Here's to hoping I am wrong...

Out of the gate it looks like 3-4 of my preseason predictions could be wrong. I'm not all that disappointed, though. Let's review:

1. Moritz Seider is a finalist for the Calder Trophy
• I don't think this is too far fetched. He is showing why he was defenseman of the year in the SHL last season. Big, mobile, and can handle the puck.
• There will be speed bumps, but he will be a massive upgrade to the Wings' D-corps in the short and long term.
• He should score 30-35 points, manning the second powerplay unit.
2. Dylan Larkin will have a bounce-back season
• He will lead the team in points, with 50-60.
3. Lucas Raymond will score less than 45 points
• He looks poised to start the season on the top line with Larkin. He will provide some pop at times, but I fully anticipate the 82 game grind to take a toll mid-season, and he will slow down. The Olympic break could be a godsend for him, as it could be just the break he needs, just when the grind usually gets to the younger players.
4. Pius Suter scores 50+ points
• Honestly, I think Larkin gets more of the minutes early, but I think Suter will eventually supplant Larkin as the top center. Whether that's this year or next is another story.
5. Thomas Greiss plays more than 60% of the games
• While I think Alex Nedeljkovic has a whole lot of talent, I do think he will come back to earth a bit. Thomas Greiss had a fantastic second half last year, and I think he continues that, now that he is familiar with the defense. I think this will be something of a platoon situation, with the team riding the hot hand, but I think Nedeljkovic will be 1a rather than number 1.

Lots to digest, but some thoughts so far on each one:

1. At this point, Moritz Seider is probably neck and neck with his own teammate for the Calder. Lucas Raymond leads all rookies in points with 14 in 13 games, but Seider's all-around play has been something special, and he leads rookie defensemen in points with 10, to Bowen Byram's 8 (albeit in three more games). Though, it should be noted that Byram is shooting at 17.7% in the early going, and that isn't likely to be sustained over 82 games. Where I may end up being dead wrong, is with Seider having only 30-35 points this season, as he is currently on pace for 63 points. I expect both him and Raymond to cool down a bit, but the early results are encouraging. Mo started on the second power play unit this season, and has already been promoted to PP1, which is a testament to his underrated offensive abilities. He is never going to be Cale Makar (whom I am quickly establishing as the gold standard for talented defensemen), but he is no slouch with the puck on his stick, and he can lead a rush with authority. Playing on a rejuvenated PP1 has clearly been a big reason for his early offensive output.
2. Larkin is already showing signs of a bounce-back season, but the way things are going, he my not lead the team in points. Obviously, one injury can change everything, but if he continues his strong play and ends up not leading the team in points, I don't think that's going to be a bad thing. The team needs as many point producers as they can get.
3. Welp, I am looking dead wrong here. Lucas Raymond is currently on pace for 88 points. Wowza! Now, maybe I've seen too many rookies come in and get off to hot starts with the Red Wings (only to see them cool down and/or never build on it) to have much confidence here (Brunner, Jurco, Sheahan, Athanasiou, Frk, Nyquist, Cholowski, Brendan Smith), but something tells me he will cool off drastically at some point. Raymond and Seider will both likely have a bumpy patch this year, but there's no arguing they are both immensely talented players with bright futures ahead of them.
4. I think this one is still very doable. Suter got off to a bumpy start in the first five to six games, as he's adjusted to new teammates and systems. The skill is there, and the puck seems to follow him around a bit, which isn't a bad thing with his instincts. It's taken him a bit to get his footing, but the past five games he has looked very good, and whomever he's playing with, they seem to have good chemistry, and the ability to keep the puck in the offensive zone. They aren't always getting the scoring chances, but pinning the other team in their own zone is never a bad thing.
5. Save for one game where he misplayed a couple pucks, Greiss has been outstanding. Nedeljkovic had a rough first few outings, but has since righted the ship, and the two find themselves in a 50/50 timeshare. The team has two netminders that can answer the call on any given night, and that is quite a luxury. If one starts to struggle, the other will pick up some starts in the meantime, as the team will ride the hot hand. This one could go either way if one starts to struggle.

While the team got off to a hot start, they are showing signs of cooling. On the nights when the NHL's lone unvaccinated player isn't around to help out his teammates, the difference is stark. The teams' two rookie skaters have looked outstanding, but there are questions as to whether their performance can be sustained over a whole season. Odds are, they experience some growing pains at some point.

For Seider, those growing pains could be seen as soon as tonight, as he is tasked with holding down Connor McDavid and his fellow countryman Leon Draisaitl.

For Raymond, his shifty puck handling has been impressive, and an improved power play overall has helped him produce.

The power play looks completely different from last season. The Tanguay effect is evident. Last season, teams didn't respect the Red Wings on the power play. Mantha was the only guy who was respected to the point where they wouldn't just swarm him when he had space with the puck. The answer to aggressive penalty kills? Faster puck movement. The Wings are moving the puck very quickly with the man advantage, rarely having one guy able to hang onto the puck for more than a second or two. Teams are still aggressive when on the kill, but the Wings are managing to hang on to the puck much better this time around, and the quicker puck movement is impressively helping.

All of the success early is also being done without the guy expected to lead the team in points before camp started, Jakub Vrana. He is likely out at least another 3 months, but if the team continues on it's current trajectory, he could be a welcomed boost to a club currently hovering around .500. The early results are unexpected, yet impressive. The ability to stay in games continues to improve, and the knack for battling back is making for a lot of late game intrigue.

The one area that continues to leave me puzzled is the occasional period where the Wings seemingly don't show up. Getting tripled or quadrupled up on shots in a single period is still an issue at times, and a reflection of the coaching staff's continued inability to successfully implement strategy changes on the fly. After an intermission, the strategy typically changes and we see a different team, but at some point all those chances are going to start ending up in their own net.

It's been a fun start to watch, and if it holds, it could move the rebuild timeline up a bit. If it can be sustained, I am more than happy to be wrong in a lot of my projections here.