If Detroit Red Wings assistant general managers Kris Draper and Shawn Horcoff say they couldn’t help but notice University of Michigan center Adam Valentini this past season they mean exactly that.

Draper and Horcoff both had sons playing for the Wolverines and every time they watched their boys play they also saw Valentini buzzing around the ice in impressive fashion. As a 17-year-old freshman, he produced 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points. That made him the highest scoring college player under 18. He turned 18 in April.

“I try and model a couple guys like (Kirill) Kaprizov and Brandon Hagel, just the way to play with their brain (and) compete,” Hagel said at NHL scouting combine.

The Toronto native has a Tasmanian Devil-like style, often becoming a human cyclone on the forecheck. That helps him both offensively and defensively. He is just under five-foot-10, but he always has a big impact.

This is how Valentini describes himself: “I think just a player that plays 200 feet of the ice really hard. I play each inch of the ice really hard, and my compete and my hockey IQ sets me apart from other players.”

TSN’s Craig Button ranked him 40th for the 2026 draft, meaning it’s possible he could be there when the Red Wings make their second-round pick at No. 47. They traded their first-round pick (15th overall) in the Justin Faulk acquisition.

The Red Wings did interview Valentini at the combine. He admits that becoming a Red Wings prospect is appealing to him.

“That’d be cool,” Valentini said. “My teammate’s dad (Draper) was interviewing me, so it’s pretty cool.”

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Detroit defenseman Moritz Seider finished 11th in Hart Trophy voting with eight points. Those points came from two fourth-place votes and two fifth-place votes. Zach Werenski (seventh, 53 points) and Rasmus Dahlin (ninth, 16 points) were the only defensemen ahead of him in the final vote totals.

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