Here's my attempt to predict the future of the Wings D so comment as you wish. More importantly, given the Trade deadline coming up, I'm hoping they can package a quality D prospect with Bernier, Ryan or Staal as an example to maybe pry away a first round pick in the second half of the upcoming draft.
My top 6, (1) 2021 1st pick assuming they pick a LHD and get someone like Power or Hughes and to that add the following:
Hronek, Seider, Johansson, Wallinder, Tuomisto
That leaves some quality prospects they can part with if needed like McIsaac, Viro, Cholowski, Berglund, and on and on.
Thoughts?
This is something I've given some thought to because of the way the cap is structured.
So for this hypothetical situation, let's assume we end up with Hughes, Power, Lambos or Edvinsson. (LD) with Seider coming in as #1RD next year.
If Tuomisto(RD) pans out as a solid #4 or #5 guy with a shot tailored for the powerplay, then either he could be moved or Hronek could be moved depending on the return. We're more certain that Hronek is the better player
now, but can Hronek be moved for an upgrade at forward somewhere, and can his hole be plugged by an incoming free agent while Tuomisto finishes his college career?
Johansson(LD) is looking to be a very solid puck moving D option that could become a complementary 1st pairing guy with someone like Seider, or if we put him on the 2nd unit with another solid defensive RD. I don't think he moves, but it could also mean that Wallinder becomes a prospect trading chip because he is very raw.
I've said Wallinder(LD) could be a Brendan Smith or Jakub Kindl where you think, "Why the f*** did he make that pass across his crease?!" or he could become an Alex Edler where you're saying, "Wow! What great skating! Why doesn't he rush the puck like that more often?!" and I think Yzerman puts a lot more emphasis on hockey sense than raw tools so this is why I think he'd be quicker to move on from Wallinder if that area of his game doesn't improve. The kid only has 6 points and is -12 in the Allsvenskan this year so
McIsaac(LD) if he ever gets past his shoulder injury problems (I totally empathize here) then I think he could become a solid bottom 4 guy. I'd liken him to a poor man's Brad Stuart to possibly our next Brad Stuart. Very good athleticism, willingness to play physical, has decent puck skills but is more defensive minded. The likelihood of him moving is based on how easy it will be for us to get a physical bottom pair, PK1 kind of guy either as an FA or through trade.
Viro(LD) could be anything, at the moment. Such a good skater, and his offense is improving. Realistically I think he ends up as a #5-6 guy that can move the puck up ice with a good first pass or by skating it out of trouble, but if that's where he tops out then he's someone that could be moved easier than others. Does he become Esa Lindell? Does he become Bart Lebda or Nick Jensen?
Cholowski(LD) is someone that needs to show he can make it by the end of this season or he's probably on the outs. I think he's probably out and for cheap. Much lower than a 1st rounder.
Berglund(RD) is a guy that 100% needs to be in the SHL. He looked really good from the very limited viewing I saw of him at the WJC, but that's not enough to really tell if he's just going to be a solid SHL pro, or if he's got something that could turn him into a good NHLer.
Sebrango(LD) I'm on the fence about. He's a guy that I'm not sure what he turns into, but I feel good that he was one of the few players invited to Canada's camp that wasn't a first rounder. I haven't seen enough of him to really comment, though.
The list above shows that we have a lot of LD prospects, but drafting Hughes or Power would really give us a lot more options in building our lineup and allow us to trade some of these guys to improve other areas. I'd say that
Cholowski, Viro and Wallinder are tradeable assets in the future with the possibility of
McIsaac being on that list. For this year.
I think it's a great idea to hold onto Troy Stecher and Jon Merrill because they have been steady, if unspectacular this season. And I think they'd serve us well in a role on the bottom pair if we could improve our middle pair. They're affordable, tradeable, and replaceable players that will allow us to develop the prospects. And if the bottom tier prospects don't pan out then we keep them or we find other FAs to replace them.
TLDR: Mcisaac, Cholowski and Wallinder could be used to upgrade a pick. Viro could be used to add a pick, but I wouldn't trade him away yet.
