Red Wings Review: Consistency the Key for Finnie

Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images The post Red Wings Review: Consistency the Key for Finnie appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now . Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images Emmitt Finnie Age : 20, turns 21 in June. Contract Status : Signed through the 2027-28 season on an ELC, will become an RFA.

Last season’s contributions: 13 goals as a rookie, spent much of his time on the top line wing with Lucas Raymond and Dylan Larkin ; top ten on the team with 30 total points in 82 games. Grade : A- Past Emmitt Finnie, as has been stated countless times over the past season, was the surprise of the Red Wings rookie camp, winning a spot in the lineup as a seventh round pick from 2023. Finnie came from the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, with a brief stint in Grand Rapids for their playoff run last year.

Drafted in 2023 as a developmental, two-way forward who was sitting behind several older, more tenured players on the Kamloops roster, Finnie was projected as a borderline to middle six contributor in the NHL in his draft year. However, Finnie exploded offensively in an increased role in the 2024-25 season. The then 19-year-old had 37 goals and 37 assists in 55 regular season games and served as the captain for the Blazers in his final season in the Western League.

With the Griffins , Finnie had five points in three games in the Calder Cup Playoffs, with a goal and four assists in AHL action. “You used the word energy, and when he’s bringing that, which is 99 percent of the time for a first-year player, he’s a big factor, a big influence on our team,” Said head coach Todd McLellan, “The pace he plays with, how he closes on players with and without the puck, and his ability to drive pucks to the net. ” Present Finnie made the main Red Wings roster out of camp, surprising many in the media and perhaps in scouting booths.