Top 20 Detroit Red Wings Prospects To Watch In 2019-20
By Tyler Kotila
Villi Saarijärvi, Grand Rapids Griffins, 16 points in 2018-19
Not a recent acquisition of the Detroit Red Wings, but a player who had a very ceiling initially is Villi Saarijärvi. The Red Wings originally selected Saarijärvi in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft in the third round as a Finnish defenseman who was projected to be a solid NHL caliber defender. His development has been stunted a bit, but ruling out his success is something that has not been done.
Saarijärvi is a 5-foot-10, 183 pound, right-handed shooting defenseman who has bounced around the minor leagues over his first few years in North American hockey. Last season, Saarijärvi played for the Grand Rapids Griffins where he managed to score two goals and get 14 assists for 16 points on the season, which is not the most impressive. The season prior, Saarijärvi ended up spending time with the ECHL Toledo Walleye after he endured some offensive struggles with the Griffins.
Some of the positives that come along with Saarijärvi is his ability to be offensive just like most of the other Red Wings prospect defensemen. He has an exemplary vision on the ice and does an excellent job of being creative in the offensive zone.
His creativity is what lead scouts to believe that he could be the quarterback of an NHL level power-play line. He may be smaller, but he compares to some other Red Wings prospects who have turned out just fine in terms of his size.
With all positives does come some negativity, in this case, there are a few things that may negatively affect his path to the NHL. Saarijärvi is a smaller defender like Hronek and has played in the shadows of Hronek, Cholowski, and other up and coming defenders. Injuries have shortened some of his past seasons which means longer time needed to develop before making the jump between the AHL and NHL.
Early Expectation: Though his initial ceiling may have been set high, there’s still a chance that Saarijärvi can make the push to become a top-four defenseman. He would fit like more of a second pairing offensive defender who uses his size and speed to excel, being small and able to move quickly to execute plays.
The ability to run a power-play is still there, but with so many other Detroit Red Wings prospects having that in their projected skill set. Saarijärvi may not get that opportunity. The bottom line is that his talent level is apparent, but he’s a candidate to become a late bloomer.