The Detroit Red Wings need defensive help in front of their goaltending. Questions can be asked as to whether Moritz Seider has regressed under second-year head coach Derek Lalonde. Seider won the Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year in his first season, while Jeff Blashill was the head coach. The Red Wings are 12 points behind the Boston Bruins in the Atlantic Division. The team is four points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs as they near the halfway point of the NHL season.
A pair of Detroit Red Wings prospects have been named to the all-star team. Jonatan Berggren and Simon Edvinsson will represent the Grand Rapids Griffins at the 2024 AHL All-Star Classic. This will be held on February 4-5th in San Jose, California. These two players both have NHL experience but have yet to play with the Red Wings during the 2023-24 season. Edvinsson has scored six goals and added 13 assists in 29 games played for the Griffins this season.
The recent statistics that Edvinsson has put up would lead one to believe there is a spot for him on the Red Wings roster. Edvinsson, a native of Onsala, Sweden, was selected sixth overall by the Red Wings in 2021 and has 19 points in 29 games for the Griffins this season. This ranks third on the Griffins’ roster. Additionally, Edvinsson is tied for seventh among AHL defensemen with six goals, tied for seventh with two power-play goals, and tied for fifth with two game-winners. From November 15th to December 10th Edvinsson had 12 points in 12 games and has also had three points in his last three games played.
Berggren currently leads the Griffins with eight goals and 15 assists in 22 games played. The 23-year-old Enkoping, Sweden native was selected 33rd overall by the Red Wings in 2018 and had a season-high six-game point streak from November 18th to December 5th. In 99 games played for the Griffins, Berggren scored 94 points. The scoring promise that led the Red Wings to draft Berggren showed itself in 2021-22 when he broke the team’s rookie single-season scoring record with 64 points in 70 games.
For a Red Wings team that has struggled to score at points during this season and recently lost its defensive shape, both Edvinsson and Berggren would be much-needed additions to the roster. For the moment the two will have to represent the winged wheel at the upcoming AHL all-star game in San Jose, California.
