After an excellent finish to last season, could Simon Edvinsson be ready for top pair minutes in 2024-25?

21-year-old defenseman Simon Edvinsson—selected sixth overall at the 2021 NHL Draft—is among the biggest reasons for optimism around the 2024-25 Detroit Red Wings.  Edvinsson spent more time in Grand Rapids than he might have planned to start the year, but, by season's end, he had earned a premium nightly place in the lineup as Detroit scratched and clawed for a wild card spot.  Now, as he's set for his first full NHL season, what's next for Edvinsson?

"He was a big part of our team, he was a big part of why we were winning and he’s going to be a big part of the organization,” defenseman Moritz Seider said of Edvinsson at his end-of-season press conference.  On the most recent episode of The Silky Mitten State, Connor Earegood and I discussed the possibility of Edvinsson joining Seider on the Red Wings' top pair in the coming season.  We both believe the most likely outcome is that, at least to open the season, it is Ben Chiarot in that role, but Connor advocated for Edvinsson growing into that role as the season progresses.  I also made the point that Edvinsson's potential to build on many of the attributes that made Jake Walman successful with Seider, which might help explain the trade.

You can check out a sample of our conversation in the featured video above, and then listen to the full show on Spotify or Apple Podcasts:

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