Danielson over Kasper? I wouldn’t say no.

Let's start with the bad:

As is expected by any team that builds through draft, this team is heavily contingent on our prospects panning out. Although I am huge on all of these prospects, I understand that sometimes players just don't pan out, and with 8 of these roster players are currently prospect with little-to-no NHL experience, it's a big risk. I'm not all too sold on Cossa yet, as well. Although he had a very good end to his ECHL tenure, it was still the ECHL. He's looked alright in WJC and development camps, but not at the level that I believe he should be performing given where he was drafted. Hopefully it's because he's slow to adapt to competition, which could explain why he underperforms in small sample sizes and early into the season, but that's not a good enough reason to put full faith into this kid.

Another issue is that, among the top-6, Larkin is by far the most physically capable presence (aware of Danielson being a big body, but not sure how physical he is). Not to discredit Larkin as a physical player, but I can only just think about the B2B against Ottawa where we folded due to physicality and believe that this team could fall victim to that same issue. Now, in Bultman's article, he suggests that the top-line LW be a physical playmaker, which I completely agree with, but those guys don't grow on trees. I'm not sure if there's a guy who matches that mold in the 2024 draft (@z0ra if you could answer that, I'd appreciate it), but if the plan is to fill that hole via draft, that's a 9th guy we're hoping that pans out perfectly. Trying to fill that position that's a lot easier said than done. Tyler Bertuzzi comes to mind, but given his injury issues and his age, he himself is not the right kind of guy.

A final issue, which is more of a question and correlates with the previous remark, is if you can win a Stanley Cup without an offensive superstar. Although Larkin and DeBrincat are very good players, and stars in their own right, this team has no star on the offense. Now, we've just seen Vegas win the cup (in an almost dominant fashion) without a true "superstar," although I can hear arguments for Eichel. This Red Wings team is structured very similarly to the Knights team in the sense that it had the ability to roll four lines. HOWEVER, that Knights team was very physical top-to-bottom, which I can't say for our top-6. That top-line LW needs to be very physical and a very good playmaker, which is hard to find, and a hot commodity.

I like the odds of Gibson or Ant Johansson taking that 3rd pairing RD.

Wallinder-Seider
Edvinsson-ASP

One of Johansson/Buium/Walman(vet) on the left side
One of Gibson/Ant/Tuo(notsoldonhimyet) on the right

Brady Cleveland as the 7

I think he notches 2C due to his play style, aka, having a higher offensive ceiling than Kasper. However, I don't think the actual hierarchy of the lines matters too much. This team looks to be built with the intent of rolling the top three lines as if they're equals.

Now take out half of the prospects because they all aren't going to be NHL players

The Good:

This team will be young. Although building a team through drafting is a big risk, the payoff can be huge. Although I did previously state that we're entrusting many prospects in this team, these are all prospects that we can reasonably expect to pan out -- it's not a coin flip. Although this could create cap issues in the future, I'm too lazy to calculate the cap structure out, so I'm not too sure.

These lines are built very well, and each of these players pair well with eachother.
I'm more knowledgeable on the bottom-6 guys than the top-6, but I'll give my best description of them.
Starting with the top line, this line is an offensive line. Although Yzerman should target a physical playmaker for that hole, a playmaker is more important. Larkin himself is a very good 2-way center, meaning that this line won't be all offense, but with DeBrincat on your line, a goalscorer with meh defense, defense clearly won't be the priority. A lot of this, as stated ad nauseum, is contingent on that LW hole, and who that player is.
The 2nd line, I'm admittedly the least knowledgeable on. From what I know, though, Berggren is a very good pass-first, perimeter guy. I think he has a lot more potential than what has been shown, citing his previous statline in the SHL and AHL. Raymond, who plays more in the center, positions well with Berggren. These two played together in the WC and looked very good. Raymond, as a playstyle, I'm not too sure of. I've seen him do a lot of everything. However, these two guys are not playdrivers, which is where Danielson comes in. He was the heart and soul of the Wheat Kings offense, and drove most of their rushes. If Danielson had even just one good player with him on the Wheat Kings, he probably gets a lot more points than he did.
The 3rd line is by far my favorite line. All of these guys are two-way, physical forwards. Kasper himself is best described as a pissed off wasp. Wherever the puck goes, Kasper goes too. His forecheck is insane, and is good on the back check as well. He's a good skater, he can make plays, his shot is to be desired, but that is contrasted with Mazur, a shooting goalscorer who can, and will, throw around his body. Rasmussen, like his linemates, is a big physical presence. I do think there's a bit of overlap for a netfront presence, as both Kasper and Rasmussen both tend to play that role, but that's an issue that can be ironed out.
The fourth line, which is definitively the worst line here imo, will be a defense first, offense possibly line. Bultman left this the RW slot open, and suggested Lombardi or Soderblom, but I'd think Soderblom would do well. Plant him out front in the net, and let Copp and Compher hover above the circles.

The defense, although is projected to have 4 (current) prospects, is a chef's kiss. I do think that, given Edvinsson and Wallinder turn into quality defenseman, Wallinder should pair with Seider. This mainly comes down to spreading physicality, given Edvinsson and Seider can both be extremely physical guys. To add on, I believe Wallinder's offensive ceiling is higher than Edvinsson, and it just makes more sense to put the high offense with the high defense guy. This is contingent on who that 2RD is, though. If that guy is a physical, defensive RD, that isn't horrible (Chiarot), then the pairings are fine.
Johansson and Pellikka is an interesting take, but I like it. Johansson plays a very sound game that could help prevent mistakes that a high offense defenseman (Pellikka) is bound to make. Basically, Johansson gives Pellikka a very long leash to do whatever he wants without having to worry too much about defensive repurcussions.



As said, and what cannot be ignored, is that this team requires a LOT of prospects to pan out. Now, these are all prospects that look to be panning out, and these expectations aren't too far fetched, but we don't live in a perfect world. A lot of luck will be required for this team to succeed. Assuming fair expectations, this team will need a helluva player at that LW role to win the cup.

Au revoir, and hope you guys enjoy.

Yeah, if you care to read my walls of text I talk about that.

i would say the blues won without any superstar. last team in 20 years to win the cup witouth a a pick in the top 3.

There are a bunch of good playmakers in the 2024 Draft, but the problem is none of them are physical. The only one I can think of is Igor Chernyshov. Really good playmaker and uses his size well. But there's a 10% chance he could actually go 1st (I have him ranked 5th on my board). Another good option is Helenius, way smaller and is a bit less all-around than Chernyshov. But still has the same elite playmaking. Sometimes is physical, but not as much as Chernyshov.

For a defensive RD, a good choice would be Charlie Elick. He is a bit of a project, but actually is a solid skater and plays really well defensively. How much offense can he put up at the next level is a question mark. Don't forget that he's the teammate of Nate Danielson as well.

Completely true and I just forgot about them, but that team was extremely physical as well, no?

So basically hope Red Wings can get Igor and then hope he develops well. A lotta hope there. I can't see Detroit targeting a defensive defenseman with their pick, this guy really wouldn't have much of a key role other than to just stay there and let Wallinder cook.

Thanks!

more than the wings right now for sure.

It's fun to speculate about future lines, but its impossible to guess what the roster will look like in 26-27. I remember when people said Athanasiou, Mantha and Bertuzzi where big part of the future. Or when people said we can't Draft right handed defenseman because we already have Seider, Hronek, Lindtröm and Tuomisto

Haven't we Red Wings fans already learned what kind of GM Steve Yzerman is? He's probably the most active GM in the whole league - but he will not sign anybody from the free agency? Or there will not be any big trades coming in the next 3 years? Seems really unrealistic.