After meeting with Steve Yzerman in Buffalo, the skilled London Knights winger could offer Detroit a high-upside solution to their lack of first-round draft capital.
On Saturday, the NHL Scouting Combine brought 90 draft-eligible prospects to Buffalo, each looking to strengthen their case ahead of the 2026 draft by putting their athletic abilities on display across a series of physical and skills-based exercises.
While the Detroit Red Wings enter this draft without a first-round selection, the organization made clear in Buffalo that their lack of early draft capital has done nothing to slow their evaluation process.
In meetings held with prospects following the on-ice and fitness testing, Detroit's management team revealed themselves to be among the most active in the building, sitting down with a wide range of players from across the draft board.
One of those players was Jaxon Cover, a six-foot-one left winger out of the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. The Knights represent one of the most prestigious programs in all of Canadian junior hockey, and Cover more than held his own in that environment, finishing the season with 20 goals and 32 assists for 52 points in 67 games.
The 18-year-old Miami native said the interview went pretty well and that he focused on just being himself. When the conversation turned to what kind of player Detroit would be getting should they select him, Cover spoke to both his work ethic and his natural talent.
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"Just a hard-working guy that is more than a story and I do credit a lot of my where I am now to my my natural talent, but I'm just as much as it is to my hard work and dedication," Cover said. "I feel like they're gonna get a really skilled forward who likes to make plays for as teammates, and can get in the corners when needed to."
Landing Cover is unlikely to be straightforward for Detroit as he currently sits 44th overall in the Elite Prospects Consolidated draft rankings, meaning the Red Wings would need him to slide several spots from where he is projected to go. There is reason to believe that slide is unlikely, as a number of scouting outlets view Cover as a first-round caliber talent.
One area where Cover may need to put in work is his frame. At 185 pounds, he will likely be asked to add muscle before he is ready to hold his own against professional competition. Interestingly, Detroit's prospect pool already includes a player who offers a useful blueprint in that regard with Michael Brandsegg-Nygard.
The Norwegian power forward shares an identical six-foot-one frame with Cover but has done the work to get to around 207 pounds, showing that the pathway exists.
If Cover were to land in Detroit, learning alongside Brandsegg-Nygard and the rest of an already loaded group of forward prospects could accelerate his development considerably and turn him into yet another meaningful addition to an organization that has quietly built one of the deeper pipelines in the league.
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