Detroit Red Wings: Prospect Moritz Seider makes opening night roster

The Detroit Red Wings have officially trimmed their roster down to 23 players, and they had a few prospects make the club. Steve Yzerman’s first pick as the General Manager from the 2019 NHL Entry Draft made the roster.

German defenseman Moritz Seider is on the roster as the season kicks off. This is not as shocking as Lucas Raymond making the Detroit Red Wings roster, but Seider still had a chance to start the season in Grand Rapids.

However, the Red Wings are going to let Seider get his feet wet in the NHL and start trying to develop and adjust to the game at the highest level. With the season on the horizon, the Red Wings are going to hope Seider can learn from those within the defense core around him.

As the Red Wings pieced together their roster, they must have felt that Seider is going to benefit the most by starting the season in Detroit and hopefully spending the year there. He’s been on an interesting road through a global pandemic and being shifted around, but he surely made the most of it.

Detroit Red Wings prospect Moritz Seider made the opening night roster.

Seider has put on a show overseas in the last few seasons and certainly appears that he is ready to be an impactful defenseman for the Red Wings. The question is how smoothly the transition will go for the German defender.

He’s coming off of a 41 game showing with seven goals and 21 assists for 28 total points that earned him Defenseman of the Year and SHL Best Junior for his performance with Rögle BK in 2020-21.

The truth is, Seider is going to be a phenomenal defenseman, but his start in the NHL might be a little slow. The projection for Seider is that he will be a defensive defender who can contribute offensively as well. Best case scenario, think Victor Hedman. Middle-ground scenario, think John Klingberg or Jared Spurgeon.

Personally, I think Seider is going to equate similar to Hedman, and Yzerman is going to be one happy camper after building his version of the Lightning here in Detroit. However, his offense may not be there right away for the Red Wings.

Even if it takes time, Seider could still very well find himself in the Calder Trophy conversation if he has a hot start. It’s great to see Seider making the club; the hope now will be that he can adjust well and start his lengthy career in the NHL.