Is William Wallinder Finally Ready to Claim His Place With the Red Wings?

For William Wallinder, the waiting may finally be nearing an end. The Detroit Red Wings have taken the patient approach with the towering Swedish defenseman since selecting him in the second round of the 2020 NHL Draft. Six years later, Wallinder has reached the point where the Wings are no longer talking about development but whether he can find a permanent place in Detroit.

Wallinder has spent the last three seasons with Grand Rapids of the AHL where his combination of 6-foot-4 size and skating ability has made him intriguing to the Red Wings. When it comes to young, big defensemen, teams usually don't want to rush them into the NHL. Wallinder has remained part of the Red Wings' plans, but the organization's patience can't make the decision for him.

Wallinder is receiving a legitimate opportunity to show the coaching staff he's ready rather than simply being another prospect getting preseason minutes. According to Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News, Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan thinks Wallinder can play an important role with the Red Wings.

"We're relying a lot on the minor-league staff and some of our scouts (but) he's mobile, a big man with lots of good range to break plays up and he moves a puck efficiently," McLellan said. "First passes are on the tape and then he can play. With his range and mobility, he should be a real good penalty killer, so, we'll see."

Moritz Seider is firmly established and Axel Sandin-Pellikka represents a major piece of the Red Wings' future. Albert Johansson has also made his presence known and is now making some noise as Detroit continues to build their blue line behind Seider, Sandin-Pellikka, and Simon Edvinsson. That creates both an opportunity and pressure for Wallinder.

Developing prospects is one thing. Successfully graduating them into meaningful NHL roles is another. Wallinder is approaching the point where the Red Wings need to determine which category he belongs.

Wallinder could eventually bloom into the type of mobile, dependable middle-pair defenseman every contender needs. And because the Red Wings developed him internally, successfully filling that role with Wallinder would prevent interim general manager Shawn Horcoff from having to spend significant cap space or trade assets looking elsewhere.

For most of his time in the Red Wings organization, Wallinder's future has been discussed in terms of what he might eventually become. Eventually is looking more like now. The next step is up to Wallinder. If he can take it, then the Red Wings future when it comes to the defensive corps looks bright.

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