The Red Wings have inked one of their 2020 draft picks, announcing the signing of defenseman Donovan Sebrango to a three-year, entry-level contract which begins next season. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
It has been an interesting season for the 19-year-old who was selected in the third round (63rd overall) back in October. A strong sophomore season with OHL Kitchener helped get him drafted but with that league still on pause due to the pandemic, he had to look elsewhere for playing time.
As a result, Sebrango’s 2020-21 campaign started on loan with HK Levice in Slovakia’s second division. He fared relatively well in his five games there, picking up a goal and two assists along with a whopping 50 penalty minutes which still puts him third on the team despite playing less than 15% of the season. Once AHL training camps began, he returned to North America and he has spent the last two months with AHL Grand Rapids where he has played in all but one of their first ten games.
As long as the OHL doesn’t start, he can remain with the Griffins but if the league does get up and running, he will be forced to return to junior at that time. In the meantime, he clearly has shown enough to impress management to earn this deal more than a year before his draft rights would have expired.