Future Wings

The Detroit Red Wings entered the draft with 11 picks, and going into the draft they knew they woud be keeping all their picks and wouldn't be moving any as they needed all the help they could get. The area's of need coming into the draft were finding as much help at Center and Defense that they could get. 

1st Round Dylan Strome

#4 pick - The Wings had a few offers on the table to move down from the #4 spot, there was one offer that the Wings were ready to jump on till the GM backed out of the offer, from there they knew the best route to go was keeping the pick and going for a franchise Center which they needed badly!

They drafted Dylan Strome who they see being their future #1 Center for years to come. Fedorov said: This kid can flat out play! I mean this kid posted 45 goals and 84 assists for a toal of 129 points while posting a +47 for the season, he lead the league in assists and points which put him as the leading scorer for the OHL  and he didn't stop there, he still posted another 22 points in 20 playoff games. This kid will have a bright future for our club. 

2nd Round Julius Honka

#32 pick- With this pick the Red Wings fulfilled their 2nd need and scooped up a defender and took slick puck moving Honka who brings a hard accurate right handed shot. Known to be a threat from the point on the powerplay he not only dominates offensive situations but also understands positonal play and how to use the body despite his thin frame. Although his small frame he has all the skills and instincts to be a top 4 offensive dman. Had a great first year in the AHL posting 8 goals 23 assists for 31 points in 68 games while also posting 2 points in 3 playoffs games. 

2nd Round Haydn Fleury

#33 pick-  With their 2nd pick of back to back picks, the Wings decided to take another defender and take Fleury who they thought slipped right to them after being the 7th overall pick in the NHL draft. He is a big bodied defensemen with offensive skills. He's a sound, consisent defender with ideal size at 6'3 and ideal size and technical skills to be a shut down player who can rush the puck up and put some points. 

3rd Round Christian Dvorak

#63 pick- What could be a really good steal in the draft is Dvorak who jumped from having 14 points to 109 points and posting another 13 points in 10 playoff games. Dvorak also got a quick taste of the AHL and posted 2 points in 2 games for the Portland Pirates. Always known for his great skating ability and his excellent 2 way game he showed there is a lot more to his game then just his 2 way play, and proved he could do a lot more then just that with the offensive output he displayed this season. Could have a bright future in a Wings jersey in the near future.

4th Round Filip Chlapik 

#93 pick- Considered as the best rated Center prospect for the Ottawa Senators is Chlapik. He had a great first year in the QJMHL playing along side Daniel Sprong. In his first year he was able to post 33 goals and 42 asssits and later on post 9 points in 9 playoff games. 

5th Round Yakov Trenin

#122 pick- The QMJHL's 3rd rookie leading scorer, Trenin has a solid 2 way game by posting 67 points in 58 games but lead his team in the playoffs with 11 points. He was used in all situations including the PP the PK and also on 5 on 3's and 3 on 5's. The Wings feel like this kid can continue to develope and turn out to be a solid 2 way center. This pick has Fedorov written all over it as I'm sure he had big input on making this pick. 

6th Round Maxim Letunov

#153 pick- Letunov who's offensivley gifted finished the season in the USHL with 64 points in 58 games but could still use some work on the other side of the puck and the Wings feel like he could get there. This is a player the Wings wanted to take earlier in the drafted but hoped he would some how last till about the 5th or 6th round, and the Wings got lucky as he feel to them in their 1st out of 3 picks in the 6th round. If this kid adds some muscle and works on the defensive side of the game, could turn out to be another fine pick up by the Wings. Letunov is still young and the Wings will most likely give him time to refine his game. 

6th Round Blake Speers

#167 pick- The knock on Speers is his size, but he's a solid 2 way winger, with crazy elite level speed, handles the puck well and has some decceptively good hands and can make those crisp good passes. Has a decent shot but is great on the PK and most of posses great leadership. Could turn out to be a solid bottom 6 winger that can chip in from time to time. 

6th Round Jens Looke

#171 pick- Looke plays a solid all around game, he's a smooth skating with tremendous play making ability, has good puck handling skills which he use to weave in and out of traffic. Exhibits a sneaky erratic shot that finds its way to the back of the net, also uses his frame to fight to battle for pucks but is from from a pyshical player. 

7th Round- Joe Hicketts

#182 pick- Hicketts is short in stature but has elite offensive ability, his scoring ability and and playmaking instincts are matched by few prospects in his age group. Long term he projects as a puck-moving, powerplay quarterback type of offensive defenseman at the NHL level but in order to do that he will need to continue to add strength and become more consistent in his own zone. Big reason why team Canada won Gold. This past season with Victoria he posted up 12 goals and 52 assists. 

7th Round- Sergey Zborovsky

#210 pick- With the last pick of the drafted Detroit decided to add more depth to their defensive depth chart. He turned in a strong rookie season posting 19 points and a +15. He's a big boy at 6'3 and 200 pounds but could still grow a little more. Could turn out to be a safe defender in his own zone. 

Detroit is hoping that Strome could be a big part of the future along side Tarasenko Kucherov Tatar Drouin and Hoffman for years to come, then you add Honka and Fleury to play along side Krug Vatanen and Pokka and the Wings can turn out to be a solid team if everything pans out to plan. 

Time will tell how these picks turn out, stay tuned.....