Red Wings Prospect Report: Tyutyayev A Man Of Mystery

Everything about Detroit Red Wings draft pick Kiril Tyutyayev suggests he is not an NHL prospect. Start with his size. At 5-foot-8, 146 pounds, he’s so undersized, he’ll always be under scrutiny.

Most players his stature seek to make up for their lack of size with blazing blades. Tyutyayev, though, is not blessed with that burst of acceleration.

“He doesn’t totally look the part,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill admitted of the left-winger they selected 190th overall in the 2019 NHL entry draft. “He’s a little undersized, he’s not an elite skater. And those guys aren’t flying around the NHL a whole bunch. But some guys do make it.”

Could Tyutayev be one of those guys? Well, it’s a longshot, to be sure. He isn’t even in North America on an NHL deal. The 21-year-old Belarussian is playing with the Grand Rapids Griffins on an AHL contract. That’s also how Luke Glendening began his path to the Red Wings. So, it’s certainly not an out of the question path to the NHL.

Red Wings’ International Man Of Mystery

Tyutyayev is the Austin Powers of the Red Wings farm system. He’s their international man of mystery.

His resume leading up to this moment is as astonishingly impressive as it is fly under the radar.

Tyutyayev led the Russian U18 league in scoring in 2017-18 with 114 points in just 31 games. Last season, he was tied for fifth in assists in the Belarus Extraliga playoffs with 10 in 13 games as Tyutyayev helped Yunost Minsk win the title. 

“He makes a lot of good plays,” Blashill said. “He’s got a pretty good mind offensively. He knows how to create space for himself, he’s really slippery and smart. If you really watch him play, he’s strong on the puck. There’s no aversion to traffic, no aversion to holding on to the puck, no aversion to playing extremely hard.

“He’s heavy on the puck for a smaller guy. He works his tail off. He’s done lots of things well. He’s been a real pleasant surprise.

“I like him. I think there’s stuff there. I’ll be interested to see how he does in Grand Rapids. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was able to have lots of success.”

Grewe Finds a Home

Winger Albin Grewe (66th-2019) wasn’t long without a place to play. The signing of Grewe, 20, was announced by Mora of the Allsvenskan, Sweden’s Second Division.

Grewe was issued his release last week by Ilves Tampere of Finland’s SM-liiga.

Johansson Issuing Helping Hands

The Red Wings ended up opting to leave defenseman Albert Johansson (60th-2019) for another season with Farjestads of the Swedish League. It’s a decision which is displaying solid evidence of paying early dividends in terms of Johansson’s development.

Albert Johansson picks up his 5th assist of the season #LGRW pic.twitter.com/WjI9Jj5aXM

— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) October 9, 2021

He’s dished out a team-leading six assists through eight games. The son of former NHL defenseman Roger Johansson is tied for third on the team in scoring with seven points.

Campus Kids

Red Wings draft picks Antti Tuomisto (35th-2019) and Shai Buium (36th-2021) are playing as a defense pairing with the Denver Pioneers. Freshman left-winger Carter Mazur (70th-2021) has scored two goals in his first two NCAA games with Denver.

Here's a look at Mastro's go-ahead goal. pic.twitter.com/nhs5X9rFXH

— BU Men's Hockey (@TerrierHockey) October 9, 2021

Left-winger Robert Mastrosimone (54th-2019) netted the game winner for the Boston Terriers in a 2-1 season-opening win over the Northeastern Huskies.

Junior Jottings

Edmonton Oil Kings netminder Sebastian Cossa (15th-2021) is the WHL goaltender of the week. Cossa posted a 2-0-0-1 record to go along with a 1.30 goals-against average and .949 save percentage in three appearances with the Oil Kings this past week.

Defenseman Alex Cotton (132nd-2020) scored both goals as the Lethbridge Hurricanes beat the Red Deer Rebels 2-1 in a WHL game on Saturday.

Seeing his first game action since March of 2020, left-winger Pasquale Zito (166th-2021) of the OHL Windsor Spitfires has scored three goals in his first three games. He leads the team in scoring with four points.

Ex-Red Wing Of The Week

With 5-10-15 totals for HC Davos, left-winger Mathias Brome is the third-leading scorer in the Swiss National A League.

In 26 games last season for the Red Wings, Brome collected a goal and an assist.