The Moritz Seider hype train continues to gain steam.
A month after being named defenseman of the year in the Swedish Hockey League, the Red Wings' top prospect cleaned up at the World Championships in Latvia.
After helping Team Germany reach the semifinals where they bowed out last weekend in a 2-1 loss to Finland, Seider won best defenseman of the tournament (as selected by the IIHF tournament directorate) and was one of two defensemen named to the All-Star team (as selected by the media).
He turned 20 in April.
Seider, the sixth overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, led Germany's blueline by playing 19:41 per game and tied for the team lead with five assists.
He "brought an assured, mature presence to the blue line that belied his youth and showed just why he was a first-round pick for the Red Wings," said Andy Potts of the IIHF.
This comes on the heels of a breakout season in the SHL in which the 6'4 Seider put up 28 points in 41 games while finishing plus-14, then added five points in 13 playoff games to help his team reach the championship.
Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman said last month "our expectation and our hope is that Moritz is ready" to play in the NHL at the start of next season.
Related
Head coach Jeff Blashill said Seider has "exceeded expectations" in his first two professional stops since being drafted by Detroit, including in 2019-20 with the Grand Rapids Griffins.
"Now he’s going to face his greatest test. The NHL is the best league in the world," Blashill said last month. "You face players in the NHL you don’t face at any other level. He’ll face his greatest test and he'll get a chance on a night to night basis to show how good he’s going to be and how quickly he’s going to become that."
In the words of Johnny Cash, "I hear the train a-comin', it's rollin' 'round the bend."