entering his second NHL campaign.
"Last year, he provided a lot of that," he said. "He finished his checks and was competitive with his speed; we want that and more from him this year. I see him more confident, stronger, and feeling good about his game."
Finnie and the Red Wings open the regular season on Oct. 2 at Little Caesars Arena against the visiting New York Rangers.
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