MLive’s Ansar Khan spoke with Red Wings director of amateur scouting Tyler Wright regarding the product of last week’s organizational/draft meetings. Wright told Khan that the team hasn’t quite made its final decision regarding who they’ll pick 6th overall:
The Red Wings had their amateur scouting meetings last week. There was much debate. Wright indicated they’re still formulating their list.
“I don’t think it was a unanimous decision going into these meetings,” Wright said. “To be honest with you, the decision hasn’t been made. We don’t spend a lot of time trying to figure out who’s taking who. We’re trying to identify where we want to go and make sure we have those guys in order.
“Obviously, Rasmus Dahlin is ahead of the class, and rightfully so, as being a generational player. Everybody has identified that. But after that you can really mix or match. We believe we’re going to get a really good player at 6. It just depends what happens 2 through 5.”
Khan continues, and this is a must-read…
I am not going in any way to profess who the Wings should draft with #6 overall. My picks in the past 4 years have been: Milano, Mantha, Svechnikov, and anyone not named Rasmussen have only been 25% right to date. What do I know? My wife would know how to answer that. Anyway, I hope the Wings take the best available players and not according to needs. Does Quinn Hughes have the ability to be an all-star? If so, take him regardless if you are loaded with small potential players. Does Bouchard have more upside than Hughes, then take him if available. I have seen Hughes play only twice and he seems to have superior skating skills and puck movement. If he is available and he measures up ( no pun intended) take him. And for Pete sakes, I hope all you naysayers shut up until whoever they pick gets his chance. You like I, haven’t seen all the choices play.
So we’re going to shy away from a smaller, more skilled d-man because we have:
Hicketts – likely a 6/7 guy at best
Saarijarvi – the guy who was a healthy scratch in the AHL and likely enjoys a nice career in Europe. Say hi to Almquist.
Hronek and Cholowski – neither guy is extremely small. And neither appears destined to be a #1 or #2.
So this is why we’re potentially going to pass on a higher skilled player? Weak argument. None of these 4 are even in the NHL. 2 of these 4 probably never will. The other 2 have OK size.
But the same nonsense is spewed about our depth at wing. Yeah who needs Zadina or Wahlstrom when you have Mantha (meh), AA (likely traded), Bert (unknown), and my favourite Svech (bust). Sorry. We desperately need an elite skilled winger.
The Wings could’ve won 1st overall, drafted Dalhin and in 2 years you’d be complaining about how they could’ve traded him to The Ranger’s for their 3 1st round picks and got so and so and so and but didn’t.
Thanks for telling me what I would think and do in the future. What will I be having for breakfast tomorrow?
Or just try to stay on topic and respond to what’s actually written…
It’s difficult to stay on-topic with someone whose apparent goal is to dig out the very worst scenario on every comment made by others.
Actually my first comment was questioning the premise of the article itself. Had nothing to do with any other poster.
Then the reply to that said something about Dahlin and the Rangers and what I’m going to be thinking in 2 years. But it’s my fault that someone ventured off topic? OK sorry everyone.
It sure seemed to me that complaining about who Detroit picks is the subject….but, I’m not an english major.
I would rather draft for need unless you have a sure fire thing. If you really think Hughes is going to be Karlsson Jr. then of course you take him.
The problem is that there is no sure fire “next” guy on defense after Dahlin. Rankings are mixed from what I can recall.
If that’s the case with Hughes, then it’s hard to see him slip past Ottawa.
“The problem is that there is no sure fire “next” guy on defense after Dahlin. Rankings are mixed from what I can recall.”
This is everything I’ve read and heard too. the next three guys are taken based on more specific team needs.
“And for Pete sakes, I hope all you naysayers shut up until whoever they pick gets his chance. You like I, haven’t seen all the choices play.”
This this this.
Can we wait until these guys get a legit shot before we declare them?
Yep. There’s entirely too much final projections based on former players who had slim chances of becoming elite players. Realistically, outside the top 3 picks when a player becomes elite is probably like 1 in 100 chances at best. Waiting is the only way to know for sure what the quality of player these guys will be.
So outside of the top 3, there is only a 1 in 100 chance of finding an elite player? So that means, in every year…we start off with 3 elite players, then 2-3 more in the entire draft?
So take any random year…say 2011. After the top 3 we then find guys like Scheifele, Couturier, Rakell, Kucherov, Trochek, Gaudreau. Not elite? Lolz.
How about 2012 which was regarded as a very weak draft. Even then, after the top 3 you still have Dumba, Trouba, Forsberg, Vasilevsky, Ghostisbehere, Parayko, Slavin, Hellebuyck.
Yup, 1 in a 100.
someone has a poor sense of what elite is even if he is an elite racist lol
Bouchard is my preference at 6 should he be there. If he’s gone passing on Hughes (if available) based of the current lot of smallish D “prospects” in the system would be idiotic. Hughes is significantly more gifted than anyone of these guys.
Exactly. Focusing on size because we already have Hicketts and Saarijarvi and Hronek is so foolish. It shows that this organization hasn’t really learned from the past. For example, we drafted Kindl and Smith with our first rounders in 2005 and 2007. Well, there we go. Our future top pair is in place. Now let’s spend the next 3 drafts picking a bunch of wingers and neglecting d-men until later rounds. Oops, Kindl and Smith aren’t doing so well. So let’s grab Sproul and Ouellet in 2011. Done. Now we can spend the next 4 drafts picking forwards again.
In the end, we picked fewer d-men during these years than any other franchise. Stop thinking your pipeline is a sure thing. All 4 of these d-men might bust. And then let’s say they all make it and now you have 5 average-to-small puck-moving wizards. Hmm, I wonder if you could trade a couple of these guys for other assets? Like how Anaheim used Vatanen to add Henrique. Or how New Jersey used an abundance of young d-men to add Hall. Nashville added Johansen. This is such a simplistic view.
I agree. There’s very little reason not to take Bouchard over Hughes. When a team has a need and a chance to fill it then it should be filled.