For the Detroit Red Wings, the appropriate time to "play the kids" is an
age-old debate, with fans, media, and management each having varied opinions on
 the matter.

But as Bob Dylan said about the times, they are a-changin'. Sort of.

During Detroit's end-of-season press conference, general manager Ken Holland
stated that he expects two or more Red Wings prospects to push for NHL jobs in
the fall.

Michael Rasmussen and Filip Hronek's strong campaigns plus the draft-day
acquisition of Filip Zadina gave fans some confidence that Holland's promise
would come to fruition. The later signings of Mike Green and Thomas Vanek did
not, though.Thomas Vanek is set to begin his second stint with the Red Wings
this fall. (Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports)

In order for these prospects to play, they'll need to take jobs from veterans -
 Holland made it quite clear that there would be no handouts. The "they took
our jobs" versus "they are given jobs" difference may not ease tensions, but
it';s ultimately the right approach to prospect development.

But when is the future ready to take present jobs? From an offensive
standpoint, it appears that time is relatively soon.Expected Production of Red
Wings Prospects

Earlier this month, Corsica Hockey's Emmanuel Perry released his NHLe (NHL
equivalency) model to compare and translate players' production in different
leagues. An in-depth explanation of the "fancy stat" can be found here. In the
meantime, NHLe basically breaks down to:

A player scored X points in a non-NHL league. How many points would that
convert to if he played 82 NHL games that season instead?

It's not a guarantee of NHL production - think of NHLe as the hockey version of
 exchanging U.S. Dollars for Euros at the bank or airport.

Perry's NHLe is not adjusted for strength or role, and is the raw conversion
from one league to another. It's not a perfect translation, but an interesting
exercise nonetheless.Sixth-overall selection Filip Zadina scored the most total
 points last season, but how would that translate in NHLe? (Amy Irvin / The
Hockey Writers)

With this information, we can convert Detroit's prospects' points from their
respective leagues to see how they would perform if they spent the 2017-18
season in the NHL. For this analysis, we'll look at the forwards and defensemen
 from Detroit's Top 25 Prospects Ranking.Red Wings Forward Prospects

PlayerLeaguePPGConversionNHLe (Points)

David PopeNCAA1.170.1716.44

Dominic TurgeonAHL0.460.4216.13

Michael RasmussenWHL1.260.1515.95

Filip ZadinaQMJHL1.440.1315.72

Evgeny SvechnikovAHL0.400.4214.03

Jonatan BerggrenSuperElit1.500.1113.74

Joe VelenoQMJHL1.230.1313.49

Givani SmithOHL0.650.168.43

Zach GallantOHL0.570.167.42

Lane ZablockiWHL0.480.156.06

Ryan O';ReillyUSHL0.760.085.04

Using just the data above, no players' NHLe would have surpassed the
points-per-game rate of any Red Wings forward from the 2017-18 season. Don't
take this data literally, though - if Zadina and Rasmussen make the big squad
next year and play a full season's worth of games, you can expect them to score
 more than listed above.

It was interesting to see David Pope and Dominic Turgeon at the top. Those two
players project to be bottom-six forwards, while Zadina and Rasmussen would be
featured in the top-six. However, Pope and Turgeon have had a lot more time to
develop than the others and played in stronger leagues.Red Wings Defense
Prospects

PlayerLeaguePPGConversionNHLe (Points)

Libor SulakSM-liiga0.760.4729.34

Filip HronekAHL0.580.4220.24

Dennis CholowskiWHL0.960.1512.15

Vili SaarijarviAHL0.260.429.11

Gustav LindstromAllsvenskan0.360.288.39

Jared McIsaacQMJHL0.720.137.90

Joe HickettsAHL0.180.426.23

Alec RegulaOHL0.370.164.83

Seth BartonBCHL0.670.073.62

Kasper KotkansaloNCAA0.150.172.11

Right away, Libor Sulak and Filip Hronek jump off the chart with high amounts
of translated points - for Detroit's sake at least. For an organization without
 much firepower on the blue line, these two represent serious upgrades. Let's
see how they stack up with Hockeytown's blueliners, using the same points per
game and conversion method. (NHLe conversion rate for the NHL is 1.00 for those
 keeping score at home.)

Back to the pile of data we go:

PlayerLeaguePPGConversionNHLe (Points)

Mike GreenNHL0.501.0041.00

Libor SulakSM-liiga0.760.4729.34

Niklas KronwallNHL0.341.0028.03

Filip HronekAHL0.580.4220.24

Trevor DaleyNHL0.211.0017.04

Nick JensenNHL0.191.0015.19

Danny DeKeyserNHL0.181.0015.14

Jonathan EricssonNHL0.161.0013.16

Xavier OuelletNHL0.161.0012.76

Even when Detroit's NHL blueliners have their point-per-game production spread
out over 82 games, it still does not look good for the veterans. Based on the
findings of NHLe, Sulak and Hronek appear to have the capability to out-produce
 mainstays Trevor Daley, Nick Jensen, Danny DeKeyser, and Jonathan Ericsson at
the NHL level.

And while this stat factors in offense only, there's an argument to be made
about similar, if not better, play in the defensive zone from Hronek and Sulak
considering how last year went for the Red Wings.Final Word

As I mentioned above, NHLe is not perfect, but still noteworthy. When you
consider Hronek and Sulak's suggested NHL production, it makes you wonder
whether the Daley signing was needed. The same goes for DeKeyser and
Ericsson.Along with Libor Sulak, Filip Hronek deserves a real shot with the Red
 Wings. (Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports)

It's also interesting to see the projections for Evgeny Svechnikov and Joe
Hicketts, who struggled in the AHL but produced above their NHLe in a small
sample size of NHL games last season.

While it may not be a given to see a bunch of new faces on the Red Wings next
season, those changes are coming. Prospects like Zadina, Rasmussen, Hronek, Joe
 Veleno, Dennis Cholowski, and Jonatan Berggren will be in the NHL soon enough
as Detroit transitions into its new identity. A handful are already capable of
stepping into an NHL role.

*Stats courtesy of Elite Prospects and methodology courtesy of Emmanuel Perry
of Corsica Hockey.Which Detroit Red Wings prospects do you think are NHL-ready?
 Comment below with your picks.

The post Red Wings Prospects Ready to Take Veterans Jobs? appeared first on The
 Hockey Writers.

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