Red Wings Draft Choice Phelan Suffers Lower-Body Injury

SIOUX FALLS, Iowa — Detroit Red Wings prospect Jack Phelan will miss an undetermined number of games after sustaining a lower-body injury over the weekend.

Phelan, a 6-3 defenseman who was drafted No. 137 overall last June, was selected a captain for the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede this season. He was injured Friday in the Stampede’s 12-4 loss at Fargo.

“He’s going to be out a little while,” Sioux Falls coach Eric Rud said. “Hopefully we’ll get him back real healthy fpr the stretch drive.”

Phelan is in his second season with Sioux Falls and has earned kudos for his play this season.

The Stampede is currently sitting in fifth place in the USHL’s Western Conference, two points behind fourth-place Tri-City.

USHL Part of Phelan’s Plan

Phelan has a goal and six assists in 39 games this season. He’s committed to play at Wisconsin next season, where he plans to major in business.

“The plan was always to play two years in the USHL,” Phelan said in an interview last year. “I’m sure there was an opportunity for me to go in this year (at Wisconsin). But when I committed to play for Wisconsin, I was always on a two-year plan. I think it would be good to go back and have a year of experience under my belt and grow as a player more.”

He is a native of Hinsdale, Ill., about 25 miles southwest of Chicago and played youth hockey with the Chicago Mission

Phelan joined the Stampede after a season with the North Iowa Bulls in 2022-23.  He was the first of two fifth-round draft picks by the Red Wings last June. He played on the Team USA team squad that placed third in the World Junior A Challenge in December.

His twin brother, Danny, plays for the Buffalo Jr. Sabres. A younger brother, Michael, is a defenseman for the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks.