DETROIT, Mich. — While the Detroit Red Wings hunt for goals, their top prospect keeps piling up points in the minors.
Carter Bear, the 20-year-old forward Detroit took 13th overall in the 2025 draft, scored twice and set up two more goals Wednesday, Nov. 11, in a 6-3 Grand Rapids Griffins win over the Rockford IceHogs, an afternoon game at Van Andel Arena.
The four-point day pulled Bear into a tie for the AHL scoring lead with 18 points, on five goals and 13 assists, through 13 games. He is the only rookie in that group other than one Montreal prospect, and his plus-nine rating is the best of the four.
Bear has now put up points in six straight games, with three goals and 10 assists in that stretch, and has been held off the scoresheet just twice all season.
John Leonard, recently sent down from Detroit, scored three times for the Griffins, his second hat trick of the year. Nate Danielson, also just reassigned, had three assists in his first AHL game this season.
The timing matters for the parent club. Detroit has dropped four in a row and scored only five goals in that run, and its 2.58 goals per game ranks among the lowest in the NHL.
Bear has said the jump from junior hockey to the pros has been tougher and more physical, and that he is still learning and willing to wait his turn. The Red Wings visit the Florida Panthers on Thursday.
Section: More Detroit MI sports news
