I try to reserve my post-season observations regarding the Red Wings until the team takes part in its annual team picture and locker room clean-out day.
The Wings’ players, coach and GM engage in end-of-the-season press conferences and media scrums that can be very telling in terms of shedding light upon player performances and their mindsets going forward…
And in Ken Holland’s case, a 20-to-45-minute lecture in which he shares his philosophies and “game plan” for the offseason.
The Athletic’s Craig Custance doesn’t believe that it’s too early to 13 “Before the Locker cleanout” takeaways, however, and among them are the following takes on the Wings’ draft position:
5. Ultimately, in judging the Red Wings this season, there are a couple things to look at. First is draft position. It would have been a disaster for this team to finish closer to the playoff line, stuck in the middle. Whether it was by design or not, they didn’t. They’ve put themselves in position to grab a talented player at the top of a 2018 draft strong on defense — a major need. The worst they’ll be drafting is No. 8 overall and that’s if three teams leapfrog them into the top three. It takes a lot of clicks on tankathon to get that to happen.
6. Even if we go worst-case scenario with the lottery and drop the Red Wings to No. 8, it’s not hard to come up with a list of players they’re looking hard at who would vault to the top of their prospect list They’d still be selecting from a pool of these players, any of whom would be a nice addition to the organization (in no particular order): Rasmus Dahlin, Filip Zadina, Andrei Svechnikov, Noah Dobson, Evan Bouchard, Brady Tkachuk, Quinn Hughes, Adam Boqvist.
“Last year, I was a one-trick pony,” he explained. “I’d go flying in 100 miles an hour, take a shot and then we’d be backchecking. This year, I really had to slow down and not go every time.”
Can Dylan relay that to AA?
I would also add Oliver Wahlstrom into the mix on the offensive side. Hughes is a dynamic skater, but adding another small offensive defenseman? Not sure that’s the right decision…