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Another NHL Draft Lottery, another day where the balls just didn’t bounce the Red Wings’ way.
Detroit entered the lottery with just a 2.5 percent chance of winning, so moving up was always a long shot. But yet again, despite having only four teams behind them in the order coming in, they actually dropped a spot. They will pick at No. 13.
By this point, the Red Wings’ needs are no secret. Detroit’s pipeline needs more dynamic talent in the top six, a top-four left-shot defenseman, and, as general manager Steve Yzerman recently noted, a harder element throughout its lineup.
The 2025 draft class thins out fairly quickly, and for that reason, we won’t spend time on the prospects who are highly unlikely to make it to Detroit’s spot on the board. But there should still be a handful of good fits available to the Red Wings, even at 13.
So, with the draft order now set, let’s take a look at who those fits might be, as well as a few higher-ranked names who could fall, and some others to know.
Right in the wheelhouse
Brady Martin, C, Soo (OHL)
If you’re looking for forwards who fit the Red Wings “prototype” in recent years, Martin’s at the top of that list. He’s a competitive, physical forward who can be trusted in all situations but also has real puck skills and put up 72 points (including 33 goals) in 57 OHL games this season. He’s not the tallest at 6 feet, but he’s sturdily built, and it shows in the punishing hits he delivers. He was a force in the U18 World Championship gold-medal game, scoring two goals and making a major impact on the game. Yzerman has said the Red Wings want to be harder, and Martin would add to that in a big way. The only issue now, especially after the Red Wings dropped a spot: was Martin too good at the U18s to still be on the board at 13?
Kashawn Aitcheson, LHD, Barrie (OHL)
Aitcheson would check just about every box for the Red Wings’ big-picture needs. He looks like a top-four defenseman on the left side, with the kind of toughness and edge the Red Wings are trying to cultivate in their team. He has shown legit offense at the junior level, with 26 goals in 64 games this season for Barrie — third among all OHL defenseman, trailing only top-11 picks Zayne Parekh (33) and Sam Dickinson (29). And he has some clutch to him, with six game-winning goals and a three-point showing in Game 7 of his second-round playoff series. It’s very easy to envision him as a long-term partner for either Moritz Seider or Axel Sandin-Pellikka.
Carter Bear, LW, Everett (WHL)
Bear also feels like a Red Wings pick, with good competitiveness, a willingness to get to the hard areas of the ice, but also — crucially — a little more skill to his game. He had 40 goals and 82 points in just 56 games this season for Everett, and his fluid offensive game in the middle of the ice would make him an outstanding complement to what the Red Wings already have in place. The only issue: a reported Achilles injury that ended his season early. If Detroit feels comfortable with the medical, though, he might be the best fit on the board.
Justin Carbonneau, RW, Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL)
Carbonneau was second in the QMJHL in scoring this season with 46 goals and 89 points. Red Wings fans have been burned before by stat lines from the Q, but in Carbonneau’s case, the tools backing up that production are pretty impressive. He has good skating and size at 6-1, nice hands, gets to the middle and has a big-time shot. That’s a nice tool kit for a scoring winger.
Could they fall?
Victor Eklund, LW, Djurgårdens (Allsvenskan)
Eklund is a great skater, plays hard and can really rip it, but there’s at least a chance he slips into the Red Wings’ range because of his size, as a skinny 5-11 winger. His 19 goals playing against men in the Allsvenskan (Sweden’s second division) should be enough to overcome the anxieties that come with drafting a small winger in the top 10, but if he does slip, he’d bring top-six (and maybe top-line) potential to Detroit’s system.
Roger McQueen, C/W, Brandon (WHL)
McQueen was once in the top-five conversation for this class as a skilled 6-5 center who moves well for his size, but a back injury shortened his season and makes his range harder to pin down. That injury has to be a source of caution, but if it means McQueen floats on the board a little longer than expected, he could have the highest pure upside on this list. The medical will, of course, be the key, but it’s a highly intriguing skill set.
Radim Mrtka, RHD, Seattle (WHL)
Mrtka is in the conversation for the second-best defenseman in this draft, and as a 6-6 right-shot, it feels unlikely he’ll last too long on draft day. But stranger things have happened, and Mrtka’s length, skill and skating for his size make for a compelling package. Detroit’s long-term top-four probably needs a lefty more than another righty, but the value of right-hand shots is always at a premium, and Mrtka is such a different profile than smaller puck-mover Sandin-Pellikka that the Red Wings could easily justify it if Mrtka is still around. A future right side of Seider, Mrtka and Sandin-Pellikka would be loaded.
Other names to know
Cameron Reid, LHD, Kitchener (OHL)
Reid is an excellent skater and was an absolute horse for Kitchener in the OHL playoffs, regularly playing close to 30 minutes a night. In a perfect world, you might want a bit more offense from a 6-foot defenseman to pick him at 13, but he plays hard and has skill in his game, and his feet give him a high floor and a way to impact the game at both ends. Detroit’s comfort level with the smaller size (particularly with Sandin-Pellikka already in the fold) is the key factor here, but there’s a lot to like in Reid’s game.
Jackson Smith, LHD, Tri-City (WHL)
Smith is coming off a rocky showing at the U18 World Championship, but there is a boom-bust element to his projection. The boom potential is easy: He’s a smooth-skating 6-3 defenseman with nice puck skills and a good defensive stick. That sounds like a top-four defenseman. The flip side is that he can have some frustrating turnovers, and despite his size, the physical side of his game still leaves something to be desired.
Cole Reschny, C/W, Victoria (WHL)
Reschny is an undersized forward, listed at 5-10, but he’s coming off an outstanding playoffs in Victoria, where he put up 25 points in 11 games, and was a big part of Canada’s gold-medal team at the U18 World Championship. He had five goals in five games at that tournament, including an OT winner to push Canada past Czechia in the quarterfinal, and has shown impressive skill and playmaking ability. The size is the question — particularly for Detroit, which is already on the lighter side in its top six — but Reschny has a lot of likeable elements to his game.
Jack Nesbitt, C, Windsor (OHL)
Nesbitt is a big body at 6-4, with the physicality you’d expect, plus nice hands for his size and the poise to make plays with the puck. The question is his skating, which looks heavy right now. If adding more muscle turns that into a more explosive, powerful stride, then it’s not hard to imagine Nesbitt as a versatile piece of a lineup, bringing hard elements and skill to a top-six line, or as a menace on a third line. It takes some projection, but there are some intriguing tools here.
(Photo of Brady Martin: Kevin Sousa / Getty Images)