Derek Lalonde and the Red Wings have finalized their roster as they prepare for the season-opener Friday night.
The biggest takeaway concerns the biggest player: rookie Elmer Soderblom has made the team. The 6'8, 245-pound winger, a sixth-round pick by Steve Yzerman in 2019, impressed enough in training camp and the preseason to earn a spot in the NHL.
Soderblom, who scored 21 goals last season in the Swedish Hockey League, figures to play on one of Detroit's top three lines and its second power play unit.
Elsewhere on prospect watch, defenseman Simon Edvinsson and forward Jonatan Berggren have been assigned to AHL Grand Rapids. So has goalie Sebastian Cossa, who figures to stay there for the duration of the season as long as his play warrants it. The Wings won't rush the 19-year-old to Detroit.
Edvinsson and Berggren will likely be called up in time. Evdinsson, the sixth overall pick in 2021, is one of the top defensive prospects in hockey and isn't far from contributing at the NHL level. Nor is Berggren, a second-round pick in 2018 who put up big numbers last season in Grand Rapids. The more they dominate in the AHL, the quicker they'll be in Detroit.
Up front, the Red Wings are led by captain Dylan Larkin and fellow center Andrew Copp and wingers Tyler Bertuzzi, Lucas Raymond, Jakub Vrana and free agent acquisitions David Perron and Dominik Kubalik.
Their blueline is headlined by reigning Rookie of the Year Moritz Seider, as well as free agent acquisitions Ben Chiarot and Olli Maatta.
Alex Nedeljkovic and Ville Husso will share the duties in goal.
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