After trading away their first-round selection, Detroit shifts focus to Ryder Cali, a physically dominant Ontario prospect whose elite puck-handling and massive frame offer high-upside value at 47th.
It will be a quiet opening night at the NHL Draft for the Detroit Red Wings as they will be without a first-round pick after sending the selection to San Jose as part of the trade deadline deal that brought offensive defenseman Justin Faulk to Hockeytown. Detroit will have to wait until Day 2 and the 47th overall pick before making their first move of the 2026 NHL Draft.
As that pick draws closer, several names have surfaced as potential targets in that range, with one of the more intriguing being Canadian center Ryder Cali. The 17-year-old hails from Penetanguishene, a small town of just over 11,000 people situated north of Barrie, Ontario, where he developed a strong work ethic and honed what scouts have described as an elite all-around game.
Standing six-foot-two and tipping the scales at nearly 220 pounds, Cali is a physically imposing presence who uses his massive frame to win puck battles, protect possession and create space for himself and his teammates in ways that belie his age. Scouts have also taken note of his elite puck handling ability, which combined with his size makes him a difficult player to dispossess and one who can impose his will on a game in multiple ways.
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On the ice this past season, Cali turned in a solid first full campaign in the Ontario Hockey League with the North Bay Battalion, posting 16 goals and 20 assists for 36 points in 47 games. When the stakes were raised in the playoffs, he responded by chipping in a goal and three assists in ten postseason games as North Bay advanced to the second round before being swept by the top-seeded Brantford Bulldogs.
Draft rankings for Cali vary widely depending on the evaluator, with McKeen's Hockey placing him as high as 31st overall and Elite Prospects slotting him at 37th, while TSN's Craig Button has him at 62nd and The Hockey News' Tony Ferrari places him at 68th.
That range reflects a prospect whose upside is undeniable but whose development still carries some questions, with most evaluators landing on him as a second-round talent that puts him squarely in Detroit's wheelhouse at 47.
Before suiting up at the pro level, Cali is set to take his game to the NCAA next season with the Providence Friars, where his combination of size and skill should translate well to the college game. If his development continues on its current trajectory, a path to the Grand Rapids Griffins or even the Red Wings themselves could come sooner rather than later.
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