Inside the rebuild: A check on Detroit Red Wings' top-5 prospects

The Detroit Red Wings brought in 21 players for the rebuild over the last two drafts, including several high-end forwards.

As the 2018-19 season heads into the stretch drive — be it at the junior level or in Sweden — a handful of those players look like promising pieces for the Wings’ future. Pieces that down the road will join the core already in Detroit, a group headlined by Dylan Larkin and including Anthony Mantha, Andreas Athanasiou, Tyler Bertuzzi.

While Filip Zadina’s scoring potential makes him the team’s top prospect, Joe Veleno’s buzz is almost as loud. He and Larkin, the Wings’ first-round pick from 2014, could be a knockout 1-2 punch at center eventually.

Here are the top five prospects in the Wings organization. The list does not include young players who already have made inroads with the team (Michael Rasmussen, Dennis Cholowski, Filip Hronek, Evgeny Svechnikov).

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F Filip Zadina

Drafted: Sixth, 2018.

2018-19 stats: 11 goals, 10 assists in 36 games with Grand Rapids (AHL).

Buzz: Returned from Junior World Championships (one assist in five games) and produced two goals and one assist in his second game back. He had no points the next six games, then scored his 11th goal of the season. He’s had four two-goal performances.

Overall, Zadina looks better than he did in his first few months adjusting to pro hockey. He needs to continue to improve at winning puck battles, and once that part of his game matures, he’ll have more offensive opportunities. It’s worth remembering Zadina just turned 19 on Nov. 27.

The Griffins are home for much of February, and team personnel, led by director of player development Shawn Horcoff, plan to take advantage of having more access to Zadina.

“It gives us development guys the time to go down there and do some work with him, focus on his game and get some good reps in,” Horcoff said. “We want him to get better at bringing the puck into scoring areas. For a shooter like him, he’s trying to find the open ice. We also want him to defer more, not try to do everything by himself — have more of a give-and-go as he tries to find open spots.”

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F Joe Veleno

Drafted: 30th, 2018.

2018-19 stats: 31 goals, 42 assists in 39 games with Drummondville (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League).

Buzz: Played for Canada at 2019 World Junior Championships (two assists in five games). Returned to juniors and just had a seven-game point streak (eight goals, seven assists) snapped. He’s having a career year offensively, already blowing by the 22 goals he scored and closing in on the 79 points he produced in 2017-18. But it’s the defensive side of his game that the Wings want to see improve.

“He’s all ears for what it will take,” Horcoff said. “He’s not there yet, but he’s getting good NHL habits into his system.”

Veleno is a swift skater who can get into good scoring spots. That’s another area he needs to work on — similarly to Mantha, Veleno has a tendency to look for the perfect play rather than go to his shot — so improving his release is another area of improvement o.

The Wings want Veleno to be a complete center at both ends.

“He’s for sure a better defensive player than he was,” Horcoff said. “On top of that, he’s having his best year offensively. There’s good signs on both sides of the puck.”

That's a reminder of Larkin — since entering the NHL in 2015, a year after the Wings drafted him at 15th overall, he has worked hard on his game to become a complete player, using his speed to be effective on both sides of the puck. Is that a realistic expectation for Veleno?

“It’d be fantastic if he can turn out to be someone like Larkin,” Horcoff said. “If we have two guys like that, we’d be in good shape. Now, Dylan got here by work ethic. You see how long it takes, and he has great focus. There’s only so much growth at the junior hockey level — once you come to the pros, even the minors, then you get exposed and you have to adjust and fine-tune your game even more.”

Veleno, 19, is eligible to play in Grand Rapids next season.

D Gustav Lindstrom

Drafted: 38th, 2017.

2018-19 stats: 3 goals, 3 assists in 36 games with Frolunda (SHL).

Buzz: He’s the top defensive prospect in the organization, just edging out Jared McIsaac because Lindstrom, 20, has more experience. He’s already playing among older men in the Swedish Hockey League, where he averages 18:17 of ice time per game. Lindstrom, who shoots right, plays on both special teams with the Indians, with a bigger power-play role. He has the skill set to do both at the NHL level, maybe more so as a second-unit power-play guy and primary penalty killer.

D Jared McIsaac

Drafted: 36th, 2018.

2018-19 stats: 9 goals, 24 assists in 32 games with Halifax (QMJHL).

Buzz: Played for Canada at 2019 World Junior Championships (one assist in four games). He’s a good all-around defenseman who skates well, plays physical and is hard to play against. He’s a penalty killer, but could forge a role as a power-play point man if his shot improves and he learns to get pucks through from the blue line and if he displays the vision to read penalty kills.

F Jonatan Berggren

Drafted: 33rd, 2018.

2018-19 stats: Three assists in 16 games with Skelleftea (Swedish Hockey League).

Buzz: Has been sidelined by back surgery since December, but is expected to start skating soon. Even though his season largely has been defined by injury, he makes the top-five cut because of his top-six potential on the wing. Berggren has it all — he’s skilled, fast and a terrific playmaker with excellent hands.

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.