As we continue our Top 25 Under 25 series, we start to get into a dicey area for a lot of fans. Some may be ranked too high, some too low, but ultimately how you rank prospects is purely subjective.
Checking in at 18 this year is Dominic Turgeon. The Colorado-native is coming off a rookie season where he had the experience of winning his first-ever championship ring at the professional level.
Birthday: February 25, 1996
Birthplace: Cherry Hills Village, CO
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 196 lbs.
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 63rd overall, 2014
Strengths and weaknesses
Dominic comes from one hell of a pedigree — his father, Pierre, was an NHL scoring star in his day. That being said, Dom is a completely different player than his father. While the offense didn’t exactly roar in his rookie season, he was often praised by coaching. Turgeon played the role of a shutdown player at the tender age of 21. He was often matched up against tougher competition. He’s an extremely cerebral player with great vision, which make shim a viable player taking a face-off in his own zone. He’s your typical blue-collar, hardworking bottom-six player that most teams love to have around.
No knocks on Turgeon’s physical shape or abilities — he’s a good skater, makes a solid first pass, and happens to be a brilliant penalty-killer.
The problem for the Red Wings, is that they have a lot of these players. They seem to acquire a new one every season. It’s no knock against Turgeon by any means, and for all we know his development may take a different path — perhaps to a more offensive role. He had great success with producing in the WHL, but you don’t need to tell me that the pro-level is a different world. Additionally, the Wings traded up to get Turgeon. While it was just a third-round pick, it seems like a strange decision to trade up to get a player that would have been available at their current spot.
Looking forward
Like I said, the Red Wings have quite a few players like Turgeon. Because of that, I see him sticking with the Griffins for another season or two. We already know that Jeff Blashill is a big fan of Turgeon, so he may be in line as the next waiver-exempt journeyman until his ELC is up. Hard to see him as a high point-getter in the future, but I believe Turgeon could be one of those “role-players” for the team after the current regime or “role-players” have moved on.
He has a lot of room to grow, and it’s clear that he is committed to working at becoming a better athlete. While the point totals weren’t high, he was a vital part of a very strong group of players that won the Calder Cup this past season. That’s saying something.
