Prospects · 2026–27
Owen Mehlenbacher
#— · Center · shoots L · 6′2″, 189 lb · age 22 · Fort Erie, CAN
Pipeline Rankings
32nd of 34 Red Wings prospects, shown with the two ranked above him and the two below.
| Rank | Player | Pos | League | League strength | GP | G | A | P | Since Oct 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Kevin Bicker | LW/RW | DEL | 0.352 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ▲ 1 |
| 31 | Brennan Ali | C/LW | NCAA · 2025–26 | 0.194 | — | — | — | — | ▲ 1 |
| 32 | Owen Mehlenbacher | C | NCAA | 0.194 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ▲ 1 |
| 33 | Brady Cleveland | D | NCAA | 0.194 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ▲ 1 |
| 34 | Jack Phelan | D | NCAA | 0.194 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ▲ 1 |
This season's line in each player's main league (the one with the most games). League strength is the Network NHLe coefficient from hockeystats.com. The ranking runs on last season's numbers until a player's current line reaches 10 games, then on this season's. Since Oct 6 counts the places moved from the start-of-season ranking. A league in grey with 2025–26 beside it means no games yet this season.
Where he projects
Four reads, every one measured against forwards only, built on his 2025–26 season in the NCAA.
| Closest paths at age 21 | Draft | League then | NHLe / 82 | NHL outcome | NHL GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Birkholz | 2009 · 67 | ECHL | 4.5 | did not stick | 0 |
| Christopher Crane | 2010 · 200 | ECHL | 4.5 | did not stick | 0 |
| Colin Jacobs | 2011 · 107 | ECHL | 4.5 | did not stick | 0 |
| Jared Fiegl | 2014 · 191 | NCAA | 4.5 | did not stick | 0 |
| Gustav Olhaver | 2015 · 191 | HockeyAllsvenskan | 4.5 | did not stick | 0 |
| Stefan Della Rovere | 2008 · 204 | AHL | 4.6 | did not stick | 7 |
| Sebastian Wännström | 2010 · 44 | AHL | 4.6 | did not stick | 0 |
| Chase Lang | 2014 · 167 | AHL | 4.6 | did not stick | 0 |
Draft pedigree. Picks 121-300 at the position, 586 of them since 2008: 16% became NHL regulars, 4% reached top-line production, expected peak 8. From draft+2 on it no longer moves the number.
This season so far. 21st percentile among NCAA forwards born 2004 after 4 games (73 of them).
Games behind the numbers. 32 in 2025–26, 259 same-year forwards in the table, 50 comparable paths from a pool of 1122.
League strength is the Network NHLe points coefficient from hockeystats.com (Patrick Bacon). Production is points per game among skaters of the same position and the same age in the same league and season (EliteProspects tables). Ceiling: the nearest 50 drafted skaters of the 2008–2019 classes at the same position and age, matched on NHLe and draft slot, and where each one's best NHL season landed as a points-per-game percentile among regulars at the position; a player who never had a half-season in the NHL counts as zero. Tiers follow the W-Value on the NHL pages: elite 88+, top-line 73+, above average 50+, below average 27+. NHL usage, for a skater with three or more NHL games this season: the nearest 50 rookie NHL seasons (5+ games, 2008–2019 classes, through 2022–23) at his position within a year of his age, matched on ice time per game and, at half weight, on points per game pulled toward the group average while his sample is small; their mean peak blends into the expected peak at weight games ÷ (games + 20). NHL games are never matched against minor-league seasons.
Where he played
Every line since his draft year, 2022, newest first. Counting stats only: no public expected-goals model covers the leagues below the NHL, so nothing here is presented as comparable across them.
| Season | League | Team | GP | G | A | P | +/− | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026–27 | NCAA | Ferris State Univ. | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −3 | 4 |
| 2025–26 | NCAA | UMass | 32 | 3 | 6 | 9 | +5 | 8 |
| 2024–25 | NCAA | Univ. of Wisconsin | 25 | 4 | 2 | 6 | −2 | 2 |
| 2023–24 | NCAA | Univ. of Wisconsin | 26 | 1 | 3 | 4 | +4 | 8 |
| 2022–23 | USHL | Muskegon Lumberjacks | 31 | 11 | 13 | 24 | −4 | 54 |
| USHL | Fargo Force | 26 | 8 | 18 | 26 | +14 | 16 |
A W-Value arrives once he has an NHL season large enough to rate; until then he is listed with the prospects.