Prospect Report: Finnie Comes Off Injury List to Spark Blazers

Detroit Red Wings prize prospect Emmitt Finnie played his first game in 25 days and scored two goals to lead the Kamloops Blazers to a 4-2 win against the Portland Winterhawks.

Finnie’s return from injury is critical to the Blazers’ hopes of qualifying for the WHL playoffs. With 11 games remaining in the WHL schedule, the Blazers trail the Seattle Thunderbird by three points for the final WHL playoff spot.

Dating to before he was injured, Finnie boasts eight goals in his past seven games

They’re 10th in the WHL Western Conference and trail the Seattle Thunderbirds for the eighth and final playoff spot by three points.

If Kamloops doesn’t make the playoffs, the presumption is Finnie would report to the Grand Rapids Griffins.  The WHL season ends March 23, almost a full month before the AHL season ends.

The Griffins have had trouble scoring goals recently and Finnie shows 31 goals and 70 points in 45 WHL games this season. Finnie has the potential to be a major success story for the Detroit scouting staff. He was drafted in the seventh-round, 201st overall, in the 2023 draft.  He has developed beyond what a team would expect for a seventh round pick.

Here are updates for other Red Wings draft picks:

Forward Dmitri Buchelnikov (52nd overall, 2022)

Dmitri Buchelnikov picked up a pair of assists to give him 34 for the Podolsk Vityaz season. That’s a new team record.   Russian Buchelnikov is an intriguing prospect.  As is the case with all prospects, he needs to get much stronger. The only question is when the Red Wings will consider bringing him to North America.

#LGRW prospect Dmitri Buchelnikov breaks Vityaz team record for most assists in a season (34).

Buch broke the team record that was shared by Justin Danforth, Kaspars Daugavins and Miro Aaltonen (32 assists each).

📸 HC Vityaz pic.twitter.com/GnaS1yDHES

— Hockey News Hub (@HockeyNewsHub) February 26, 2025

Carter Mazur (70th overall, 2021)  and Amadeus Lombardi (113th, 2022)

Mazur netted a shorthanded goal in a 5-2 loss to Texas Wednesday might. He has five goals and three assists for eight points in his past nine games. Let’s not forget that we expect Mazur to get some games with the Red Wings this season.

Meanwhile, Lombardi scored for the third consecutive, giving him four points in his past three games. He has 12 goals and 20 points in 25 games.

CARTER MAZUR SHORTHANDED GOAL🚨 Danielson drop pass and Mazur does the rest. #LGRW #GoGRG pic.twitter.com/olAWCSUgqo

— Red Wings Prospects (@LGRWProspects) February 27, 2025