Michigan native Carter Mazur brings a gritty, Tkachuk-style edge to Detroit. If the young forward stays healthy, his net-front tenacity could fill the scoring void left by a veteran.
The Detroit Red Wings will open this season without one of the team's veteran presences from this past season, as James van Riemsdyk will not be back with the club.
The 37-year-old forward was good for somewhere between 35 and 40 points a season, numbers that undersold his actual impact. His real value lived in front of the net, where he battled for space, screened goaltenders and turned rebounds into scoring chances in a way that never fully translated to advanced stats.
That production started to slip last season as van Riemsdyk finished with 31 points in 72 games, his lowest full-season output since 2022-23, when a 21-game absence limited him to 29 points. The decline wasn't dramatic on its own, but combined with his age and an evolving Red Wings roster, it made the decision to move on easier for Detroit's front office.
Detroit doesn't have an one-for-one replacement waiting in the wings, but 24-year-old Carter Mazur may be the closest thing to it. Mazur enters this season with a real chance to claim a bigger role at the NHL level, something that has mostly eluded him so far in his young career. He's described his own style as being built in the mold of a Tkachuk brother, a fitting comparison for a player who plays with an edge and a physicality that stands out.
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There's also a personal layer to Mazur's story that separates him from a typical prospect trying to break through. The Jackson, Michigan, native grew up a Red Wings fan and now finds himself trying to earn a permanent spot wearing the Winged Wheel, the same jersey he rooted for as a kid.
Health has been the biggest obstacle standing between Mazur and a full-time NHL role. Injuries have interrupted his development at several points, but when healthy, he's shown he can produce, having established himself as a point-per-game player in the AHL.
If he can stay on the ice for a full season, there's genuine intrigue around what kind of numbers he's capable of putting up against NHL competition.
Nobody on Detroit's roster is being asked to be a carbon copy of van Riemsdyk. But if any player has a realistic path to that 30-point, net-front kind of impact, it's Mazur, and this season may be the one that determines whether he's ready to fill it.
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