The Detroit Red Wings were oh-so-close to breaking their long playoff drought in April, needing just one more point to vault the Washington Capitals and secure the final wildcard berth in the Eastern Conference. Instead, it's now been eight campaigns without postseason hockey in Motown.
The Wings will undoubtedly be knocking on the door again in a difficult Atlantic Division in 2024-25 — and they could have a dark horse on the roster as soon as opening night. Carter Mazur, who is fresh off an excellent rookie campaign with the Grand Rapids Griffins in the American Hockey League, could get a long look at training camp, per The Athletic's Max Bultman.
“Mazur is the player on this list who I feel has the strongest chance to make the NHL roster on opening night, and the one I’d pick to play the most NHL games this season,” wrote Bultman in his latest update on Detroit's prospect pool.
The insider added: “At 22, there’s less incentive to keep him down for additional AHL reps, especially after he was arguably the Griffins’ best player in the AHL playoffs. Some of it, too, is how naturally he could slot into a bottom-six role — whether with Andrew Copp and Michael Rasmussen on Detroit’s third line, or even on a fourth line that could have some offensive elements with Joe Veleno and/or Berggren. Mazur can play a gritty game by going to the hard areas and scoring around the net or he can shoot it from distance, and that versatility should help him.”
Carter Mazur is ready for an NHL look
A former third-round selection by the Red Wings in the 2021 NHL Draft, Mazur won an NCAA championship as a freshman with the University of Denver in 2022.
He then joined the Griffins in 2023-24, where he impressed with 17 goals and 37 points in the regular-season. He elevated his game even further in the postseason, playing at nearly a point-per-game pace by chipping in three goals and eight points in nine games.
Mazur was second in scoring on the Griffins to Jonatan Berggren, another top prospect who projects to be on Detroit's opening night roster. But with a couple of unproven players in the bottom-six, there's certainly a path for Mazur to carve out a spot as an everyday NHLer as soon as October.
“Mazur is a likeable player, with a game that should earn trust from the coaches,” finished Bultman. “I’d expect him to get a relatively early call-up and find a way to stick around.”
Although Mazur is waiver-exempt, meaning it could be tougher for him to force out an existing roster player, it certainly looks like there’s a chance the AHL standout is ready to earn an everyday spot in the show.
And with the Red Wings bringing back Patrick Kane and signing Vladimir Tarasenko and Cam Talbot in free agency, it looks like the squad is ready to take the next step forward in 2024-25.
Follow Us
Subscribe