Grading the 2026 Red Wings Draft
Another in a series of far too early assessments from the latest draft class
Since NHL drafts have embraced WFH energy, we dip into the archives
Following up on last year’s first edition, it’s time to make far too early proclamations on how this draft went for the Detroit Red Wings. In my draft preview, I made the case that Detroit needed to finally target skill with their best draft capital, and I have to say I am pleasantly surprised with how that went this time around. I even got one pick correct, as the Red Wings selected Adam Levac with the 108th overall selection.
First, I will give an overall grade for the draft, then I will follow that up with my grades and thoughts on each player selected. It’s probably worth pointing out my individual grades are based on draft position, so if I rank a 7th rounder as an A grade, it’s simply means I like some characteristic that I think makes that player stand out. A player in a later round can get an A grade and have little chance of making it to the NHL.
Overall 2026 Red Wings Draft Grade: A- (3.57)
This grade probably seems overly optimistic, as there were no surefire scoring line forwards, top 4 defenders, or starting goaltenders selected this weekend. Detroit almost certainly didn't fill the biggest hole in their lineup, as they didn’t draft a center within the first 100 picks of the draft.
So what gives?
I generally view this draft as an attempt to address the other holes beyond first line center, which — to be honest — is only going to be acquired either through the Dylan Larkin trade or perhaps in next summer’s draft if this upcoming season goes as poorly as anticipated due to a stacked Atlantic division.
My take in the draft preview article was that Detroit needed to add skill, primarily playmakers, but more generally guys who have demonstrated an ability to put points on the scoreboard. They also targeted guys who are capable forecheckers, which is an important aspect of play if you struggle to score goals: if you can turn the opponent over in their end of the ice, you will likely generated more scoring chances.
The Red Wings are one of the worst even-strength scoring teams in the league (29th in 5v5 goals for), so the acquisition of players who have scored at lower levels or have demonstrated skill as forecheckers gives you hope they can continue to be scorers or contribute to scoring goals as they move up the food chain.
This is a departure from recent top 10 draft picks used on centers like Marco Kasper and Nate Danielson, who both have rock solid two-way play, but have never been known as being high level point producers.
Selecting Carter Bear last season — whom I gave a B grade — and now JP Hurlbert indicate the organization understands it can no longer hope offense will magically materialize out of thin air when prospects graduate to play in the hardest league in the world against the best talent in the world.
I think it’s also important to point out that the first two draft picks have ties to the area, and with Dylan Larkin requesting a trade, it was a good move to select guys who appeared excited to join the organization. Of course achieving a lifelong dream of being drafted into the NHL is enough to enthuse any prospect, but with the current trajectory of the franchise, I do believe it worked in the organization’s favor to draft players in the first and second round who were quite excited about playing for an organization that last made the playoffs when they were 7 years old.
The bottom line is I didn’t hate or roll my eyes at a single one of these draft picks. I’d call that progress, and that’s why I’m rewarding this draft class with top marks.
Individual Draft Pick Grades
1st Round, 23rd overall: JP Hurlbert - Left Wing - CHL
Grade: A
To be upfront with you, there’s risk involved with JP Hurlbert not developing into an NHL regular, but in trading Sebastian Cossa to get a first round draft pick, selecting Hurlbert was an attempt to acquire a player who if he hits, can be a consistent 25-30 goal scorer and 30 assist guy in the NHL. That currently doesn’t look like the trajectory for top 10 draft picks Marco Kasper or Nate Danielson. Carter Bear may be able to score at that level, and with Hurlbert, you have another guy who if it works out, will be a scorer.
Hurlbert played with the USNTDP in 2024-25, but it wasn’t one of the better US national teams. As a 16 year old, he barely cracked the top 100 in point production across the league and sat outside the top 60 in goals scored. His point per game totals (minimum of 30 games played) vaulted him into the top 25, but rather than stick around the USHL for another season, Hurlbert made the decision to go play in the best amateur league in North America, joining the Kamloops Blazers for the 2025-26 season.
The decision worked out remarkably well, as Hurlbert’s production skyrocketed. Here’s how his production among 17 and under skaters ranked across the WHL:
2nd leading goal scorer
4th leading assist generator
3rd in points
3rd in PPG (min 40 games)
While the Ruck twins got most of the attention in the WHL, Hurlbert quietly put up a solid 97 point season. You have to go all the way back to the 2006 draft with the selection of Cory Emmerton to find the last Red Wings prospect who had 90 point campaign in the season leading up to the summer of his draft class. For players who are still in the NHL, Anthony Mantha came the closest when he put up 89 points in the QMJHL prior to being drafted.
Elite Prospects ranked Hurlbert as having the 4th best shot in his draft class, so it’s nice to see Detroit sacrifice their preference for 200 foot defensive forwards for a kid with some obvious skill. With that being said, Hurlbert is improving his defensive play. This quote is from the most recent EP scouting report from Mitchell Brown:
There’s still work to do defensively (supporting deep in his own zone), physically (developing the strength to absorb contact), and skating-wise (lacks explosiveness and depth). He’s still a boom-bust prospect, but he’s raising the floor without sacrificing the dual-threat scoring upside. A clear A-grade prospect for me.
Hurlbert will attend the University of Michigan, so I’m very optimistic on the development path he’s set for himself, first moving from the USHL to the WHL, and then to one of the best collegiate programs for developing forwards.
If everything goes just right with his development, I can envision Hurlbert as a 70 point, scoring-line forward.
2nd Round, 47th overall: Victor Plante - Left Wing - USHL
Grade: B
Victor’s draft position will always be tied to his older brother Max’s, as both Plante brothers were selected by the Red Wings with the 47th overall pick in their draft class. It’s reasonable to question whether Detroit truly went with the best player available or made this pick given how common it’s become for brothers to want to play together? First there was Quinn Hughes supposedly telling Vancouver’s Jim Rutherford that he’d like to play with his brothers Jack and Luke, and of course we have the Tkachuk brothers being reunited in south Florida.
While you can criticize the pick, Elite Prospects gave Plante a B grade, suggesting he’s a second round talent. Craig Button and Tony Ferrari both had Plante inside their top 35 list of prospects. In short, the pick of Vic Plante is highly defensible, particularly for a franchise in dire need of guys who can score or contribute to goal scoring.
Plante is undersized, but in watching highlights, he tends to score from in close. Among 17 and under skaters in the USHL this past season, he was top 10 in points per game. His point totals in the WJC-18 were decent but unremarkable, finishing top 20 in assists, points and points per game.
EP’s Cam Robinson has what I think is the most all-encompassing view of Victor’s game right now. Here’s his scouting report from the WJC-18 game against Denmark:
Plante continues to be a problem for opponents at this level out of sheer, overwhelming tenacity. He’s always moving, always around the puck, and constantly disrupting. Had a great transition rush where he beat two defenders through the neutral zone with his hands…and created a one-timer chance. Works well off the cycle. Found space in the slot for a good look, which just missed the net. He’s not overly dynamic, but the pace, effort, and puck pursuit stand out.
Feels like a player who can impact games through work rate and detail, with enough skill to finish when chances come.
Plante appears to have no concerns about being in his older brothers’ shadows, as he’s following them to Minnesota Duluth on a team that has a great shot at returning to the Frozen Four. In his interview following being drafted, Victor had a smile that was a mile wide, which has to feel good for Red Wings fans who recently found out their captain requested a trade after missing the playoffs for the 10th straight season.
If his development works out, I think Plante can provide 3rd line scoring depth and contribute to both special teams units.
3rd Round, 79th overall: Michal Oršulák - Goaltender- WHL
Grade: A
The Red Wings goaltending scouts are among the best in the business. That’s the long and the short of the rationale for the grade here. So while Elite Prospects gave Oršuák an F grade and wondered whether he would be drafted in his D +1 season, he was taken by Detroit in the third round. I’m going to guess the scouts saw something they liked in Oršulák, so I’m inferring quite a lot with this draft pick grade.
Sure, Sebastian Cossa played a grand total of 45 minutes of NHL hockey for Detroit, but he was traded for a first round draft pick, so it’s tough to say his development was a total loss. In listening to Steve Yzerman’s post draft press conference, he sure made it sound like Trey Augustine would have a shot at making the Red Wings roster this season. That leads me to believe they held onto Cossa until Augustine signed his pro contract and then decided it was time to move on. I will admit I could be reading too much into this, but that’s my take.
As the old saying goes, when a door closes, a window opens, and through that window the organization now holds the NHL rights to Michal Oršulák.
Michal Oršulák’s stats do not stand out, but he’s somehow backsopped his WHL and World Juniors teams to Finals appearances. Elite Prospect’s Max Lee sums up what Oršulák brings to the ice rink pretty well in his scouting report from early April:
Oršulák played a good series and gave the Raiders the solid backstop every contending team needs. He's been consistently good all season long, finishing the regular season 28-4-4. Tonight we saw why Oršulák is so reliable. He plays a conservative, blocking style, leveraging his quick feet and 6-foot-4 frame. He leads each movement with his head and seals the ice well.
Oršulák is a guy who seems to thrive when the games start to matter, more battler than technical automaton. He cites Sergei Bobrovsky as a role model in the clip below.
Oršulák has NHL size at 6 foot 4 1/4 inches in height and is a brick wall at 225 pounds. Among WHL goalies who played 30 or more games, he was 6th in save percentage, 5th in wins, and first in goals against average. Central scouting ranked him as the #2 North American goalie, so there’s certainly a chance he’s a bit of a late bloomer, as he’ll turn 19 in August.
As for Michal Oršulák’s development path, I have no idea. But when a guy backstops two teams to the championship game or series in a single season and has the backing of a scouting department with the track record they have, I’m down.
4th Round, 108th overall: Adam Levac - Center- OHL
Grade: A
As mentioned early on in this article, when we get outside the first two rounds, I tend to grade on a curve. So while I have no expectations for Adam Levac to turn into an NHL player, I do like the characteristics from his game that make him worth taking a flyer on as we enter the middle rounds of the draft.
Levac’s 30 assists over the regular season and playoffs impressed me, as it put him in the top 10 among OHL skaters 17 and under. Multiple scouts have commented on his capabilities as a passer, and with my focus on developing more goal scorers and/or assist generators, I highlighted Levac in my draft preview article.
In Peterborough’s 4-2 series loss to the North Bay Battalion, Levac put up 2 goals, 2 assists and went +2 in a series where his team was outscored by 6 goals, with 3 of the contests going deep into overtime.
Elite Prospect’s Lauryn Kelly provided a good overview of Levac’s capabilities in a March 30th game against the Battalion, writing:
A strong game from Levac, one of Peterborough's more dangerous creators despite the shutout loss. He was a mainstay on the forecheck, disrupting and pressuring defenders, forcing turnovers, winning puck battles, and delivering no-look feeds from behind the net to the slot.
Those are hockey traits that could play as he continues to refine his game, so it will be worthwhile following his development next season.
OHL scout Brock Otten also liked his combination of aggressive play style and capabilities as a passer. While there’s still lots of development needed, Levac may have a shot at eventually turning into a high end checking line center. If not, he’ll likely have a long career in the AHL.
5th Round, 143rd overall: Beckham Edwards - Center- OHL
Grade: C
Beckham Edwards had a disappointing 2025-26 season, and it’s in the eye of the beholder whether that poor performance was due to the awful Sarnia team he played on, or is he a guy whose development curve peaked back when he was considered an early round draft pick?
Red Wings North American scouts tend to have an eye for these sort of prospects, hence my C grade. What we’re left with at this point is hope that Beckham’s game will coalesce into something beyond responsible forward that will work at the NHL level.
Back in March of 2025, Elite Prospects’ David St-Louis didn't believe Edwards had the elements to make him a top-level prospect, but opined there was a path that could lead to him becoming a ‘secondary-scoring NHL piece.’
Fast forward to this past season where Edwards put up 19 goals, good for 14th among 17 and under skaters in the OHL. The big question is whether the lack of support in Sarnia played a role in his lackluster season? Lauren Kelly was left wanting more in a scouting report from mid-January:
Building passing plays in transition, rather than relying on solo carries up ice and into the offensive zone, could allow him to start scoring more and perhaps rediscover his dynamism. Carrying this play back to Sarnia for the second half will be critical, but in this game, Edwards looked like a mid-round pick with a legitimate NHL future.
To be fair to Edwards, Kelly commented two months later, in a game where Edwards generated two assists that he once again looked like a top 64 prospect. In the lead up to the draft, most scouting services had Edwards ranked in the third round. The fact he fell to the fifth indicates pro scouts were skeptical about his development path.
Here’s what OHL scout Brock Otten had to say about his performance this past season for Sarnia:
I had really high expectations for him coming into the year, but I didn't really feel like his game improved much.
Edwards will continue his development path in the NCAA, as he’s headed off to Notre Dame, a program that has struggled since the end of the Jeff Jackson era. This C grade is based entirely on a season where Edwards didn't build off his 2024-25 season, how far he fell on draft day, and the fact Notre Dame is a program that has been trending poorly.
6th Round, 175th overall: Luka Arkko - Left Wing - Finland
Grade: A
The Red Wings spent their early draft picks on skill, then went after the forecheckers late in the draft. Arkko is a prospect who doesn’t really fit either mold, but has elements that could make him a power play contributor.
Luka finished just outside the top 10 of the SM-sarja for scoring in Finland, and his international U-18 point production wasn’t far behind 2nd round draft pick Wiggo Sörensson, although it should be pointed out Sörensson participated in the WJC-18 while Arkko did not.
The thing that really intrigues me about Arkko is the fact he’s considered one of the biggest boom/bust prospect in this draft. When we have Håkan Andersson and his group of scouts suggesting it’s worth taking a flyer on Arkko in the 6th round, I take notice.
Luka has NHL size at 6’3”, but his skating is considered a major weakness that could hold him back from making it to the NHL. In reading his Elite Prospects scouting reports, he sounds a bit like James van Riemsdyk as far as his capability of playing in front of the net:
He's a crafty operator on the power play in the net-front role, almost scoring with a quick backhand attempt and setting up one high-danger look with a cross-crease feed for a one-timer – that's a projectable spot for him in the pro ranks, too. When it comes to the NHL projection, though, I still feel like the mechanical limitations will be too much for him to overcome.
The question with Arkko is whether there’s reason to expect his skating mechanics to improve? There are scouting reports that say he can burn past defenders, but with regular callouts indicating his skating will not be as effective at higher levels, it’s important to keep expectations very low.
7th Round, 196th overall: Myles Brosnan - Defense - High School
Grade: A
In my draft preview, I wanted the Red Wings to draft Axel Elofsson with one of their mid round picks given his pace and offensive skill set. The Swedish rearguard was selected by the Avs in the 4th round, but I’m intrigued with Detroit’s selection of Myles Brosnan with their final draft pick.
While Brosnan is a long-shot given his placement in this NHL draft, he was ranked inside the top 100 by Elite Prospects, Tony Ferrari and Ryan Kennedy. This is another shot at acquiring skill, so I am highly pleased with the direction the organization went with this draft class: having Hurlbert and Brosnan book end this draft class is just about perfect in my opinion.
Brosnan finished second in the USHS-Prep standings for assists among d-men, but put up the highest point per game total at 1.70. In a February scouting report, EP scout Robert Chalmers wrote that ‘Brosnan appears to be a steady, offensively driven defenseman who can drive play from the blue line.’ Fellow EP scout Simon Desjardins graded Brosnan as a D prospect in his first viewing back in September 2025, but suggested he could merit a B grade in his final report in March. That’s the type of trajectory that can get you excited about a 7th round prospect on draft day.
Branson will head off to Harvard to play hockey with 2023 sixth rounder Rudy Guimond, who is currently my 10th rated Red Wings prospect.