Midseason is a busy time in the prospect business.



In addition to the now-finished 2020 world juniors in the Czech Republic, it’s also the season for scouting meetings, as the NHL season nears the trade deadline and college and junior teams approach the regular season’s home stretch.



That leaves Shawn Horcoff, the former 15-year NHLer now in charge of Detroit’s player development program, with a lot on his plate. The Red Wings have made 32 draft picks in the last three years. With the exception of 2018 sixth overall pick Filip Zadina (currently in the NHL), and a few picks who have since left the organization, most of those players are all somewhere in Detroit’s prospect pipeline, scattered across the globe. The team has five recent first-rounders in Grand Rapids, five total draft picks who were at the world juniors earlier this month, and many more in Europe and at U.S. colleges.



Last week, Horcoff spoke with The Athletic by phone to...