Which Red Wings prospects are standing out in AHL playoffs? (2024)

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Red Wings’ top AHL affiliate is now officially on the ropes.

After a gutting, sudden 3-2 overtime loss to the Milwaukee Admirals in Game 3 of the Central Division final, the Grand Rapids Griffins’ season is now on the line in a best-of-five series, and that means it’s desperation time for the Red Wings’ top prospects, whose seasons hang in the balance.

But even through two series, this playoff run has already offered up plenty to chew on when it comes to Detroit’s farm system. Playoff performers have asserted themselves. NHL timelines have become just a bit clearer. And this week, 2023 No. 9 pick Nate Danielson made his pro debut.

So, ahead of Game 4 on Friday night, here’s what we’ve seen so far from some of Detroit’s top prospects in these playoffs.

Carter Mazur’s readiness

I don’t think I’d call Mazur the Griffins’ outright best player in these playoffs — Austin Czarnik is their leading postseason scorer and has looked the part — but he’s stood out for all the reasons you’ve come to expect. He’s a fearless competitor, and as a result, he consistently finds his way to scoring chances.

He did not score in Wednesday’s Game 3 but could have easily had a pair of goals. He thought he had one, jamming away at a puck in Yaroslav Askarov’s pads before officials waved the goal off. He had another big-time look late in the game off a rebound.

So while Mazur trails Czarnik (eight points in seven games) and Jonatan Berggren (seven), it is in no way surprising to see him next up for the Griffins with six points in the playoffs and tied for the 10th-most shots on goal across the league this postseason.

“He’s awesome,” Czarnik said of Mazur. “He’s become a heck of a player throughout the year. So, it’s been fun to play with him. He makes simple plays, he makes good plays, and he can control the puck, handle guys, so it’s been fun to play with him.”

There’s going to be a ton of intrigue around the young collection of forwards going into Red Wings training camp this fall between Mazur, Berggren, recent top-10 picks Danielson and Marco Kasper, and 6-foot-8 Elmer Söderblom. What Detroit does this summer is going to have a big hand in determining how many spots those players are competing for. But from what I’ve seen in these playoffs, Mazur is the one who most often made me think, “How is this guy not on the team next season?”

The biggest question is going to be strength, as Mazur is still a bit stringy for the kind of hard-edged, tenacious game he wants to play. And it may be that Berggren’s lack of waiver exemption still gives him the logistical edge in actually handicapping a favorite. But Mazur looks like he can bring the hard-area scoring the Red Wings need, and while he’s still young, he is now 22. I think he can help them soon. He’s already a very important piece for the Griffins.

William Wallinder’s growth

There weren’t many major positives for the Griffins in Game 3 because, despite the game going to overtime, Grand Rapids was decidedly out of rhythm for the first two periods. Shots were lopsided in Milwaukee’s favor until the Griffins came out roaring in the third.

But Wallinder was a bright spot for me. He had Grand Rapids’ only goal in those first two frames, creeping down into the left circle, and while the shot itself wasn’t anything remarkable, Game 3 was probably the most comfortable I’ve seen Wallinder in Grand Rapids. He had a goal and an assist and a very notable one-on-one defensive play in the third period, using his body to kill a would-be chance off the rush and spring the Griffins the other way in transition.

Wallinder’s best tool is his skating at 6-4. But what will really make him an NHL regular is if he can continue to incorporate that physical defending into his game. A great skater with length and some offense is a strong starting place; a great skater with length, offense and physicality is the profile of a potential regular. So it was encouraging to see that kind of performance from Wallinder.

“Just trying to be a little more intense in those situations,” Griffins coach Dan Watson said. “Trying to end plays harder, and it’s just being harder on the puck, harder on people. That’s where his game’s gotta grow, and it’s continuing to grow. And he’ll learn that. But you can see it in moments: He’s a special player, he’s going to be a real good player here. Obviously scored that big goal, great play, but now those areas around the net, down the walls, the battle areas, that’s where he’s gotta grow his game.”

Wallinder is ticketed for another season in Grand Rapids, and I’m eager to see how much he’s able to embrace those physical challenges.

Nate Danielson’s debut

The story of the week so far has been Danielson’s arrival in Grand Rapids following the conclusion of a stellar WHL playoff run. Danielson was a force for Portland in the postseason, putting up 24 points in 18 games, tied for fourth in the WHL. That was a continuation of an offensive eruption, doubling his assist numbers after the trade to produce at nearly a 1.5-points-per-game rate in the second half.

That has been, understandably, the cause for a lot of excitement — and so has been his subsequent assignment to Grand Rapids.

There has been an adjustment period, though, which only makes sense. Danielson played his first two games without so much as a full practice. The Griffins coaches went over their systems with Danielson without really being able to do a full on-ice install, instead having to rely on video and a slideshow of how the Griffins play. And Watson noted after Game 3 “he’s not going to miss coverages, he’s going to be smart with the puck,” which speaks to how well he picked up those systems despite the circ*mstances.

But that adjustment factor is still real, particularly when it comes to what Danielson can make happen with the puck jumping up a league and into a playoff series. The detail and maturity in his game still has stood out, but it hasn’t yet led to many dangerous chances, as Danielson combined for one shot in his first two games. And again: That only makes sense for the circ*mstances.

“I like him,” Watson said. “Right now he’s figuring it out, but he’s a smooth skater, thinks the game extremely well. He made some nice plays here tonight. … I think he’ll get more comfortable next game and hopefully he’ll be a factor, but with that said it’s still a lot of pressure on him to come in here and jump into the series and get going. But he’s handled it extremely well, he’s a mature kid, he’s very responsible on the ice, and I trust him out there.”

Danielson said he didn’t think Game 3 was his best game and pointed to how tight it was on the ice and the challenges of getting going.

“It felt like a lot of times you get the puck, even if you beat the first guy, there’s a second guy right on you,” Danielson said. “That’s probably the biggest adjustment, I think.”

It was always going to be a big ask for Danielson to make an impact jumping right into this kind of situation, and really, it’s more for his long-term benefit than anything. We’ll see how he adjusts if the Griffins can continue to stay alive.

Marco Kasper

We’ll go quicker on Kasper because we talked about him in depth in the last prospect update, but I think the Red Wings will be happy with what they’ve seen from Kasper in this playoff run. He’s got five points in seven games these playoffs, headlined by a three-point outing in Game 1 of this series, and continues to be the kind of hard-nosed two-way player Detroit drafted him to be. He had a couple of nice chances turned away in Game 2 of this series and could have had a couple more potential Grade-A looks in Game 3 if Berggren was just a hair quicker getting him the puck as he drove the net.

I’ll be fascinated to see where his game is come fall. My gut instinct is that some more time in Grand Rapids, playing top minutes and getting real power play usage, would help him. But he’s got a lot of the elements the Red Wings will be looking for this summer and has steadily improved throughout the season. A big camp and preseason could make him a tricky decision for Detroit. He’s an easy player to like.

Sebastian Cossa

Cossa had a rocky outing in Game 2, so one of my biggest questions coming into Game 3 was how he’d bounce back. Watson coached Cossa last year in Toledo, as well, so I asked him ahead of the game how Cossa usually responded.

“I think if you look at any time he’s had a loss and maybe not played up to his standards and our standards, he’s had a great bounce-back game,” Watson said. “That’s been part of his growth is just that mental fortitude and making sure he’s mentally dialed in. Full confidence he’s going to have a great bounce-back game. … That big Game 3 for him (in the first round), he was huge against Rockford early on, allowed us to get a lead and play with a lead, and he made some big saves early. And we’re going to need him to do that again tomorrow.”

That proved prophetic. Cossa took a barrage of shots through the first two periods and kept the Griffins in the game despite the lopsided shot disadvantage. He stopped all 11 shots he faced in the first and was the biggest reason Grand Rapids was still within range to make a third-period comeback and force overtime. In the end, he stopped 27 of 30, and the winner that beat him in OT was a deflection that he had no chance at.

It was a good outing, even in the loss, and it gave the Griffins a chance. I’d call that a successful bounce-back, just as Watson predicted.

Albert Johansson

Johansson has been playing a big role all playoffs for the Griffins. He’s been playing on their top pairing — first on the right side with Simon Edvinsson on the left, and more recently on the left side with Edvinsson out (day-to-day) with an injury. In this series, he’s played over 21 minutes per game. That speaks to the coaching staff’s trust in him.

He’s got three assists in seven games, including one Wednesday, but point production isn’t really the make-or-break of his game. In fact, to hear Watson tell it, his subtlety is part of the appeal.

“He’s responsible behind that blue line,” Watson said. “I think his mobility helps him quite a bit defending and I just think he sees the plays really well, kills plays on line rushes and makes a good first pass. And I think he’s a guy that you have to coach, you have to see him a lot to appreciate what he does because some games you’re not going to notice him. And that means he’s doing the right things. And other games — I remember one game he scored two goals by having a good one-timer. So he can do a lot of different things, but when you don’t notice him is when he’s having his best games. But you have to see him enough to appreciate it.”

Johansson is expected to be on the Red Wings roster next fall, no longer exempt from waivers. He can do a bit of everything, but he doesn’t scream go-to power play QB or top penalty killer right away — though I do think the latter unit is more likely to be his special teams fit. Perhaps he’s a bit like Olli Määttä in that way.

His role and playing time, then, will depend on how well he can demonstrate his overall value to Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde and his staff through the preseason. But while he will have to make that case on the ice next fall, it doesn’t hurt to be able to point to playoff reps like these in the meantime.

(Photo of Nate Danielson: Nicolas Carrillo / Grand Rapids Griffins)

Max Bultman is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Detroit Red Wings. He has also written for the Sporting News, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Max is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where he covered Michigan football and men's basketball. Follow Max on Twitter @m_bultman